Seyran Nikolayi Shahsuvaryan (, born August 13, 1953, in

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 ...

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

) is the former press secretary of the

Ministry of Defence of Armenia The Ministry of Defence of Armenia () often abbreviated to the RA Ministry of Defence is an Armenian governmental agency in charge of overseeing the development of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The Ministry of Defence is also the executive body wh ...

Early life and career

He was born on August 13, 1953, in

. In 1974 he graduated from the Khachatur Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University and became the director of the house of culture in

Nairi Nairi (, also ''Na-'i-ru''; ) was the Akkadian name for a region inhabited by a particular group (possibly a confederation or league) of tribal principalities in the Armenian Highlands, approximately spanning the area between modern Diyarbakır ...

that same year. He joined the Soviet Army in 1975 and served for one year before leaving in 1976. From 1970 to 1993, Shahsuvaryan worked in the Public Television Service of the Armenian SSR. In 1993, he became the head of the culture department, then the head of information and press department of the Ministry of Defence of Armenia. In 1997, he became the deputy head of the Nork TV studio (NTV). In 1998, he was appointed head of Nork TV. In 1999, he became deputy head of information and censorship department under the Armenian government and in 2000 he became the head of the TV studio Prometei.

Press Secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry

In 2001, he was appointed press secretary of the Ministry of Defence. On January 7, 2002, Turkish Army chief of General Staff General Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu made a statement that Armenia had weapons of mass destruction. Shahsuvaryan dismissed this as "an absurd attempt to compromise Armenia in the eyes of the international community." On July 7, 2007, false accusations were made by Azerbaijan and Turkey, accusing Armenia of buying weapons from Albania. Shahsuvaryan denied this and on September 11, 2007, more false accusations were made by Azerbaijani Defence Minister

Safar Abiyev Colonel General Safar Akhundbala oghlu Abiyev (; born January 27, 1950) was the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2013. He was considered one of the longest serving defense ministers in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Early ...

, saying that there were hidden delivered equipment in Armenian bases from both Russia and Georgia, which Shahsuvaryan repeatedly denied.

2008 Presidential Elections

During the 2008 Armenian presidential elections and the subsequent protests, Shahsuvaryan denied all claims that ex-president and presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian made, especially Ter-Petrossian's claims that deputy defence ministers Manvel Grigoryan and Gagik Melkonyan supported his 2008 campaign and would join the post-election protests.

Personal life

He is married and has three children.Military Background
/ref> He is currently a member of the Union of Cinematographers and Journalists of Armenia. He has received the following awards: * Marshal Baghramyan 100 Memorial Medal * Garegin Nzdeh Medal (First and Second Degree) * Fridtjof Nansen Medal.

Sources

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