October 29-30 - Visit of the Azerbaijani Diplomat to Beloit College
Timeline of Important Recent Events
(printable version available here)
  • February 1988:  Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict begins over Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
  • September 1989:  Azerbaijan’s first step toward independence.  Azerbaijan’s Parliament is first among Soviet republics to adopt a constitutional law asserting the sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
  • January 1990 :  Soviet troops sent to Baku to suppress movement for independence.  Hundreds of civilians are killed.
  • September 1990:  First alternative parliamentary elections are held with participation of opposition parties.
  • August 1991:  Parliament adopts the Declaration on the Restoration of the State Independence.
  • October 1991:  Parliament adopts the Constitutional Act on the State Independence of Azerbaijan.
  • November 1991:  Beginning of the international recognition of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
  • December 1991:  Parliament votes to replace Cyrillic script with a modified Latin script as the official alphabet of the Azerbaijan language.
  • January 1992:  Azerbaijan becomes a member of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
  • February 1992:   Hundreds of civilians, including children and elderly, are massacred during takeover of Azerbaijani town of Khojali by Armenian forces.
  • March 1992:  Azerbaijan is admitted to the United Nations.
  • March 1992:  The Council of Ministers of the OSCE (CSCE at that time) establishes Minsk peace process.  Armenia and Azerbaijan participate as “parties to the conflict,” and Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the Nagorno Karabakh region participate as “interested parties.”
  • May 1992:  Armenian armed forces take over Shusha, center of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh.
  • June 1992:  Abulfaz Elchibey of the Popular Front Party is elected President of Azerbaijan.
  • April 1993:  Occupation of Kelbajar , one of the several regions of Azerbaijan outside Nagorno Karabakh, where ethnic cleansing was carried out by the Armenian armed forces.
  • June 1993: Political crisis in Azerbaijan. President Elchibey leaves Baku. Heydar Aliyev, who was Deputy Speaker, is elected Speaker of Parliament and, in accordance with the Constitution, becomes acting President.
  • October 1993:  Heydar Aliyev is elected President of Azerbaijan.
  • June 1994:  Azerbaijan becomes a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PFP) program.
  • September 1994:  First business contract (described as “The Deal of the Century”) is signed between the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and the Western oil companies.  The contract will develop Azerbaijani, Chirag and deep water part of Guneshli oil fields.
  • October 1994:  Coup d’etat attempt by former Prime Minister Huseynov fails.
  • November 1995:  The new Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan is adopted by referendum. Parliamentary elections are held.
  • December 1996:  At the Lisbon summit of the OSCE, member countries state the main principles of a peace settlement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict , including territorial integrity of Republic of Azerbaijan.
  • August 1997:  The President of Azerbaijan makes first official visit to the United States. Numerous documents and agreements are signed at the White House, including four oil agreements with major U.S. companies.
  • November 1997:  Celebration marks pumping of the first oil produced as a result of “The Deal of the Century” and Azerbaijan’s return to world oil markets.
  • September 1998:  Azerbaijan hosts “Silk Road Summit” of 32 countries , under the auspices of the European Union. “Baku Declaration” on development of the transport corridor for Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) is signed.
  • October 1998:  Heydar Aliyev re-elected as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  • October 1998:  The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and U.S. Secretary of Energy signed The Ankara Declaration endorsing the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline as the main route for transportation of Caspian oil to the world markets
  • April 1999:  Second "Early Oil" pipeline from Baku to the Georgian Black Sea Port of Supsa inaugurated
  • April 1999:  Azerbaijani delegation led by President Aliyev takes active part in the NATO - 50 Summit in Washington
  • July-August 1999:  President Heydar Aliyev holds private meetings with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian to discuss ways to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
  • November 1999: Historic Agreements on the Baku-Ceyhan Main Oil Pipeline and the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline Signed during the OSCE Summit in Istanbul
  • December 12, 1999 : First municipal elections held in Azerbaijan
  • February, 2000: President Aliyev meets with U.S. President Clinton and other U.S. officials during his working trip to Washington, D.C.
  • February, 2000: Discovery of significant gas reserves in the Shah-Deniz offshore field make Azerbaijan a major perspective gas exporter
  • September, 2000: Azerbaijani delegation led by President Aliyev participates in the UN Millenium Summit in New York
  • November, 2000: Azerbaijan holds its second parliamentary elections since independence
  • January, 2001: Azerbaijan becomes a member of the Council of Europe
  • April, 2001: At the invitation of Secretary Powell President Aliyev participated in Armenia - Azerbaijan peace talks in Key West, Florida. He later met with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House.
 

 
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