Nikol Pashinyan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nikol Pashinyan
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| Նիկոլ Փաշինյան | |
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Pashinyan in 2023
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| 16th Prime Minister of Armenia | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2018 |
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| President | Armen Sarkissian Alen Simonyan (acting) Vahagn Khachaturyan |
| Preceded by | Karen Karapetyan (acting) |
| Member of the National Assembly of Armenia | |
| In office 6 May 2012 – 8 May 2018 |
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| Parliamentary group | Way Out Alliance (2012–2017) Armenian National Congress (2017–2018) |
| Constituency | Yerevan Districts Kentron, Nork-Marash, Erebuni, Nubarashen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 June 1975 Ijevan, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Civil Contract (2013–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
My Step Alliance (2018–2021) Way Out Alliance (2016–2018) Armenian National Congress (2008–2012) Impeachment Union (2007) |
| Spouse | Anna Hakobyan |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Yerevan State University |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX |
| Signature |  |
Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (Armenian: Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician. He has been the Prime Minister of Armenia since May 8, 2018.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Nikol Pashinyan was born on June 1, 1975, in Ijevan, Armenia. His father, Vova Pashinyan, was a coach for football and volleyball. He also taught physical education. Nikol's mother, Svetlana, passed away when he was 12 years old. His stepmother, Yerjanik, mostly raised him.
He finished Ijevan Secondary School N1 in 1991. From 1991 to 1995, Pashinyan studied journalism at Yerevan State University (YSU). He left the university before he could graduate.
Journalism Career
In 1998, Pashinyan started his own newspaper. It was closed a year later because of a libel case. He was found guilty of speaking badly about the Minister of National Security, Serzh Sargsyan. He worked as an editor for the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak ("Armenian Times") from 1999 to 2012.
Pashinyan supported Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan. He often spoke out against the second president, Robert Kocharyan, and Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan. He also thought Armenia should have closer ties with Turkey instead of Russia.
Political Journey
During the 1998 Armenian presidential election, Pashinyan worked for presidential candidate Ashot Bleyan. Bleyan was a former Minister of Education and Science. Pashinyan was a strong supporter of Ter-Petrosyan. Ter-Petrosyan returned to politics before the 2008 Armenian presidential election.
Pashinyan was a leader in the protests after the 2008 election. These protests happened in February and March 2008. Security forces stopped the protests on March 1, and ten people died. Pashinyan was accused of organizing large public disturbances. He went into hiding until mid-2009. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the protests. He was released in May 2011 as part of a general amnesty. In 2012, he was elected to parliament. He was part of Ter-Petrosyan's opposition group, the Armenian National Congress.
Later, Pashinyan and Ter-Petrosyan had different political ideas. Pashinyan led the 2018 Armenian revolution. This movement caused Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his government to step down. Pashinyan was chosen as acting prime minister by parliament on May 8, 2018. His party won the snap parliamentary elections in December 2018. Many people saw his victory as a step forward for democracy. His new government included many people from non-profit groups. It also had supporters from the Velvet Revolution who were new to politics.
Pashinyan led Armenia during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. This was a major conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The war lasted 44 days. It ended with a peace agreement signed by Pashinyan on November 9, 2020. Armenia lost many people, resources, and land in this war.
Many in Armenia criticized Pashinyan's government for how it handled the war. After the war, he faced protests and calls for him to resign. Some high-ranking military officers also asked him to resign. Pashinyan called this a coup attempt. Despite these challenges, he stayed in power. On April 25, 2021, Pashinyan officially resigned. This allowed for new elections to be held in June. He remained acting prime minister until then. His party won the 2021 election, getting more than half of the votes.
Personal Life
Pashinyan is married to Anna Hakobyan. She is a journalist whom he met at YSU. They have three daughters and one son. Anna Hakobyan has been the editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak since 2012. Pashinyan has said he hopes to have a church wedding at an Armenian Apostolic Church one day. Their son, Ashot, volunteered to serve in Artsakh (Karabakh) in 2018. He volunteered again in October 2020 during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Besides Armenian, Pashinyan speaks Russian, English, and French. However, he prefers to speak Armenian in interviews.
Pashinyan and his family follow the Armenian Apostolic Church. He once said that visiting the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin helps him think about the past and future.
In 2018, Time magazine named him one of four "crusaders" for democracy. Vedomosti also named him Politician of the Year in 2018.
Images for kids
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Protesters on March 1, 2008
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Pashinyan announcing his nomination as prime minister at a Civil Contract rally in Freedom Square, September 10, 2016
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Pashinyan on April 13, 2018, in Freedom Square, Yerevan at the end of his two-week-long march.
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Pashinyan surrounded by journalists in Yerevan.
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Pashinyan speaking to supporters through a loudspeaker gathered at the General Prosecutor's Office.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin at the trilateral talks with Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi, Russia, October 31, 2022
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Pashinyan with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Davos, Switzerland in 2019. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of EU's Eastern Partnership.
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Pashinyan in Kazakhstan, November 8, 2018
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Pashinyan and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola in Brussels, October 20, 2023
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Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin in Sochi, May 14, 2018.
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Pashinyan with Vladimir Putin, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Saad Hariri and Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, June 14, 2018
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Pashinyan at the third inauguration of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, June 3, 2023
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Nikol Pashinyan and Ali Larijani in Iran
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Pashinyan and Catholicos Karekin II, December 2018
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A poster on a car in Yerevan depicting Pashinyan, May 2, 2018. The text reads: "Nikol Prime Minister"
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See also
In Spanish: Nikol Pashinián para niños
