Aram Piruzyan | |
|---|---|
| Արամ Փիրուզյան | |
 | |
| Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Armenian SSR | |
| In office 23 November 1937 – October 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Stepan Akopyan [hy] |
| Succeeded by | Aghasi Sargsyan [hy] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1907-02-10)10 February 1907 Baku, Russian Empire (nowRepublic of Azerbaijan) |
| Died | 2 October 1996(1996-10-02) (aged 89) Yerevan, Armenia |
| Party | CPSU |
| Profession | Politician |
Aram Sergeevich Piruzyan (Armenian:Արամ Սերգեյի Փիրուզյան; 10 February 1907 – 2 October 1996) was a Soviet Armenian politician who served as theChairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Armenian SSR from November 1937 to October 1943.
Piruzyan was born on 10 February 1907 inBaku, then inRussian Transcaucasia.[1] His father, Sergey, was arevolutionary who worked at a copper smelting plant and was killed during theSeptember Days massacre.[2] In 1929, he joined theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).[1] He graduated from the Sverdlovsk Industrial Academy of Non-Ferrous Metals in 1935 and later from theHigher Party School in 1945.[1] Piruzyan was aCandidate of Economic Sciences.[1]
Starting in 1918, Piruzyan worked inAlaverdi at a copper smelting plant.[1] He rose from being an apprentice fitter to eventually becoming the plant's director.[2] Also active in politics, he was appointed the head of the industry and transport department of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1937.[1] On 23 November 1937, he becameChairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Armenian SSR, a position he held through 1943, when he was succeeded byAghasi Sargsyan [hy].[3] He participated in the18th Congress of the CPSU in 1938 and served as a member of theCentral Auditing Commission of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party from 1939 to 1952.[1][3] In his tenure as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, theEastern Front ofWorld War II, known in the Soviet Union as theGreat Patriotic War, broke out.[2] Piruzyan's top priority was assisting in the production of military products, while he also oversaw the production of agricultural products which were sent to the front.[2] During this time, the Armenian SSR government began using the slogan, "Everything for the front! Everything for victory!"[2]
Piruzyan was named deputy chairman of thePeople's Commissariat of the Armenian SSR and permanent representative of the People's Commissariat of the Armenian SSR under the USSR Government in 1943.[1] He served as the Armenian Minister of Local Industry and deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1945 to 1948.[1] In 1948, he became vice chairman of the Council of Ministers.[4] Piruzyan was a member of the19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which took place in 1952.[1] He became Minister of Food Industry of the Armenian SSR in 1952, and Minister of the Light, Food, Meat, Dairy and Fish Industry of the Armenian SSR in 1955.[1] He was appointed Minister of Trade in 1957, a position he served in until 1961.[1] He was named the USSRtrade representative in Greece in 1964.[3] Piruzyan then became Deputy Chairman of the Technical Council of the USSR Ministry of Food Industry, as well as a member of the Scientific Council of the Main Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR Council of Ministers, in 1967.[1]
Piruzyan received theOrder of Lenin in 1940, "for achievements in the development of industry and agriculture".[2] He also was a recipient of theOrder of the Patriotic War, first degree, theOrder of the Red Banner of Labor and theOrder of the Badge of Honour.[2] At the suggestion ofAnastas Mikoyan, who instigated the publication ofThe Book of Tasty and Healthy Food and later served asChairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Piruzyan wrote a book onArmenian cuisine,Armenian Cooking (Армянская кулинария), published in 1960, which achieved popularity in the Soviet Union.[5] Piruzyan later claimed that his book was popular enough that Mikoyan asked for copies to give toFidel Castro and other Cuban leaders.[5] He also wrote several autobiographical works, includingThe Life of the Country is My Fate (Жизнь страны – судьба моя, published in 1995) andFood Industry: Years and People (Пищевая индустрия. Годы, люди, published posthumously in 1999). He was married to Evgenia Melik-Alakhverdova-Piruzyan.[2] He died on 2 October 1996 inYerevan, Armenia, at the age of 89.[2]