Andranik Margaryan | |
|---|---|
Անդրանիկ Մարգարյան | |
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| 10thPrime Minister of Armenia | |
| In office 12 May 2000 – 25 March 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Aram Sargsyan |
| Succeeded by | Serzh Sargsyan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-06-12)June 12, 1951 Yerevan,Armenian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Died | March 25, 2007(2007-03-25) (aged 55) Yerevan,Armenia |
| Political party | Republican Party |
| Alma mater | State Engineering University of Armenia |
| Occupation | computer engineer |
Andranik Nahapeti Margaryan (Armenian:Անդրանիկ Նահապետի Մարգարյան; 12 June 1951 – 25 March 2007) was an Armenian politician who served as thePrime Minister of Armenia from 12 May 2000, when the President appointed him, until his death on 25 March 2007.[1] He was a member of theRepublican Party of Armenia.[2] He succeeded the Sargsyan brothers:Vazgen Sargsyan, who was murdered during theArmenian parliament shooting on 27 October 1999 andAram Sargsyan, whom the President appointed a week later, but fired on 2 May 2000.
Andranik Margaryan was born on 12 June 1949 inYerevan (in what was then theArmenian SSR of theSoviet Union) to a family ofArmenian genocide survivors originally fromSason,Turkey.[3] He studied cybernetics at theYerevan Polytechnic University and graduated as acomputer engineer.[4] He first became engaged inArmenian politics in the late 1970s when he joined an illegal political party, theNational United Party, that was campaigning for Armenia's secession from theSoviet Union.[4][5] He has served on the National United Party's board since 1973. Margaryan had been a longtime critic of the totalitarian government of the Soviet Union. He envisioned an independent, democratic Armenia. Police arrested him in 1974 and a court sentenced him to two years in Sovietlabor camps for proliferating unpatriotic ideas and activities.[4]
In 1992 after Armenia's independence, Margaryan became a registered member of theRepublican Party of Armenia (HHK), the first registered party in the 3rd Republic of Armenia.[citation needed] He influenced the party platform with the ideology he expressed as a member of the National United Party. He served as the Republican Party's Chairman of the Board from 1993 until his death. He had also been a member of the "Yerkrapah" Volunteer union since 1996 and served on the YVU's board.
In 2000 he was appointedPrime Minister of Armenia after the1999 Armenian parliament shooting led to the murder of then prime ministerVazgen Sargsyan. Vazgen's brother,Aram Sargsyan, who the President appointed a week later as prime minister, was fired on 2 May 2000, leading to Andranik Markaryan being appointed as the 14th prime minister of Armenia. He had planned to resign after the 12 May 2007, elections in Armenia. Throughout his career, he was awarded the “Garegin Nzhdeh” medal by theArmenian Defense Ministry alongside the “Aram Manukian”, “Fridtjof Nansen” and “Vazgen Sargsyan” medals.
Andranik Margaryan died of aheart attack on 25 March 2007, after nearly seven years in office, the second prime minister of Armenia to die in office and the first not related to an assassination. The head of Yerevan's municipal ambulance service reported that the prime minister was unconscious and his heart had stopped beating by the time two ambulance crews arrived at his apartment early in the afternoon. Margaryan was immediately given resuscitation treatment but did not respond.[4]
Margaryan had a history of serious cardiac problems and twice underwent heart surgery, first in Armenia in 1999 and later inFrance. He regularly visitedFrench andRussian clinics for medical examinations.[4]
Andranik Margaryan is survived by a wife, two daughters, one son, and five grandchildren. In November 2011 his sonTaron was elected Mayor of Yerevan.
Apart from politics, Margaryan has also followed a career in scientific research. From 1972 until his arrest in 1974, he worked at the Yerevan branch of Scientific-Research Institute of Gas Industry as a senior engineer. After his release from the Soviet labor camps in 1977, he worked at the Scientific-Research Institute of Energy as chief engineer before moving on to find work in the Energy-Technical Factory as head of department in 1978. From 1979 to 1990, he worked at the Information Counting Centre of theTrade Ministry as the head of department of electronics.
From 1990 to 1994 he was the head of the information department at the State Department of Special Programs. He then settled to work in Armenia's State Architectural University as junior scientist from 1994 to 1995.[6]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Armenia 2000-2007 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
