Serzh Sargsyan President of Armenia since 2008 Date of Birth: 30.06.1954 Country: Armenia

1. Biography of Serzh Sargsyan
2. Early Life and Career
3. Presidency and Resignation
4. Later Years and Controversy
5. Personal Life

Biography of Serzh Sargsyan

Serzh Azatovich Sargsyan, born on June 30, 1954, in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR, is a former Armenian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Armenia twice and as the third President of Armenia.

Early Life and Career

Sargsyan attended Yerevan State University in 1971 and served in the Soviet Armed Forces from 1971 to 1972. He graduated from the university's Faculty of Philology in 1979. Sargsyan's career officially began in 1975 at an electrical equipment factory in Yerevan. He then served as the Chairman of the Youth Association Committee of the Communist Party in Stepanakert and held various positions within the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.

Due to the growing tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Sargsyan became the Chairman of the Self-Defense Forces Committee of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and was subsequently elected to the Supreme Council of Armenia in 1990. From 1993 to 1995, Sargsyan served as the Minister of Defense of Armenia. He later held positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Security. From 1999 to 2001, Sargsyan served as the Chief of Staff to President Robert Kocharyan. From 1999 to 2007, he served as the Secretary of the National Security Council under President Kocharyan and as the Minister of Defense from 2000 to 2007.

Presidency and Resignation

On April 4, 2007, Sargsyan was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia following the sudden death of Andranik Margaryan. Supported by Kocharyan, Sargsyan was considered the leading candidate for the presidential elections in February 2008. He won the election with 53% of the votes, defeating Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

However, the presidential elections were marred by protests and allegations of electoral fraud. The protests, led by Ter-Petrosyan's supporters, resulted in a violent crackdown by the authorities, leading to the deaths of 10 individuals. The state of emergency was declared from March 1 to March 20, 2008. Sargsyan was inaugurated on April 9, 2008, and appointed Tigran Sargsyan as the Prime Minister.

Later Years and Controversy

In 2011, protests against Sargsyan's regime began, with demonstrators calling for the release of political prisoners and his resignation due to alleged corruption. In 2013, Sargsyan was re-elected as President with 58.64% of the votes. In 2015, Armenia transitioned from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic through a constitutional referendum.

In July 2016, large-scale protests erupted in Yerevan, demanding the release of political prisoners and the removal of Sargsyan due to corruption allegations. The Armenian National Security Service described the protests as a "terrorist" attack, but a significant number of Armenian citizens disagreed with this interpretation.

In March 2018, Armen Sarkissian was elected as the President of the Republic of Armenia. Shortly after Sarkissian took office on April 9, 2018, Sargsyan was elected as the Prime Minister. However, widespread protests erupted against Sargsyan, accusing him of a "power grab." As a result of the growing discontent, Sargsyan resigned on April 23, 2018, and was replaced by Karen Karapetyan as Prime Minister.

Personal Life

In 1983, Sargsyan married Rita Aleksandrovna, and they have two daughters, Anush and Satenik. They also have two granddaughters, Mariam and Rita, and two grandsons, Ara and Serzh. Sargsyan is the Chairman of the Armenian Chess Federation and is fluent in Armenian and Russian.