The longest serving First Secretary was Jabbor Rasulov, who came to power in 1961 and died in office in 1982. Rasulov’s successor was Rahmon Nabiyev, who was ousted in a corruption scandal in 1985. The position First Secretary was downgraded in November 1991 when then First Secretary Qahhor Mahkamov was appointed to the newly created executive position of President of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. Mahkamov was the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan to also serve as head of state of Tajikistan when he resigned his office on August 31, 1991 following his support of the August Coup in Moscow. One of the most celebrated First Secretaries was Bobojon Ghafurov, a renowned scholar who wrote numerous works on the history of Tajikistan.