Ararat Samveli Mirzoyan (Armenian: Արարատ Սամվելի Միրզոյան; born 23 November 1979) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Before this, he served as President of the National Assembly of Armenia from January 2019 to August 2021.
Ararat Mirzoyan | |
|---|---|
| Արարատ Միրզոյան | |
 Mirzoyan in 2023 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 19 August 2021 | |
| President | Armen Sarkissian Vahagn Khachaturyan |
| Prime Minister | Nikol Pashinyan |
| Preceded by | Ara Ayvazyan |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia | |
| In office 11 May 2018 – 12 January 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Nikol Pashinyan |
| Preceded by | Karen Karapetyan |
| Succeeded by | post abolished |
| Member of the National Assembly of Armenia | |
| In office 2 April 2017 – 11 May 2018 | |
| Parliamentary group | Way Out Alliance (Yelk) |
| Constituency | Electoral District #3 Yerevan Districts Malatia-Sebastia & Shengavit |
| President of the National Assembly of Armenia | |
| In office 14 January 2019 – 2 August 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Nikol Pashinyan |
| Preceded by | Ara Babloyan |
| Succeeded by | Alen Simonyan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 November 1979 Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Civil Contract |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Yerevan State University |
As a founding member of the Civil Contract Party,[1] he ran under the Way Out Alliance during the 2017 parliamentary election and was elected to represent the third electoral district, consisting of the Malatia-Sebastia and Shengavit neighbourhoods of Yerevan.
Professional career
editPrior to running as a political candidate, Mirzoyan worked at a number of employers in Armenia, including the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, HSBC Bank Armenia, REGNUM News Agency, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.[2]
In early 2021, a handwritten letter was made public by Mikayel Minasyan, son-in-law of former president Serzh Sargsyan, wherein Mirzoyan agrees to be an agent for Armenia's National Security Service (NSS).[3] Minasyan claimed that the agreement was made under pressure after it was discovered Mirzoyan was spying for Turkey. Both Mirzoyan and the NSS initially denied the authenticity of the letter; however, Mirzoyan eventually admitted the letter's authenticity, while denying that he was ever a spy for Turkey.[4]
Political career
editA strong opponent of Serzh Sargsyan, Mirzoyan was instrumental in the 2018 Armenian Velvet Revolution against Sargsyan's transition from President to Prime Minister. Notably, on 11 April 2018, he lit smoke flares during a speech in the National Assembly to call attention to the planned protests, which eventually did result in Sargsyan's resignation.[5]
In May 2018, after Nikol Pashinyan replaced Sargsyan as Prime Minister, Mirzoyan was appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister under the new administration,[6] meaning he had to give up his seat in parliament. In January 2019 Mirzoyan was elected President of the National Assembly of Armenia, a position he held until August 2021. On 19 August 2021, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.[7]
Personal life
editHe is married and has two children. He holds a Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Education of Armenia (awarded in 2016).
2020 beating
editOn the morning of 10 November 2020, protesters seized the parliament building and pulled Mirzoyan from a car, demanding to know the whereabouts of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who announced a peace treaty with Azerbaijan just hours earlier to end the Nagorno-Karabakh War.[8][9] In the presence of his child, Mirzoyan was beaten by a mob and was later taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery and was said to be in a good condition.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Biography of Ararat Mirzoyan". National Assembly of Armenia. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ "Ararat Mirzoyan appointed First Deputy Prime Minister".
- ^ "Armenian ex-ambassador: Parliament speaker is an agent of the Turkish special services". News.am. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Armenia Parliament Speaker: National Security Service asked for my support, and I expressed my willingness". news.am. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Up In Smoke: Armenia Lawmakers Ignite Flares In Parliament To Protest Sarkisian Shift". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ "Ararat Mirzoyan: Armenia's New First Deputy Prime Minister". Hetq. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Ararat Mirzoyan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ "Протестующие избили спикера парламента Армении". RIA (in Russian). 10 November 2020.
- ^ "Демонстранты захватили здание парламента Армении". Interfax (in Russian).
- ^ Troianovski, Anton (10 November 2020). "In Bitter Nagorno-Karabakh War, a Reordering of Regional Powers". The New York Times. Moscow. Retrieved 12 November 2020.