Mustafa Mahmudov was an Azerbaijani

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 political leader who was instrumental in the nation's independence moevement in the early 1900s. He served as a member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the second Russian State Duma

State Duma

The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...

 in 1907 and was Deputy Secretary of the Azerbaijani National Council

Azerbaijani National Council

Azerbaijani National Council was the first delegated legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from 27 May 1918 to 17 June 1918 and again from 16 November 1918 to 3 December 1918...

 at its initiation in 1918. Mahmudov also was a member of Azerbaijan's Commission on Agriculture. He represented the Musavat political party.