President of Ichkeria

Not to be confused with the head of the Chechen Republic, the Head of State and Head of Government of Chechnya, a republic of Russia.

President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
State flag
Longest serving Dzokhar Dudayev 1 November 1991 – 21 April 1996
Type	Head of state
Residence	Presidential Palace, Grozny
Appointer	Direct election
Precursor	Representative of President of Russia
Formation	9 November 1991
First holder	Dzhokhar Dudayev
Final holder	Dokka Umarov
Abolished	31 October 2007
Superseded by	President of the Chechen Republic Emir of the Caucasus Emirate
Deputy	Vice President of Ichkeria

The president of Ichkeria, formally the president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was the head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1991 to 2007, the Islamic Republic that existed until the victory of the Russian Federation in the Second Chechen War.

This is a list of presidents of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a de facto state in Chechnya that controlled most of the former Checheno-Ingush ASSR from 1991 to 2007 (see First Chechen War, Second Chechen War). Ichkeria's last presidential elections were held in January 1997.

Presidents of Ichkeria

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Party		Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Dzhokhar Dudayev (1944–1996)	9 November 1991	21 April 1996 †	4 years, 164 days		Independent	1991
–		Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev (1952–2004) acting	21 April 1996	12 February 1997	297 days		Vainakh Democratic Party	–
3		Aslan Maskhadov (1951–2005)	12 February 1997	February 2000	2 years, 359 days		National Independence Party	1997

Generally recognized presidents-in-exile

• Aslan Maskhadov (February 2000 – 8 March 2005)
• Abdul-Halim Sadulayev (acting, 8 March 2005 – 17 June 2006)
• Dokka Umarov (acting, 17 June 2006 – 31 October 2007)

Formation of the Caucasus Emirate and dispute

On 31 October 2007, the separatist news agency Chechenpress reported that Dokka Umarov, the president of Ichkeria, had proclaimed the Caucasus Emirate and declared himself its Emir, thereby abolishing the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and its presidency. This move was denounced by parts of the Chechen exile movement. Akhmed Zakayev was subsequently appointed Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's government-in-exile.

Last election

Main article: 1997 Chechen presidential election

Candidate	Votes	%
Aslan Maskhadov		64.8
Shamil Basayev		22.7
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev		12.5
Others
Total		100
Source: ISSI

See also

• Politics of Chechnya
• List of leaders of Communist Chechnya
• Head of the Chechen Republic – list of leaders of Chechnya since 2003

Sources

• [1] World Statesmen.org
• Galeotti, Mark (2014). Russia's Wars in Chechnya 1994-2009. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781782002772.