Azerbaijan Celebrates Day of Restoration of Independence, Honouring 1991 Constitutional Act

BAKU, October 18 – Azerbaijan marked the Day of Restoration of Independence on Saturday. The holiday commemorates the historic decision of 1991 that re-established the country’s sovereignty and confirmed its continuity with the first independent Azerbaijani state.

On 18 October 1991, as the Soviet Union neared collapse, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted the Constitutional Act on State Independence. The landmark document laid the legal foundations for the country’s renewed statehood. It drew on the Declaration of Independence of 28 May 1918 and the Supreme Council’s declaration of 30 August 1991 on the restoration of state independence. It also formally declared Azerbaijan the successor to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), founded in 1918.

The ADR was the first parliamentary republic in the Muslim world and holds a distinguished place in the nation’s history. Its independence lasted less than two years before Azerbaijan was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Even so, its legacy has remained central to Azerbaijani national identity and to the country’s aspirations for sovereignty.

The restoration of independence in 1991 began a new phase in Azerbaijan’s political and national development. Alongside building its state institutions, the country moved to consolidate the symbols of its renewed sovereignty. In May 1992, the Milli Majlis approved the national anthem, composed by Uzeyir Hajibeyli with lyrics by Ahmed Javad. The state emblem was approved the same month. It features an eight-pointed star with a flame at its centre, set against the colours of the national flag. These symbols reflect the continuity between the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918 and the independent republic restored in 1991.

The meaning of 18 October was further defined in 2021. On 15 October that year, the Azerbaijani parliament adopted a new law on Independence Day, which President Ilham Aliyev signed the same day. The law renamed State Independence Day as the Day of Restoration of Independence. The change formally distinguished the founding of the first republic in 1918 from the restoration of independence in 1991, while reaffirming the historical link between the two milestones.

The Day of Restoration of Independence is now observed every year as a national holiday, although it remains a working day. More than three decades after the Constitutional Act was adopted, 18 October still holds an important place in Azerbaijan’s national calendar. It marks both the restoration of statehood and the continuation of the aspiration for independence that began with the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918.