Anahit Avanesian (born 21 March 1981) is an Armenian jurist and the current Armenian

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. Before, she has been a jurist in the Armenian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

and the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, Vaccine, vaccinate them, or alleviate s ...

Education

She enrolled in the Faculty of Law of the

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

in 1997 from where she earned a

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Civil Law in 2003. She followed up on her studies at the

American University of Armenia The American University of Armenia (AUA) ( hy, Հայաստանի ամերիկյան համալսարան, ՀԱՀ; ''Hayastani amerikyan hamalsaran'', ''HAH'') is a private, independent university in Yerevan, Armenia that is accredited by the Wes ...

, graduating from the Master Programme in Law. Between 2002 and 2004, she took part in Leadership Programs of the Leadership Development Center and the South Caucasus Young Women Leadership program.

Professional career

Her professional career began in 2000 as a jurist for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Reserve Agency in the Ministry of Emergency situations. From 2005 until 2015 she was a jurist for the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

Democracy Today. By 2014 she transferred into the pharmaceutical industry to Arpharmacia where she acted as member of the board from 2017 and 2018.

Political career

She entered the public administration in May 2018 as a deputy Health Minister, becoming in May 2020 the First Deputy Health Minister. In January 2021, she became the successor of Health Minister Arsen Torosyan ( hy) from the Civil Contract and is the only woman in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Nikol Pashynian. As Health Minister, she was a central figure responsible for dealing with affronting the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Personal life

She is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avanesian, Anahit 1981 births Living people Armenian jurists Yerevan State University alumni 21st-century Armenian women politicians 21st-century Armenian politicians