Sergei Bagapsh
Encyclopedia
Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh (Abkhaz
: ; March 4, 1949 – May 29, 2011) was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was later elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election
. He died on
May 29, 2011, at the age of 62, from complications of surgery.
in the Georgian SSR. Throughout most of his life, he had lived in Abkhazia. In his youth, Bagapsh was a member of the Georgian basketball team
. Bagapsh graduated from the Georgian State University of Subtropical Agriculture
in Sukhumi. During his studies he worked first, in a wine cooperative and later as a security guard for the state bank. In 1972, he fulfilled his military service, worked as the head of a sovkhoz
following which he became instructor with the Abkhazian regional committee of the Komsomol
. In 1978, Bagapsh became responsible for information in the central committee of the Komsomol
's Georgian branch and in 1980, first secretary of the Abkhazian regional committee. In 1982, Sergei Bagapsh became secretary general of the communist party in the Ochamchira district
. After the fall of communism
, Bagapsh became a businessman and the representative of the Abkhazian government in Moscow
.
The Georgian-Abkhazian tensions during Bagapsh's term in office came to a height in May 1998, when the Tbilisi
-based government deployed forces along the Abkhaz-Georgian border.
. During the same period, he began to emerge as a likely opposition candidate in the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election
. In early 2004, he became one of three leaders of the newly founded opposition party, United Abkhazia
. On July 20, 2004, United Abkhazia
joined forces with Amtsakhara
, another important opposition party, and the two named him as their joint candidate for the coming October presidential elections, beating out other hopefuls, such as former foreign minister Sergey Shamba
. In the elections, Bagapsh and his main opponent, Raul Khadjimba
, disputed the results. The Abkhaz Electoral Commission originally declared Khadjimba to be the winner, with Bagapsh a distant second, but the Supreme Court later found that Bagapsh had actually won with 50.3% of the vote. The court then reversed its decision when Khadjimba's supporters stormed the court building. At one point, Bagapsh and his supporters threatened to hold their own inauguration
on December 6, 2004. However, in early December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba reached an agreement to run together on a national unity ticket. New elections were held on January 12, 2005, with this ticket easily winning. Under the agreement, Bagapsh ran for president and Khadjimba ran for vice-president.
when during a press conference in Moscow on 18 April 2009 he announced that he would probably make use of his constitutional right to run for a second term. Bagapsh was nominated on 27 October by United Abkhazia
, with Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab
of Aitaira as his Vice Presidential candidate. On November 18, Bagapsh received the additional support of the Communist Party of Abkhazia
.
clinic. Though the growths were successfully removed, Bagapsh died on May 29 due to heart failure that resulted from complications from the surgery. After the surgery, doctors discovered he had cancer. Alexander Ankvab
took over as acting president with an election
scheduled to be held on 26 August.
Reactions
Abkhaz parliament speaker Nugzar Ashuba
told Russian state television that, although the death was completely unexpected, the situation remains calm.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
offered his condolences saying: "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close bilateral ties between our countries."
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Abkhaz language
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
: ; March 4, 1949 – May 29, 2011) was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was later elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election
Abkhazian presidential election, 2009
On 12 December 2009, Abkhazia held its fourth Presidential election since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994. The election was won by incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh in the first round with 61% of the votes, thus gaining a second term in office. He was be...
. He died on
May 29, 2011, at the age of 62, from complications of surgery.
Early life and career
Sergei Bagapsh was born on March 4, 1949 at SukhumiSukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
in the Georgian SSR. Throughout most of his life, he had lived in Abkhazia. In his youth, Bagapsh was a member of the Georgian basketball team
Georgia national basketball team
The Georgian national basketball team represents the country of Georgia in international basketball competitions. Georgia's national team is currently playing in the European Championship A Division....
. Bagapsh graduated from the Georgian State University of Subtropical Agriculture
Georgian State University of Subtropical Agriculture
The Georgian State University of Subtropical Agriculture was established on 26 January 1952 in Kutaisi, in the country of Georgia.-History:...
in Sukhumi. During his studies he worked first, in a wine cooperative and later as a security guard for the state bank. In 1972, he fulfilled his military service, worked as the head of a sovkhoz
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
following which he became instructor with the Abkhazian regional committee of the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
. In 1978, Bagapsh became responsible for information in the central committee of the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
's Georgian branch and in 1980, first secretary of the Abkhazian regional committee. In 1982, Sergei Bagapsh became secretary general of the communist party in the Ochamchira district
Ochamchira district
Ochamchira district is a district of the Republic of Abkhazia. Its capital is Ochamchira, the town by the same name. The district is smaller than the Ochamchire district in the de jure subdivision of Georgia, as some of its former territory is now part of Tkvarcheli district, formed by de facto...
. After the fall of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, Bagapsh became a businessman and the representative of the Abkhazian government in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Prime minister
Sergei Bagapsh was appointed to the office of Prime Minister of Abkhazia on April 29, 1997The Georgian-Abkhazian tensions during Bagapsh's term in office came to a height in May 1998, when the Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
-based government deployed forces along the Abkhaz-Georgian border.
