Karen Karapetyan is an economist and politician who currently holds the post of Prime Minister of Armenia. Over the years, he was the mayor of Yerevan, worked in the leadership of Gazprom, was engaged in scientific detail and published articles on the economy.
Education and becoming
Karen Karapetyan was born in 1963 in Stepanakert, in Nagorno-Karabakh. Soon his family moved to Armenia, where he studied at Yerevan School No. 128. He also decided to continue his education in the capital of the Armenian SSR, entering the Yerevan State University. Karen Karapetyan studied well and in 1980 he graduated with honors from the most complicated faculty of applied mathematics.
After receiving higher education, he went to work in the counting center of the State Planning Committee of Armenia, in parallel with this he was engaged in scientific activities. In 1989, Karapetyan successfully defended his Ph. D. thesis on a highly specialized economic topic.
In Soviet times, he did not yet think about political activity, fully concentrating on work and science.
The winds of perestroika, which revived the political sphere of public life in the republics of the USSR, did not affect him either. Karen Karapetyan continued to work at the State Planning Commission, paying little attention to the changes taking place around.
Business activities in independent Armenia
After gaining independence by Armenia, the theoretical economist continues his academic activities for several years. He is a member of the Association of Scientists and Cultural Figures and teaches at Yerevan State University.
However, after a few years, Karen Karapetyan's biography undergoes drastic changes. According to rumors in society, he was a relative of the influential Robert Kocharyan, who later became the president of the country.
Whether it's true or not, in 1996 the theoretical economist got the opportunity to put his knowledge and skills into practice.
Relatively young Karen Karapetyan was appointed to the responsible position of Deputy Chairman of "Armenergo". Two years later, he headed the energy complex of the republic and led it until 2001. Then Karapetyan was promoted and received the portfolio of the Minister of Energy of Armenia.
Karen Karapetyan did not work long in the Cabinet of Ministers, in the same 2001, on the recommendation of Robert Kocheryan, he was nominated as the general director of the Armenian-Russian joint venture ArmRosgazprom. Here he proved himself to be a fairly successful and efficient manager and worked until 2010.
Yerevan Mayor
Having reached maturity, Karen Karapetyan decided to prove himself in the political field. He began by being elected to the Council of Elders of Yerevan in 2009from the Republican Party of Armenia. In December 2010, by decision of the Council, Karapetyan was elected mayor of the city and soon assumed the duties of the mayor of the Armenian capital.
After ten years accustomed to the sole leadership of a large company, the new mayor began his work with loud statements and demands, regardless of the resistance and the political situation. In 2011, he set a condition for city hall employees to learn English and improve their Russian skills.
This decision was met with controversy by his staff. If the young guys were glad of the opportunity to improve their English, and even during working hours, then the old people unanimously took up arms against such a language educational program, suspecting the boss of wanting to get rid of the old staff.
War with the street
However, these were only flowers, the new mayor caused a real storm of anger in his address by a war with street vendors. As in any eastern city, the tradition of trading in the open air was of particular importance in Yerevan, thousands of people were fed from it. Therefore, the mayor's decision to ban street trading unleashed a real war. Angry merchants staged demonstrations and rallies near the city hall, demanding the restoration of their rights, the opposition joined them and also attacked Karen Karapetyan.
However, the mayor did not give up, the next step to beautify the city was the massive demolition of stalls and kiosks. To avoid an explosion, the President of Armenia had to intervene, who cooled the ardor of the mayor and asked him to suspend the programfor the improvement of the city.
From Yerevan to Moscow and back
In 2011, Karen Karapetyan left the hot post of Mayor of Yerevan. This was due to an invitation to work at the central office of Gazprom. The effective manager has proven himself well over time in the Armenian division of the gas giant and was invited to the position of Vice President of Gazprombank. For several years, he changed a number of high posts until he was appointed Deputy General Director of Gazprom's international projects.
By 2016, the course of Armenia's foreign policy began to shift towards Russia, and President Serzh Sargsyan decided to return the former mayor of Yerevan to the country and put him at the head of the cabinet.
Sargsyan made no secret of the fact that he appointed an experienced manager as prime minister in order to improve relations with Russia and attract investments from Moscow to the country.
Becoming chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, the politician immediately announced a program of fundamental reforms of the country's economy aimed at eradicating corruption and improving the business climate.
Family
The current prime minister is married. The children of Karen Karapetyan are already adults and are actively trying their hand at government and business activities in various positions.
