Jirair Sefilian

Jirair Sefilian
Sefilian in 2020
Native name
Ժիրայր Սէֆիլեան
Born (1967-07-10) 10 July 1967 (age 57)
Beirut, Lebanon
Allegiance Armenia
 Republic of Artsakh
Service/branchArmed Forces of Armenia
Years of service1983–1998
RankLieutenant colonel
CommandsShushi Military Company
NKR Defense Army Brigade
Battles/wars
Awards

Jirair Simoni Sefilian (Armenian: Ժիրայր Սիմոնի Սէֆիլեան (classical), Ժիրայր Սիմոնի Սեֆիլյան (reformed); born July 10, 1967) is a Lebanese-born Armenian military commander and political activist. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, he commanded the Shushi special military battalion, playing a significant role during the Battle of Shusha. From 1997 to 1998 Sefilian was a Brigade Commander in the Artsakh Defence Army.[2]

He has long campaigned against any territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and against Russian influence in Armenia. Sefilian is one of the key figures of the Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party and the National Democratic Pole.

  1. ^ Ղարաբաղյան ազատագրական պատերազմ 1988-1994, encyclopedia, Yerevan, p. 591
  2. ^ Atanesian, Grigor (September 24, 2018). "Armenia's hardliners try going mainstream". eurasianet.org. Retrieved May 19, 2021.