Masis Samveli Mayilyan (; born 14 September 1967) is a politician, diplomat and former presidential candidate who previously worked in the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. From September 2017 until January 2021, he served as the Foreign Minister of Artsakh.

Biography

Early life and education

Mayilyan was born on 14 September 1967 in

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

, the capital of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

, then a part of the

Azerbaijani SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

. From 1984 to 1991 he studied at the Stepanakert State Pedagogical Institute and graduated from the Department of Physics and Mathematics, majoring in engineering and physics. From 1991 to 1992 he pursued his postgraduate studies

Armenian State Pedagogical University Khachatur Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) (), is a state university and higher education institution based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Founded in 1922, the university is specialized in pedagogy and the preparation ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. He graduated from the

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pro ...

in 1998.

Career

Mayilyan began his career at the State Defense Committee of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

from 1992 to 1993. He worked as the chief expert for the committee's information and press sections. In 1993 he began his work at the Foreign Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, where he occupied various posts and participated in the negotiation process for the resolution of the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbai ...

. From 2001 to 2007, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister under President

Arkadi Ghukasyan Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan (; born 22 June 1957) is an Armenian politician who served as 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 ...

2007 Artsakh presidential election

In the 2007 Artsakh presidential election, Mayilyan ran for

President of Artsakh The president of the Republic of Artsakh (, ) is the head of state and head of government of the government-in-exile of the once de facto Republic of Artsakh. In a constitutional referendum held in 2017, citizens of the republic voted in favo ...

for the first time, receiving 12.53% of the vote and coming in at second place behind

Bako Sahakyan Bako Sahaki Sahakyan (; born 30 August 1960) is an Armenian politician who served as the third president of the ''de facto''-independent Republic of Artsakh from 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving president of Artsakh. He was first elected ...

, who won 85.12% of the vote and became Artsakh's third president.

Foreign Minister and 2020 presidential campaign

On 25 September 2017, Mayilyan was appointed Foreign Minister by President

. He participated in

2020 Artsakhian general election General elections were held in the Republic of Artsakh on 31 March 2020, with a second round of the presidential election on 14 April. Voters elected the President and 33 members of the National Assembly. It was the first (and only) time the Pres ...

as a presidential candidate and was endorsed by New Artsakh Alliance and

Samvel Babayan Samvel Andraniki Babayan (; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenians, Armenian military officer and politician. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and became a war hero amon ...

's United Motherland party. He came at the second place in the first round of the election and a run-off between him and

Arayik Harutyunyan Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan (; born 14 December 1973) is an Armenian politician who served as the fourth president of the Republic of Artsakh from May 2020 to September 2023. Under his predecessor Bako Sahakyan, he served as the sixth and last ...

was held on 14 April 2020. However, he made an announcement urging the people of Artsakh not to participate in the second round of elections in order to prevent the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Mayilyan received nearly 12% in the run-off vote, while Arayik Harutyunyan received 88% of the vote and became the 4th

. Mayilyan was reappointed to the post of foreign minister after the inauguration of President

in May 2020. On 1 December 2020, in the aftermath of the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

, President Harutyunyan announced that a national unity government would be formed and a number of cabinet officials would be replaced. Masis Mayilyan was dismissed in early January 2021 and was made an ambassador-at-large. He was succeeded by

David Babayan David Klimi Babayan (, ''Davit' Klimi Babayan''; born 5 April 1973) is a politician who served as the advisor to the president of Artsakh from 17 January 2023 until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. He previously served as th ...

References

External links

Official Biography by the government
{{Authority control Armenian diplomats Living people Politicians from the Republic of Artsakh 1967 births Foreign ministers of the Republic of Artsakh