Robert Kocharyan: biography, family, career and photos

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Probably, few will be able to make such a dizzying career from a fitter to the head of state. Robert Kocharyan was elected president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and then twice - of Armenia. And if we take into account that he temporarily acted as the guarantor of the Constitution for a short time, then in fact four times the presidential photo of Robert Kocharyan hung in all state institutions of the country.

Early years

Robert Kocharyan was born on August 31, 1954 in an Armenian family on the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR, in the city of Stepanakert (at that time - the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region). The city got its name in 1923, when the small settlement of Khankendy was renamed in honor of the Armenian revolutionary Stepan Shaumyan. Father, Kocharyan Sedrak Sarkisovich, was an agronomist (candidate of agricultural sciences), de alt with agricultural issues in the region. He worked as the first deputy executive committee of the regional council of the autonomy and in other responsible positions. Mother, Emma ArsenovnaOhanyan, a researcher, a veterinarian by profession, graduated from the Yerevan Zooveterinary Institute.

Robert Kocharyan says that he had the most ordinary childhood: he tried to study well, helped his parents. He graduated from high school in 1971, after which he entered the correspondence department of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Before being called up for military service, he worked as a fitter in his hometown at an electrical plant.

Start in employment

From 1972 to 1973 he served in the Soviet army. Robert Kocharyan believes that all guys should serve in the army, so his sons also served in the army. After demobilization, he continued his studies at the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, from which he graduated with honors in 1982. After a year of work as an engineer, he switched to Komsomol work (1981-1985), then, from 1985 to 1990, led the party organization of the Karabakh silk factory.

Since the winter of 1988, Kocharyan has become one of the leaders of the Artsakh movement, which fought for the inclusion of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomy into Armenia. Artsakh is the ancient name of the region. In November-December of the same year, ethnic clashes began, as a result of which about 300 people died. A counter mass exodus of the population began: Azerbaijanis left Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenians fled from Azerbaijan.

In the unrecognized republic

In 1991, Kocharyan was elected to the Supreme CouncilNagorno-Karabakh, headed the committee on economy, then became chairman. From 1992 to 1994, open hostilities took place between the Azerbaijani troops and the Armenian formations of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). Kocharyan at that time headed the State Defense Committee, which had full military and civilian power. In this war, at the first stage, Azerbaijani troops managed to capture a significant part of the territory of Karabakh. However, then the Armenian combat detachments not only recaptured their land, but also captured several villages of Azerbaijan. The truce was concluded with the mediation of Russia and the OSCE. In the biography of Robert Kocharyan, these were the most difficult years when a politician could not make serious mistakes.

In 1996 he was elected president of the unrecognized NKR, his main task was reunification with Armenia. At this time, Robert Kocharyan's popularity among the Armenian population began to grow, associated with his decisive position during the military conflict. Many believed that it was thanks to his leadership that the war with Azerbaijan was won.

In the leadership of Armenia

In the spring of 1997, Kocharyan was appointed Prime Minister of Armenia. President Ter-Petrosyan wanted to strengthen his position by having a popular politician in government. After the resignation of the head of state in 1998, he became acting president. Robert Kocharyan soon became the elected head of state, after elections held in March of that year. In 2003 he was re-elected for a second term,with 67.5% of the vote.

President Robert Kocharian has repeatedly declared his commitment to European values and the desire to create a state according to the best European models. At the same time, he always emphasized the special friendly relations with Russia and the need to maintain the Russian military presence. That, however, did not prevent joint exercises with NATO. In 2008, during the transfer of power to President-elect Serzh Sargsyan, he had to impose martial law to pacify the opposition, who disagreed with the election results.

Rich or poor?

The opposition has repeatedly accused the second president of Armenia of money laundering and corruption. In particular, it was reported that the fortune of Robert Kocharyan is estimated at 4-5 billion US dollars. At one of the rallies, the former Prime Minister of the country, Hrant Bagratyan, said that the former president is one of the four richest people in the post-Soviet space. And that it is unacceptable to combine business and government, citing the example of the United States, where, according to him, out of 45 presidents there was not a single rich man.

Kocharyan himself categorically denies all these accusations, according to him, everyone who understands even a little about the economy understands the absurdity of such fabrications. In a country with a budget of 2.5 billion US dollars a year, it is even theoretically impossible to make a fortune of 4 billion. He repeatedly refuted the absurd, in his opinion, accusations. Then I just decided to ignore them.

Personal Information

Wife Bella Levonovna Kocharyan is actively involved in charitable and social activities, runs the Armenian office of the Vladimir Spivakov International Gifted Children's Foundation. The couple has three children: two sons and a daughter. The eldest son Sedrak works in one of the commercial Armenian banks, the younger children Levon and Gayane study at the Yerevan State University.

Robrt Kocharyan is actively involved in sports in his free time - he plays basketball and swims. Among his constant hobbies are jazz and hunting. A parishioner of the Armenian Apostolic Church, he was baptized in 1995 in the Gandzasar monastery. He was baptized by the Archbishop of the Artsakh Diocese Pargev Martirosyan.