Anna Hakobyan

Anna Vachiki Hakobyan (Armenian: Աննա Վաչիկի Հակոբյան; born 1 February 1978) is an Armenian journalist and the spouse of the current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.^[1] She is the editor-in-chief of the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper.^[2] Unofficially, Hakobyan is regarded as the "First Lady of Armenia", a position that is reserved for the spouses of the President of Armenia.^[3][4][5]

Anna Hakobyan
Աննա Հակոբյան
Hakobyan in 2018
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Armenia
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 2018
Prime Minister	Nikol Pashinyan
Preceded by	Lilit Karapetyan (Acting)
Personal details
Born	(1978-02-01) 1 February 1978 (age 47) Armenian SSR, Soviet Union (now Armenia)
Spouse	Nikol Pashinyan
Children	4
Alma mater	Yerevan State University
Profession	Journalist
Signature
Website	Official website

Education and career

Anna Hakobyan was born on 1 February 1978, in the Armenian SSR. She graduated from the Yerevan State University.^[6] After she graduated, she began working as a journalist in Armenia. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper in Armenia, Haykakan Zhamanak.^[3]

2018 Velvet Revolution

Hakobyan played an active role in the 2018 Armenian revolution, which were a series of anti-government peaceful mass protests in response to the past president's third consecutive term.^[7] On 8 May 2018, Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister.^[8]

Spouse of the Prime Minister

Hakobyan in Moscow

Hakobyan with her husband, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Moldovan President Igor Dodon.

Hakobyan became the official spouse of the prime minister on 8 May 2018, following her husband's election as prime minister.

Charity work

Just after the election, Hakobyan initiated a meeting with the charitable organisations involved in pediatric cancer and specialists. During the meeting session under her leadership, a working group to improve the state of pediatric cancer in Armenia was formed. Currently, a charitable foundation, of which Hakobyan is the Honorary President, is in the formation process to support the development of pediatric oncology and hematology in Armenia.^[9]

On 7 September 2023, Hakobyan personally handed over 1,000+ smartphones, tablets and laptops for primary schoolchildren at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine.^[10] This was Armenia’s first humanitarian aid for Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022.^[10]

2020 War

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hakobyan went through a week-long training program for combat.^[11] She founded the Erato Detachment, which is the first all-women military unit in the Armenian Armed Forces.^[11]