Hrant Hovsepi Markarian (; born 1958) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

politician who previously served as the head of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

party's top executive body, the ARF Bureau. Markarian was born in the

New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...

neighborhood of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He has a degree in

Armenian studies Armenian studies or Armenology (, ) is a field of humanities covering Armenian history, language and culture. The emergence of modern Armenian studies is associated with the foundation of the Catholic Mechitarist order in the early 18th century. ...

from the

University of Isfahan The University of Isfahan (UI) () is a state-operated university located in Isfahan, Iran. The university is located on Azadi square of Isfahan. It has another campus in Khansar. University of Isfahan offers undergraduate degrees in 71 fields, ...

. In 1990 Markarian and his family moved to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, and became involved in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

and organizing the ARF in Armenia. In 1994, Markarian was arrested along with 10 other ARF members and accused of being the leader of a purported secret terrorist group within the ARF called the "Dro Group". Markarian was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released in February 1998 after the Supreme Court of Armenia shortened his sentence to 3 years.

References

Iranian emigrants to the Soviet Union Iranian people of Armenian descent 1958 births Living people Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians University of Isfahan alumni Iranian emigrants to Armenia Politicians from Isfahan {{Armenia-politician-stub