Vahagn Khachaturyan

Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan (Armenian: Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատուրյան, pronounced [vɑˈhɑɡən χɑt͡ʃʰɑtuɾˈjɑn]; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian economist and politician who has served as the fifth and current president of Armenia since 2022.^[1] He previously served as mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and minister of High-Tech Industry from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.^[2][3]

His Excellency Vahagn Khachaturyan
Վահագն Խաչատուրյան
Khachaturyan in 2022
5th President of Armenia
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 March 2022
Prime Minister	Nikol Pashinyan
Preceded by	Armen Sarkissian Alen Simonyan (acting)
Minister of High-Tech Industry
In office 4 August 2021 – 3 March 2022
Prime Minister	Nikol Pashinyan
Preceded by	Hayk Chobanyan
Succeeded by	Davit Sahakyan (acting) Robert Khachatryan
Mayor of Yerevan
In office 4 December 1992 – 22 February 1996
Preceded by	Hambardzum Galstyan
Succeeded by	Ashot Mirzoyan
Personal details
Born	(1959-04-22) 22 April 1959 (age 66) Sisian, Armenian SSR
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Armenian National Congress (2013–2022)
Spouse	Anahit Minasyan
Children	2
Occupation	Economist
Website	www.vahagnhacaturyan.com

He was a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) until his resignation in 2022, although he had not participated in party activities since 2017.^[4][5] He led the ANC list in the 2013 Yerevan City Council election.^[6][7]

Personal life

Khachaturyan was born in 1959 in Sisian. He is married to Anahit Minasyan and has two children. Besides his native Armenian, he also speaks Russian and English.

Early career

He graduated from the Yerevan Institute of National Economy in 1980, with the qualification of economist. From 1980 to 1982, he served in the Soviet Army. After fulfilling his national service, he carried out for the next decade pedagogical activities at the Yerevan Institute, working for the first eight years at the HrazdanMash (Hrazdan Instrumental Production) Enterprise as an economist and then at the Mars Factory as the deputy general director until 1992.

Political career

From 1990 to 1996, Khachaturyan was a member of the Yerevan City Council, and from 1992 to 1996 he held the mayorship of Yerevan. He was a deputy in the National Assembly of Armenia from 1995 to 1999.^[8] From 1996 to 1998 he was an adviser to President Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

In 2002 he became Vice President of the Center for Political Science, Law, and Economic Research. He was appointed to the government as Minister of High-Tech Industry in 2021.

Presidency (2022–present)

Salome Zourabichvili and President Khachaturyan meeting in Tbilisi, 30 May 2022.

Following the resignation of President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian in January 2022, the ruling Civil Contract Party nominated Khachaturyan for the presidency.^[9] He was elected president by the Armenian parliament in the second round of voting.^[10] He was inaugurated on 13 March 2022.^[11]

Khachaturyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, 16 June 2022

In June 2022, he visited the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on its 25th anniversary in St. Petersburg, Russia.^[12]

Other activities

• 2000: Founding member of the ARMAT Center for Democracy and Civil Society Development
• 2006: Founding member of the social and political initiatives "Aylyntrank"
• 2019–2021: Member of the Board of the Armeconombank