Vazgen Sargsyan

nationality=Armenian


imagesize= 150px
order=12th Prime Minister of Armenia
term_start=11 June 1999
term_end=27 October 1999
predecessor=Armen Darbinyan
successor=Aram Sargsyan
birth_date=March 5, 1959
birth_place=Ararat, Armenian SSR
death_date=October 27, 1999
death_place=Armenian parliament, Yerevan, Armenia
spouse=
party=Republican Party
vicepresident=

Vazgen Sargsyan ( _hy. Վազգեն Սարգսյան, March 5, 1959 – October 27 1999 [Anon. [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/05/07/europe.killings/index.html Timeline: Recent killings of politicians] . CNN. Retrieved July 17, 2008.] ; also written Vasgen Sarkisyan, Sarkissian or Sarkisyan) was Prime Minister of Armenia for the Republican Party of Armenia from June 11, 1999 to October 27, 1999 until his assassination in what is known as the Armenian parliament shooting. He was well-known as a military leader, the first Minister of Defense of Armenia, awarded by "Artsakh hero" and "National Hero of Armenia" (posthumously) titles. In 1992 he organized the "Mahaparts" special battalion. [ [http://www.armeniatv.am/news.php?vid=1235&year=2007&month=10&day=23 Mahaparts celebrate the 15th anniversary of establishment, ArmeniaTV, 2007-10-23] ]

Early life

Sargsyan was born in Ararat, Armenian SSR. He graduated from Yerevan State Institute of Physical Education in 1979 before working as a physical instruction teacher in a village school in Ararat.Armenian Ministry of Defence. [http://www.mil.am/eng/index.php?page=26 Vazgen Sargsyan] . Armenian Ministry of Defence. Accessed July 17, 2008.] From 1983 to 1986 he was the Communist Youth League leader at the cement factory in Ararat. An amateur writer, Sargsyan then moved into literary life. From 1986 to 1989 he was head of the publicity department of the "Garun" (Spring) literary monthly in Yerevan. But the Armenian national ferment of the late 1980s saw him abandon this role as he flung himself headlong into political life.

Political career

Sargsyan's rise to the top started when, as a former Communist Youth league organiser, he joined the growing movement for the mainly-Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to be transferred from Azerbaijani to Armenian jurisdiction. He was elected to the Armenian parliament in the 1990 elections, the first semi-free elections Armenia had held, where he became a member of the Internal Affairs and State Defence Committee. Between 1990 and 1992 he spent much time in Karabakh itself, commanding irregular troops in their fight against Soviet and Azerbaijani forces.

Defense minister

From 1992-1993 he was defence minister of Armenia, while from 1993-1995 he was state minister in charge of defence. In 1995, during the restructuring of government ministries, he once again became defence minister. In these various capacities he laid the groundwork for building Armenia's army, a cause dear to his heart. He controlled the fledgling armed forces during the height of the fighting in Karabakh, in which Armenia's forces were heavily involved,

He also controlled his own private army of Karabakh veterans, the Yerkrapah (Defenders of the Homeland). After the 1994 Karabakh ceasefire he unleashed them on people he disliked within Armenia, especially political opponents, human rights activists and members of religious minorities, who suffered brutal attacks in 1995 initiated by Sargsyan.

Prime minister

Despite ensuring that President Ter-Petrosyan's side won the disputed 1995 election, and crushing street protests against the manipulated results, Sargsyan abandoned him in late 1997 and switched his support to prime minister Robert Kocharyan, who soon took over as president.

After serving as defense minister, he was appointed prime minister on June 11 by President Kocharyan. Sargsyan was killed, however, along with parliament speaker and former communist leader Karen Demirchyan and several other politicians when gunmen, headed by journalist Nairi Hunanyan took over the parliament building. The other parliament members were held as hostages until the next day. A week later, Vazgen's brother, Aram Sargsyan became prime minister until May 2000. He was buried at Yerablur military cemetery. [ [http://www.hetq.am/eng/politics/0605-vshirkhanyan.html "The best, most devoted, most honest guys were in the vanguard and they were killed."] ]

Legacy

Following his death, Sargsyan was posthumously awarded with the title of hero. Numerous streets and schools in Karabakh were also named after him. The song "Sparapet" ("Commander") by Alla Levonyan is dedicated to his memory.

References

Links

* [http://www.mil.am/eng/?page=26 Vazgen Sargsyan's biography]

See also

*1999 Armenian parliament shooting