2004 presidential election
From 2000 until 2004, Sergei Bagapsh was the managing director of the Abkhazian state-owned power company ChernomorenergoChernomorenergo
Chernomorenergo is a state-owned power company of Abkhazia. It is an operator of the Inguri hydroelectric power station. The managing director of Chernomorenergo is Rezo Zantaria. Sergei Bagapsh, the president of Abkhazia, managed Chernomorenergo in 2000-2004....
. During the same period, he began to emerge as a likely opposition candidate in the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election
Abkhazian presidential election, 2004
On 3 October 2004 Abkhazia held its second Presidential elections since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994, and the first that were competitive. Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed...
. In early 2004, he became one of three leaders of the newly founded opposition party, United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia is a political party in Abkhazia. United Abkhazia was founded on March 25, 2004 as a socio-political movement, with the specific goal of presenting a single opposition candidate for the October 2004 presidential elections....
. On July 20, 2004, United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia is a political party in Abkhazia. United Abkhazia was founded on March 25, 2004 as a socio-political movement, with the specific goal of presenting a single opposition candidate for the October 2004 presidential elections....
joined forces with Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara is an important political movement and party in Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic in Caucasus whose independence is recognized by Russia and Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru but whom most of the international community considers as a part of Georgia.Amtsakhara originally formed as an...
, another important opposition party, and the two named him as their joint candidate for the coming October presidential elections, beating out other hopefuls, such as former foreign minister Sergey Shamba
Sergey Shamba
Sergei Miron-ipa Shamba is a former Prime Minister of Abkhazia, in office from 13 February 2010 until 27 September 2011. Before becoming Prime Minister, Shamba had been the long-time Minister for Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia - from 7 May 1997, with a half-year interruption in 2004, both under...
. In the elections, Bagapsh and his main opponent, Raul Khadjimba
Raul Khadjimba
Raul Jumka-ipa Khajimba is a politician from Abkhazia, leading the oppositional Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia. Until 28 May 2009 Khajimba served as Vice President following the power-sharing agreement reached with current president Sergei Bagapsh to end the crisis that followed the...
, disputed the results. The Abkhaz Electoral Commission originally declared Khadjimba to be the winner, with Bagapsh a distant second, but the Supreme Court later found that Bagapsh had actually won with 50.3% of the vote. The court then reversed its decision when Khadjimba's supporters stormed the court building. At one point, Bagapsh and his supporters threatened to hold their own inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
on December 6, 2004. However, in early December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba reached an agreement to run together on a national unity ticket. New elections were held on January 12, 2005, with this ticket easily winning. Under the agreement, Bagapsh ran for president and Khadjimba ran for vice-president.
2009 Presidential election
Bagapsh first addressed the matter of his candidacy in the 12 December 2009 presidential electionAbkhazian presidential election, 2009
On 12 December 2009, Abkhazia held its fourth Presidential election since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994. The election was won by incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh in the first round with 61% of the votes, thus gaining a second term in office. He was be...
when during a press conference in Moscow on 18 April 2009 he announced that he would probably make use of his constitutional right to run for a second term. Bagapsh was nominated on 27 October by United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia is a political party in Abkhazia. United Abkhazia was founded on March 25, 2004 as a socio-political movement, with the specific goal of presenting a single opposition candidate for the October 2004 presidential elections....
, with Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab
Alexander Ankvab
Alyksandr Zolotinska-ipa Ankvab is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who has been President of Abkhazia since 2011. Under President Sergei Bagapsh, he previously served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2010 and Vice-President from 2010 to 2011....
of Aitaira as his Vice Presidential candidate. On November 18, Bagapsh received the additional support of the Communist Party of Abkhazia
Communist Party of Abkhazia
The Communist Party of Abkhazia is a political party in the Georgian break-away republic of Abkhazia. The party leader is Lev Shamba.The CPA was founded in March 1921 with the demand of a separate Abkhaz Soviet Republic. It was then led by E. Eshba. Eshba had formed a Bolshevik...
.
Death
In May 2011, Bagapsh was diagnosed with growths on his lung. On 21 May, Bagapsh underwent surgery in a MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
clinic. Though the growths were successfully removed, Bagapsh died on May 29 due to heart failure that resulted from complications from the surgery. After the surgery, doctors discovered he had cancer. Alexander Ankvab
Alexander Ankvab
Alyksandr Zolotinska-ipa Ankvab is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who has been President of Abkhazia since 2011. Under President Sergei Bagapsh, he previously served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2010 and Vice-President from 2010 to 2011....
took over as acting president with an election
Abkhazian presidential election, 2011
A presidential election was held in Abkhazia on 26 August 2011. This was the fifth such election since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994...
scheduled to be held on 26 August.
Reactions
Abkhaz parliament speaker Nugzar Ashuba
Nugzar Ashuba
Nugzar Nuri-ipa Ashuba is the current speaker of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia. He was elected to the People's Assembly in the 2002 elections, and he was elected speaker on 3 April 2002....
told Russian state television that, although the death was completely unexpected, the situation remains calm.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
offered his condolences saying: "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close bilateral ties between our countries."
External links
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