Tofig Gasimov

Tofig Gasimov Masim oglu (; 10 April 1938 – 29 January 2020) was an Azerbaijani politician and diplomat. He was Foreign Minister of Azerbajain from 1992 to 1993.

A member of the opposition Musavat Party and an outspoken critic of Azerbajain President Heydar Aliyev, Gasimov was jailed on accusations of providing "ideological support" for the 1995 Azerbaijani coup attempt. Prior to his arrest, Gasimov was set to be one of the leading candidates for the Musavat Party in the 1995 parliamentary elections (the party was eventually banned from contesting the elections). Human Rights Watch described the government's evidence against Gasimov as "shoddy" and Amnesty has raised concerns that the charges were fabricated.

Early life Gasimov was born in Leki village of Agdash Rayon, Azerbaijan. In 1945–1955, he studied in Agstafa city school. In 1955–1960, he was enrolled at Azerbaijan State University and graduated with a degree in Physics and Mathematics using Stalin scholarship. After graduation, he worked at the Physics Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. Gasimov continued with his post graduate studies at the Physics Institute of USSR Academy of Sciences and in 1969, he obtained his PhD degree. He then worked as a scientist at the National Academy of Sciences in Baku from 1970 on.

After being removed from his post, Gasimov tried to get elected to Azerbaijani Parliament as a member of Musavat during the November 1995 parliament elections but was jailed before the elections even took place.

Post political career Gasimov authored nearly 100 scientific publications. Tofig Gasimov was the co-founder of the Baku Scientists Club.

He was married and had 2 children. Gasimov was fluent in English, Russian and Turkish.