Arkadi Ghukasyan Արկադի Ղուկասյան | |
|---|---|
) | |
| 2nd President of Nagorno-Karabakh | |
| In office 8 September 1997 – 7 September 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Leonard Petrosyan Zhirayr Poghosyan Anushavan Danielyan |
| Preceded by | Leonard Petrosyan (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Bako Sahakyan |
| Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh | |
| In office 23 July 1993 – 8 September 1997 | |
| President | Robert Kocharyan Leonard Petrosyan |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Naira Melkumian |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 June 1957 Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Yerevan State University |
Arkadi Ghukasyan (Armenian: Արկադի Ղուկասյան, born 22 June 1957) was the second President of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He was elected as the President on 8 September 1997 and re-elected in 2002, until his term ended on 7 September 2007 and was succeeded by Bako Sahakyan.
Born in Stepanakert, in the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Republic of the Azerbaijan SSR on 22 June 1957, he graduated in 1979 from Yerevan State University with a degree in linguistics. He started his working career as a correspondent for "Soviet Karabagh" newspaper, becoming its Deputy Editor-in-Chief in 1981.
In 1991 Ghukasyan was elected to the first Parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In September 1992, he was appointed Political Adviser to the Chairman of the State Defense Committee (SDC), and headed the NKR delegations during OSCE negotiations with Azerbaijan.
Ghukasyan has been a member of Nagorno-Karabakh's Security Council since 1993. On 23 July 1993 he became the first Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
He survived an assassination attempt in 2000. Samvel Babayan, whom he had recently sacked as defence minister, was convicted of organising the attack and sentenced to 14 years in prison.[1] Babayan was released from imprisonment on 18 September 2004 due to health concerns, with the terms of release including a probationary period and continued disenfranchisement.[2]
He has divorced once and remarried.
References
- ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Country profiles | Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh
- ^ "The rise and fall of Samvel Babayan". Armenian News Network / Groong. University of Southern California. 6 October 2004.
External links
| Preceded by Leonard Petrosyan | President of Nagorno-Karabakh 1997–2007 | Succeeded by Bako Sahakyan |