Hamid bey Shahtakhtinski


Hamid bey Shakhtakhtinski Khalil oglu was an Azerbaijani statesman who served as Minister of Education and Religious Affairs in the fifth cabinet of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and was member of Parliament of Azerbaijan.

Early years

Shahktakhtinski was born in Shakhtakhty village of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan on March 12, 1880. After completing his secondary studies in a religious school in Nakhchivan, he studied at Erivan Pedagogical Seminary graduating in 1899. He then worked at the same institution as a teacher of Azerbaijani and Russian languages. He was also a member of Erivan Muslim Charity Society. Shahtakhtinski then left for Odessa, Ukraine to attend Novorossiysk University, where he graduated with a law degree. While a student in Ukraine, he joined Azerbaijani Compatriots organization. In 1912, he returned to Azerbaijan and settled in Ganja, where in 1914 he was appointed Chief Inspector of Elisabethpol Governorate schools. He then worked as Assistant Prosecutor at Elisabethpol District Court for two years. After moving to Baku in 1916, he worked in the same position at Baku District Court.

Political career

In 1917, he joined Ittihad Party and was appointed Commissar of South Caucasus Education Department. Shahtakhtinski was a member of the Azerbaijani National Council on the eve of declaration of independence who voted in favor of establishing an independent republic. After establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on May 28, 1918, he was elected to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan from Ittihad faction. During the work of the second, third and fourth cabinets, Shahtakhtinski served as Deputy Minister of Education and Religious Affairs. He directed qualification courses established on September 9, 1918 for local teachers in Shaki, Zaqatala and Shusha. When the fifth government under Nasib Yusifbeyli was formed on December 22, 1919, he was appointed Minister of Education and Religious Affairs of ADR. While a minister, he played a significant role in establishment of Baku State University, where he also delivered lectures and worked as a dean in later years.

Later years

After Bolshevik take over of Azerbaijan on April 28, 1920, Shakhtakhtinski graduated from Transcaucasian University in Tbilisi and taught at Azerbaijan University of Languages and Azerbaijan Medical University from 1930 through 1940. Shahtakhtinski was married to his cousin and had four daughters.
In 1941, he was arrested as a result of Soviet repressions and sent to Solovki prison camp in Arkhangelsk Oblast where he died on February 3, 1944.