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

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the self-proclaimed

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 ...

. He was elected as the President on 8 September 1997 and re-elected in 2002, until his term ended on 7 September 2007 and was succeeded by Bako Sahakyan. He was detained by Azerbaijani forces after the

2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, self-declared breakaway state of Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, a move seen as a violation of the 2020 Nago ...

and is currently facing criminal charges in Azerbaijan.

Biography

Arkadi Ghukasyan was born 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 ...

in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Republic of the

Azerbaijan 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 ...

on 22 June 1957. He graduated from

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

with a degree in linguistics in 1979. He started his career as a correspondent for the newspaper ("Soviet Karabakh"), becoming its deputy editor-in-chief in 1981. In 1991, Ghukasyan was elected to the first parliament of the newly declared

(NKR). In September 1992, he was appointed political adviser to the Chairman of the State Defense Committee, and headed the NKR's delegations during

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

-mediated negotiations with Azerbaijan. Ghukasyan was a member of Nagorno-Karabakh's Security Council since 1993. On 23 July 1993, he became the first Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He survived an assassination attempt in 2000.

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 ...

, whom he had recently sacked as defence minister, was convicted of organising the attack and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Babayan was released from imprisonment on 18 September 2004 due to health concerns, with the terms of release including a probationary period and continued disenfranchisement. In 2015, it was reported that Ghukasyan was the unofficial leader of the Artsakh Republican Party. On 3 October 2023, Ghukasyan and two other former presidents of Artsakh, Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, together with former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Davit Ishkhanyan, were detained by the State Security Service of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and brought to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. Ghukasyan and the other arrested former officials are reportedly facing "grave criminal charges" in Azerbaijan.

Personal life

He has divorced once and remarried.

References

External links

Official website (in Russian and Armenian)Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghukasyan, Arkadi 1957 births Living people People from Stepanakert Heroes of Artsakh Presidents of the Republic of Artsakh Prisoners and detainees of Azerbaijan Foreign ministers of the Republic of Artsakh