Armen Gevorgi Ashotyan (Armenian: Արմեն Գևորգի Աշոտյան; born July 25, 1975) is an Armenian politician who served as Minister of Education and Science of Armenia from 2009 to 2016. He is currently deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia.

Armen Ashotyan
Minister of Education and Science
In office
May 12, 2009 – February 24, 2016
PresidentSerzh Sargsyan
Prime MinisterTigran Sargsyan
Hovik Abrahamyan
Preceded bySpartak Seyranyan
Succeeded byLevon Mkrtchyan
Member of the National Assembly
In office
2005–2009
In office
2017–2018
Personal details
Born (1975-07-25) July 25, 1975 (age 49)
Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyRepublican Party of Armenia
Alma materYerevan State Medical University
OccupationPolitician

Early life and education

edit

Armen Ashotyan was born in Yerevan in 1975. He graduated from the Faculty of General Practice of the Mkhitar Heratsi Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) with a specialization in general medicine in 1998. In 2000, he received his clinical residency training from the same university with a specialization in forensic medicine. Ashotyan graduated from the Moscow School of Political Science in 2005.

Career

edit

Ashotyan joined the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) in 2002 and from 2003 to 2005 served as the chairman of its youth wing. Ashotyan was first elected to the National Assembly of Armenia in 2005 by the proportional system of voting, and was a member of the RPA's parliamentary faction. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Health Care and Environment. On May 12, 2007 he was elected to the National Assembly again as a member of the RPA's electoral list.[1] On May 12, 2009 he was appointed Minister of Education and Science of Armenia.[2]

In September 2020, when the Second Karabakh War broke out, he was called into the Armenian armed forces and served in the medical corps for the duration of the conflict. Since the end of the conflict, he has been instrumental in leading anti-government protests that seek to oust Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

He was arrested on abuse of power and money laundering charges on 15 June 2023.[3]

Personal life

edit

Ashotyan is married and has 2 sons.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Deputy head of Armenian Republicans comments on Pashinyan-Baghdasaryan meeting". arka.am. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  2. ^ Gaedtke, Felix. "Chess mania captures Armenia's attention". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  3. ^ Khulian, Artak (2023-06-15). "Prominent Armenian Oppositionist Arrested". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան (in Armenian). Retrieved 2023-06-18.

Sources

edit