Sergei Bagapsh

Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh (4 March 1949 – 29 May 2011) was an Abkhaz politician who served as the second President of Abkhazia from 12 February 2005 until his death on 29 May 2011.

Born in 1949 in Sukhumi, Bagapsh became a businessman following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as well as a representative of Abkhazian interests in Russia.

Sergei Bagapsh was born on 4 March 1949 at Sukhumi 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.

From 1995 until 1997, Bagapsh was First Deputy Prime MInister of Abkhazia.

On 9 November 1995, Bagapsh was seriously wounded in an attack.

He previously served as Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 1997 to 1999.

Bagapsh became Prime Minister of Abkhazia in 1997, overseeing a brief, but successful, war with Georgia during a high point of tensions and the displacement of 30,000 Georgian civilians.

Sergei Bagapsh was appointed to the office of Prime Minister of Abkhazia on 29 April 1997.

Bagapsh's term as prime minister included the 1998 war with Georgia, while he oversaw both the recognition of Abkhazia by Russia and the Russo-Georgian War during his presidency.

Georgian-Abkhazian tensions during Bagapsh's term in office reached a height in May 1998, following attacks by Georgian insurgents on peacekeeping forces from the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Subsequently, a military conflict erupted between CIS and Georgian insurgent forces.

In the subsequent war, sometimes referred to as the "Six-Day War", Abkhazian forces eliminated the insurgents, and 30,000 Georgian civilians fled Abkhazia.

From 2000 until 2004, Sergei Bagapsh was the managing director of the Abkhazian state-owned power company Chernomorenergo.

In 2004, Bagapsh founded the United Abkhazia party in opposition to then-President Vladislav Ardzinba.

The same year, Bagapsh ran for President against Raul Khajimba, Ardzinba's choice, and originally was forecast as losing to Khajimba.

A political crisis followed, with the Supreme Court of Abkhazia declaring Bagapsh the winner and protests against the election both by supporters of Bagapsh and Khajimba.

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 20 July 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 Khajimba, disputed the results.

The Abkhaz Electoral Commission originally declared Khajimba 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 Khajimba's supporters stormed the court building.

At one point, Bagapsh and his supporters threatened to hold their own inauguration on 6 December 2004.

However, in early December, Bagapsh and Khajimba reached an agreement to run together on a national unity ticket.

The two eventually ran on a national unity ticket, with Bagapsh becoming President and Khajimba becoming Vice President in 2005.

New elections were held on 12 January 2005, with this ticket easily winning.

Under the agreement, Bagapsh ran for president and Khajimba ran for vice-president.

Following Bagapsh's election, Russia placed an imports ban on Abkhazia, leading to several tangerines destined for Russian markets rotting at the border.

As President, Bagapsh lobbied for the international recognition of Abkhazia, eventually receiving recognition from Russia in 2008 following the successful capture of the Kodori Valley in the Russo-Georgian War by Russian and Abkhazian forces.

Following the country's recognition by Russia, widespread investment by Russian businesses and pressure to privatise assets drew both support and criticism.

He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election.

Bagapsh successfully won a second term against Khajimba before dying of heart failure on 29 May 2011, due to complications from a surgery to remove cancerous growths on his lung.