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 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 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving president of Artsakh. He was first elected as president on 19 July 2007. On 19 July 2012, he was re-elected for a second five-year term, receiving approximately two-thirds of the votes. In 2017, he was re-elected indirectly for a three-year term. Sahakyan replaced Arkadi Ghukasyan, who had held the presidential post for two five-year terms. On October 3, 2023,

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 ...

detained Bako Sahakyan from the territory of Artsakh, and since that moment he has been held in Baku in captivity.

Early life

Sahakyan was born on 30 August 1960 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 ...

within the Azerbaijan SSR. After serving in the Soviet Army, he worked for nine years in a Stepanakert factory. In 1990, he joined the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, of which he became a deputy commander.

Career

In 1999, he was named interior minister of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also led the Nagorno-Karabakh security service from 2001 to June 2007, when he resigned in order to run in the 2007 Nagorno-Karabakh presidential election.

President of Artsakh

Sahakyan ran as an independent and won the elections with 85 percent of the votes. Voters mainly turned to Sahakyan because of his record in the security services. He pledged to seek full independence for Artsakh, using the example of international recognition of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

as an independent state, which he said would pave the way for acceptance of Artsakh's sovereignty. He was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2012 and then indirectly by Artsakh's

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 ...

in 2017 for a three-year term. He was succeeded by Arayik Harutyunyan, who previously served as Sahakyan's prime minister, in 2020.

Arrest

On 3 October 2023, he and two other former presidents of Artsakh, Arkadi Ghukasyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, together with former president of the

Davit Ishkhanyan, were detained by the State Security Service of

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 ...

Personal life

Sahakyan is married and has two children.

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the President of the Nagorno Karabagh RepublicHigh turnout in Nagorno-Karabakh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahakyan, Bako 1959 births Living people People from Stepanakert Presidents of the Republic of Artsakh Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Armenian nationalists Artsakh military personnel Artsakh University alumni Prisoners and detainees of Azerbaijan