Independence Day

On 28 th of May Azerbaijan will celebrate 90 th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). ADR was established in 1918 and was the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world.

Despite existing for only 23 months, the multi party Azerbaijani Parliamentary Republic and the coalition government managed to achieve a number of measures on national and state building, education, creation of an army, independent financial and economic systems, international recognition of the ADR as a de facto state pending de jure recognition, official recognition and diplomatic relations with a number of states, preparing of a Constitution. This has laid an important foundation for the re-establishment of independence of Azerbaijan in 1991.

Under the ADR, a government system was developed in which, a Parliament elected on the basis of universal, free and proportionate representation, the supreme organ of state authority and Council of Ministers was held responsible before it. Fatali Khan Khoyski became its Prime-Minister. Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim state in the world to give women equal political rights with men. In this accomplishment, Azerbaijan preceded even such developed countries as the United Kingdom and the United States. Another important accomplishment of ADR was the establishment of Baku State University, which was the first modern-type university founded in Azerbaijan.

During that period government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic adopted resolution on national three colored flag. National Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of three equal in length horizontal stripes. The upper stripe is blue, middle is red, lower is green colored. Blue color has meaning of Turkic origin of Azerbaijani nation; red color reflects the heading to modernization of society and development of democracy, and the green color shows belonging to Islamic civilization. In the center of the red stripe on both sides of the flag is white crescent and eight-angled star.