Vahagn Khachaturian, an Armenian politician born in 1959, has held several administrative positions in commercial institutions and in the “Armenian National Congress” party before assuming the presidency of Armenia in March 2022. In addition to being a prominent Armenian politician, he is also a writer and author with several publications and professional articles in the fields of economics and politics.
Birth, Upbringing, and Education
Vahagn Garnik Khachaturian was born on April 22, 1959, in the city of Sisian in the Syunik Province of Armenia. He received his formal education and graduated from Yerevan Secondary School in 1976, obtaining a gold medal. Between 1976 and 1980, he studied political economics at the Yerevan Institute and graduated with a degree as an “economic expert”. He served in the Soviet Army for two years from 1980 to 1982.
Professional and Political Career
In 1982, Khachaturian began working at the “Hrazdan Mekina Production Association” as an economic expert and head of the economic research laboratory. From 1989 to 1992, he worked as the head of a department at the “Mars” factory and then as the deputy director-general of the factory. He started his socio-political activities in 1988, being elected as a deputy to the Yerevan City Council from 1990 to 1995, then as the head of the executive committee of the city council and later as the mayor. In 1995, he was elected as a deputy in the first session of the National Assembly of Armenia (Parliament) and became a member of the Standing Committee on Budgetary and Financial, Credit, and Economic Affairs. He also served as an advisor to the President of the Republic of Armenia between 1996 and 1998.
In 2000, Khachaturian contributed to the founding of the Center for Radical Democracy and Civil Society Development and was one of the founding members of the “Alternative” Social and Political Initiative in 2006. In 2013, he joined the “Armenian National Congress” party where he held the position of the head of the economic committee until February 2022. Between 2019 and 2021, Khachaturian was a member of the board of directors of “OJSIC Armicombank” and was appointed as the Minister of High-Tech Industry in the Republic of Armenia on August 4, 2021.
Vahagn as President of Armenia
On March 3, 2022, Khachaturian was elected as the President of Armenia in a special parliament session, becoming the fifth president of the republic. He secured the majority of votes from the ruling party in the parliament, while the opposition factions abstained from voting for him. The previous President of Armenia had resigned on the evening of January 23, 2022. His decision was stated to be a result of a crisis in the country that he was unable to overcome due to the lack of real tools to bring about change. This was attributed to the 2015 amendment to the Armenian constitution, designating the presidential position as ceremonial and transferring the country’s governance to the Prime Minister.
On the eve of his election as president, Khachaturian emphasized the importance of opposition participation in the elections.
Relationship with Russia
Vahagn Khachaturian is one of the prominent figures who attended the International Economic Forum held in Russia in June 2022, with almost no Western participation. He was seated next to speakers in the Russian Duma during the forum’s main session, which included a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Khachaturian praised Russian economic policies for curbing inflation, allowing the local economy to continue growing.
He also commended Putin’s role in brokering a ceasefire that ended the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 and continued peace efforts, stating, “I believe that the Armenian people appreciate your efforts towards resolving the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh”.
