Bagapsh became Prime Minister of Abkhazia in 1997, overseeing a brief, but successful, war with Georgia during a high point of tensions and the displacement of 30,000 Georgian civilians.

Bagapsh won a second term against Khajimba before dying of heart failure on 29 May 2011, due to complications from a surgery to remove cancerous growths on his lung.

[citation needed] Georgian-Abkhazian tensions during Bagapsh's term in office reached a height in May 1998, following attacks by Georgian insurgents on peacekeeping forces from the Commonwealth of Independent States.

[7] On 20 July 2004, United Abkhazia joined forces with Amtsakhara, another important opposition party, and the two named him as their joint candidate for the coming October presidential elections, beating out other hopefuls, such as former foreign minister Sergey Shamba.

[citation needed] Following Bagapsh's election, Russia placed an imports ban on Abkhazia, leading to several tangerines destined for Russian markets rotting at the border.

[10] Following Russia's recognition of Abkhaz independence, Russian businesses began to invest extensively within the country, particularly in real estate, infrastructure, and energy.

[8] Bagapsh first addressed the matter of his candidacy in the 12 December 2009 presidential election when, during a press conference in Moscow on 18 April 2009, he announced that he would probably make use of his constitutional right to run for a second term.

[11] Bagapsh was nominated on 27 October by United Abkhazia, with Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab of Aitaira as his vice presidential candidate.

[citation needed] Abkhaz parliament speaker Nugzar Ashuba told Russian state television that, although the death was completely unexpected, the situation remains calm.

[16] Russian president Dmitry Medvedev offered his condolences saying: "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close bilateral ties between our countries.

On 26 January 2012, the City Council of Sukhumi unanimously accepted a proposal by Mayor Alias Labakhua to rename the Square of the Constitution of the USSR after Bagapsh.