Robert Kocharyan

Robert Kocharyan
Ռոբերտ Քոչարյան
Official portrait, c. 1998
2nd President of Armenia
In office
9 April 1998 – 9 April 2008
Acting: 4 February – 9 April 1998
Prime MinisterArmen Darbinyan
Vazgen Sargsyan
Aram Sargsyan
Andranik Margaryan
Serzh Sargsyan
Preceded byLevon Ter-Petrosyan
Succeeded bySerzh Sargsyan
6th Prime Minister of Armenia
In office
20 March 1997 – 10 April 1998
PresidentLevon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded byArmen Sargsyan
Succeeded byArmen Darbinyan
1st President of Nagorno-Karabakh
In office
29 December 1994 – 20 March 1997
Prime MinisterLeonard Petrosyan
Preceded byGaren Baburyan [hy] (Acting)
Succeeded byLeonard Petrosyan (Acting)
2nd Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh
In office
August 1992 – 29 December 1994
PresidentGeorgy Petrosyan (Acting)
Karen Baburyan (Acting)
Preceded byOleg Yesayan
Succeeded byLeonard Petrosyan
Personal details
Born (1954-08-31) 31 August 1954 (age 70)
Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Soviet Union
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Armenia Alliance
SpouseBella Kocharyan
Children3
Alma materNational Polytechnic University of Armenia
Signature
Websiterobertkocharyan.am

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan (Armenian: Ռոբերտ Սեդրակի Քոչարյան pronounced [rɔˈbɛɾt sɛtʰɾɑˈki kʰɔtʃʰɑɾˈjɑn]; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008 and as Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.

Kocharyan was elected president of Armenia twice, in 1998 and 2003; both presidential elections were held in two rounds. During most of his presidency, between 2001 and 2007, Armenia's economy grew on average by 12% annually,[1] largely due to a construction boom.[2] While Kocharyan's supporters credit him with securing Armenia's economic growth during his presidency, his critics accuse him of promoting corruption and the creation of an oligarchic system of government in Armenia.[3][4]

On July 26, 2018 Kocharyan was charged in connection with the crackdown on the 2008 Armenian presidential election protests in the final weeks of his presidency, which resulted in the deaths of ten people.[5] Kocharyan's trial began on 13 May 2019.[6] The trial ended in March 2021 after the Constitutional Court of Armenia declared unconstitutional the article of the criminal code under which Kocharyan was being tried.[7]

Kocharyan returned to active participation in Armenian politics following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. He participated in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election as the head of the Armenia Alliance with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Reborn Armenia party, which came in second place after Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party and entered parliament as the opposition.[8]

  1. ^ "Country Information". United Nations in Armenia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. ^ Abrahamyan, Gayane (20 November 2012). "Rotating Around Presidents: Kocharyan's "shadow" a curse or a blessing for Armenia?". ArmeniaNow. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference anniversary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Elliott, Raffi (10 May 2021). "Former President Kocharyan Looks and Acts Like New Candidate". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  5. ^ Hambardzumian, Artak (27 July 2018). "Kocharian Charged Over 2008 Crackdown". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան (in Armenian). Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  6. ^ "Armenian Ex-President Kocharian Goes on Trial in Yerevan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 13 May 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).