Vazgen Mikayeli Manukyan (

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 ...

: , born 13 February 1946) is an

politician who served as the first

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia () is the head of government and most senior minister within the Government of Armenia, Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage ...

from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, during 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 ...

, Manukyan was acting

Defence Minister of Armenia The defence minister of Armenia () is the head of the country's Ministry of Defence, who is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was originally created in 1918 and was re-established in January 1992 f ...

. He was also a member of Armenia's parliament from 1990 to 2007. Vazgen Manukyan was a co-founder and the coordinator of the Karabakh Committee (officially founded in February 1988), the body which led the

Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement (), also known as the Artsakh movement (), was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast ...

aimed at uniting

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

with

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

. He was arrested by Soviet authorities on December 10, 1988, along with other members of the Karabakh Committee, and spent 6 months in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina prison. He was elected the first chairman of the Pan-Armenian National Movement in October 1989. From 1990 to 1991, he served as the

. On September 26, 1991, Vazgen Manukyan resigned as prime minister and founded his own party, the National Democratic Union (NDU), and has since served as its chairman. In September 1992, he was appointed Minister of State and

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, while managing the

military–industrial complex The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the Arms industry, defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving fac ...

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 ...

at the same time. Under Vazgen Manukyan, the

Armenian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arm ...

were formed, the course of the war changed in favor of the Armenian side. He was dismissed from his post in August 1993. In the 1996 Armenian presidential elections, Vazgen Manukyan received the support of the major opposition parties and was the main challenger to incumbent President

Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan (; born 9 January 1946), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician and historian who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998. A senior researcher at the Matena ...

. The 1996 elections were marred by widespread electoral fraud in favor of President Ter-Petrosyan. According to the official results, Manukyan received 41% of the votes, losing to Ter-Petrosyan without a runoff election. The opposition disputed the results of the elections and major protests broke out in Yerevan, which were suppressed by the police and military. Vazgen Manukyan lost further presidential elections in 1998, 2003 and 2008. From March 2009 to December 2019, he was the Chairman of the Public Council of Armenia. Since 2019, he has been the President of the Vernatun Socio-Political Club. In the aftermath of the defeat of the Armenian side in the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

and the signing of the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement was an armistice agreement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It was signed on 9November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the Pr ...

, a wave of protests broke out in Armenia demanding the resignation of Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

. On 3 December 2020, a coalition of 17 parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political parties formed the

Homeland Salvation Movement The Homeland Salvation Movement () was an Armenian political alliance, consisting of several opposition political parties, led by Vazgen Manukyan. History The alliance was established on 3 December 2020 from the dissatisfaction of the Governme ...

and nominated Vazgen Manukyan as their joint candidate for the position of prime minister and to form a transitional government. Ultimately, neither Vazgen Manukyan nor the Homeland Salvation Movement participated in the 2021 parliamentary elections.

Early life and career

Vazgen Manukyan was born in Leninakan (modern-day Gyumri) in 1946. His family emigrated to

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 ...

from the region of

Moxoene Moxoene or Mokk' () was a territory of Kingdom of Armenia and later Sasanian Armenia, located east of Arzanene from south of Lake Van to north of Bohtan river. The territory was ruled by a local dynasty. Toponymy The name ''Moxoene'' only app ...

during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. His father, Mikael Manuki Manukyan, was a doctor of sciences and a professor at

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 ...

. His mother, Astghik Hmayaki Hakobyan, was born in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

and graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Yerevan State University. Vazgen Manukyan attended Yerevan's Anton Chekhov School no. 55. From 1963 to 1968 he studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of

, then from 1966 to 1967 he continued his studies at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, and conducted his postgraduate studies at the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

from 1969 to 1972. He is a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

of physics and mathematics, has the title of

Docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

, and has authored a number of scientific articles. From 1972 to 1990 he lectured at Yerevan State University. On April 24, 1967, he was forced to leave Moscow State University and return to Yerevan for participating in a protest in front of the Turkish Embassy in Moscow. His wife, Varduhi Ishkhanyan, who is a mathematician by profession, is the daughter of well-known

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

Rafael Ishkhanyan and linguist Byurakn Cheraz (whose father, Vahan Cheraz, was a famous Armenian athlete).

Karabakh movement

In 1988, three movements emerged in

at the same time. The first was a large environmental one, the second was a smaller one, mainly organized by

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

s who were released from prison in 1987. The third movement, which aimed to unite

with Armenia, was the one that gained the most momentum. In February 1988, the Karabakh Committee was established and soon took leadership of the

. Vazgen Manukyan was a founding member of the Karabakh Committee and became its coordinator in June 1988. The members of the committee often met in Manukyan's apartment. Under the leadership of Vazgen Manukyan the Karabakh movement transformed from being purely concerned with the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia into a broader national-democratic movement, eventually raising the question of independence. In May 1988, political and ideological differences emerged among the leaders of the movement. Some wanted to focus only on the Karabakh issue and thought that no other issues should be raised. Others held that so many issues existed in Soviet Armenia that it was impossible to successfully advance the Karabakh issue without raising those as well. Manukyan held the view that it was necessary to work towards Armenian independence alongside the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, and gradually the demand for independence came to the forefront of the movement as well. On July 5, 1988, after Karabakh protestors clashed with Soviet troops at Zvartnots Airport, Vazgen Manukyan gave a speech at Opera Square calling for a nationwide strike for the first time. On August 19, 1988, at the Opera Square Vazgen Manukyan announced about the creation of the "Pan-Armenian National Movement" (ANM) and presents its ideological principles. Later when ANM founding board was created it consisted of almost all the members of the Karabakh Committee and Vazgen Manukyan was elected the first chairman of the party board. On December 10, 1988, Vazgen Manukyan was arrested along with the other members of the Karabakh Committee and spent six months in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina prison before being released and returning the Yerevan, where the committee continued its activities.

