Doku Zavgayev

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Gapurovich and the family name is Zavgayev.

Doku Zavgayev
Завгаев Доку
Zavgayev in 2013
Head of the Chechen Republic
In office 24 October 1995 – March 1996
Preceded by	Salambek Khadzhiyev
Succeeded by	Sanaki Arbiyev
First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR
In office 1 July 1989 – 6 September 1991
Preceded by	Vladimir Foteyev
Succeeded by	Position abolished (Dzhokhar Dudayev as President of Ichkeria)
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR
In office March 1990 – 6 September 1991
First Secretary	Himself
Preceded by	Khazhbikar Bokov
Succeeded by	Lecha Magomedov
Personal details
Born	(1940-12-22) 22 December 1940 Beno-Yurt, Checheno-Ingush ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Chechnya, Russia)
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (until 1991)
Other offices 1996–2004: Russian ambassador to Tanzania 2004–2009: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2009–2019: Russian ambassador to Slovenia

Doku Gapurovich Zavgayev (Russian: Доку Гапурович Завгаев; Chechen: Завгаев Доку; born 22 December 1940) is a Soviet and Russian diplomat and politician from Chechnya. He was the leader of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR.

Communist leadership

In 1989, Zavgayev, a former collective farm manager and senior Communist Party official, was elected as the first Chechen First Secretary of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR since the Chechens' return in 1957.

In August 1991 Zavgayev, then communist leader of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR, supported the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

On 6 September 1991, supporters of the All-National Congress of the Chechen People (NCChP) led by Dzhokhar Dudayev, stormed a session of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR Supreme Soviet, killing the Soviet Communist Party chief for Grozny, Vitaly Kutsenko, severely injuring several other Soviet members, and establishing the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Zavgayev, the Chairman of the Soviet, was not present. Trying to avoid further bloodshed he was compelled to leave the republic, publicly announcing that he would return.

First Chechen War

By 1994, both the president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin and the heads of the "force ministries" were convinced by Zavgayev that Russia should actively intervene in Chechnya. Zavgayev was appointed a pro-Moscow head of state on 24 October 1995, and was elected in December the same year with 96% of the votes.

On 8 December 1995, Zavgayev and Viktor Chernomyrdin signed an agreement as a basis for a Russian-Chechen federation treaty which would give Chechnya broad autonomy akin to that of Tatarstan.

Postwar career

After the 1996 withdrawal of the Russian forces from Chechnya, Zavgayev was appointed Russia's ambassador in Tanzania. From February 2004 he was Deputy Foreign Minister and he was Director General of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from August 2004 to September 2009. From September 2009 to November 2019 he was Russia's ambassador in Slovenia.