Prime Minister of Armenia

In elections in May 1990, the Pan-Armenian National Movement won a majority of seats in the Supreme Soviet of Armenia, becoming the first non-communist party to take power in a Soviet republic. In May 1990, Vazgen Manukyan was elected a member of the

Supreme Council of Armenia The Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR, later renamed as the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, was the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and later the independent Republic of Armenia. It was superseded by the Nat ...

, and on August 13, 1990, he was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Armenia by the Supreme Council as a result, becoming the last head of government of Soviet Armenia and the first prime minister of the Third Republic of Armenia after it declared independence on September 21, 1991. Manukyan became head of government during a difficult period for Armenia: the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

was rapidly collapsing, and the political and economic blockade of Armenia from the north began. Manukyan's government had to deal with the collapse of the Soviet economic system and took the first steps to move towards a new economic system based on private property. Vazgen Manukyan maintained a strong layer of professionals, experienced ministers and directors of large factories, who played a major role in establishing full relations with the new government, the USSR economic structures. According to Manukyan, the systemic reforms launched by his government provided a serious foundation for Armenia's further development. On September 25, 1991, due to growing disagreements with Levon Ter-Petrosyan and other members of the ANM, Manukyan resigned as prime minister and founded his own party called the National Democratic Union.

Defence Minister

Although Manukyan and other opposition politicians had called for Levon Ter-Petrosyan's resignation following setbacks in the Nagorno-Karabakh War in the summer of 1992, Ter-Petrosyan appointed Manukyan State Minister in September 1992 and Minister of Defense in October. During Manukyan's ministry, the regular

Armenian Army The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arm ...

was formed and the Armenian side registered a series of military victories against Azerbaijan. Through the efforts of Manukyan and his deputy,

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

officer

Norat Ter-Grigoryants Norat Grigoryevich Ter-Grigoryants (, ; born 16 July 1936) is a retired Soviet and Armenian lieutenant-general who played a leading role in developing the Armed Forces of Armenia in 1992–1995, including during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. A ...

, the advance of the

Azerbaijani Army The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved a ...

was suppressed. Armenian forces then went on the offensive, capturing the entirety of the Kalbajar, Zangilan,

Jabrayil Jabrayil (, ) is a ghost city in Azerbaijan, nominally the administrative capital of Azerbaijan's Jabrayil District. A town with Azerbaijani majority and Armenians, Armenian plurality at various times during the Russian Empire, Russian imperial ...

, and Agdam districts of Azerbaijan, as well as part of

Fuzuli District Fuzuli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojavend, Aghjabadi, Beylagan, Jabrayil, and the ...

between April and August 1993. This created the frontline between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that remained essentially unchanged until the

. On

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

in May 1993, a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

of the newly formed military on the occasion of the

diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

was held on Republic Square in

, during which Defence Minister Manukyan delivered the holiday address during that event.

1996 presidential election

In the September 1996 presidential election, Vazgen Manukyan was the main contender against incumbent president

. Although Ter-Petrosyan was initially expected to win by a large margin due to the opposition being divided, three other candidates dropped out of the race and endorsed Manukyan. According to the official results, Manukyan received 41% of the vote, while Ter-Petrosyan received about 52%, just above the 50% required to win without a runoff election. Manukyan refused to accept the results of the election, alleging widespread fraud. On September 25, Manukyan came to the Armenian parliament with a large crowd of 150–200,000 of his supporters to demand that the Central Electoral Commission check three randomly chosen ballot boxes from each province for fraud. Manukyan told the crowd to come after him if he did not return in 20–30 minutes, after which his supporters stormed the parliament building and beat the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament. President Ter-Petrosyan declared a state of emergency and ordered the army to restore order. On 1 October 1996, the ODIHR mission sent to observe the election issued a statement which said that while irregularities in the counting process "did not characterize the entire vote tabulation process heydo raise questions about the integrity of the election process." In 1998, former interior minister under Ter-Petrosyan

Vano Siradeghyan Vano Smbati Siradeghyan (; November 13, 1946 – October 15, 2021) was an Armenian politician and writer. He held several high-ranked positions in the 1990s. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs from 1992 and 1996 and as Mayor of Yerevan ...

also alleged that the results of the 1996 election had been falsified.

Post-government career

Manukyan received around 12 percent of the votes in the special presidential elections held in 1998. He ran for president again in 2003 and received less than 1% of the vote. In the February 2008 presidential election, Manukyan placed fifth with 1.3% of the vote according to final official results. From March 2009 to December 2019, he was the Chairman of the Public Council of Armenia, a consultative body within the Ministry of Justice. Since 2019, he has been the President of the Vernatun Socio-Political Club. In 2020, following the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

that broke out over the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement that

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

signed to end to the

, a coalition of 17 opposition parties (most notably the former ruling Republican Party, the parliamentary opposition party

Prosperous Armenia Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP; , abbreviated as ԲՀԿ BHK), is a conservative list of political parties in Armenia, political party in Armenia. It was founded by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan on 30 April 2004, when the constituent congress of the ...

, and 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 ...

) under the name of the "Homeland Salvation Movement" announced Manukyan as their candidate to lead a “national accord” government.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manukyan, Vazgen 1946 births Living people People from Gyumri Candidates for President of Armenia Prime ministers of Armenia National Democratic Union (Armenia) politicians Ministers of defence of Armenia Members of the Karabakh Committee