Serzh Sargsyan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Serzh Sargsyan
Սերժ Սարգսյան
Official portrait, 2013
3rd President of Armenia
In office 9 April 2008 – 9 April 2018
Prime Minister	Tigran Sargsyan Hovik Abrahamyan Karen Karapetyan
Preceded by	Robert Kocharyan
Succeeded by	Armen Sarkissian
11th and 15th Prime Minister of Armenia
In office 17 April 2018 – 23 April 2018
President	Armen Sarkissian
Preceded by	Karen Karapetyan (Acting)
Succeeded by	Karen Karapetyan (Acting)
In office 4 April 2007 – 9 April 2008 Acting: 25 March 2007 – 4 April 2007
President	Robert Kocharyan
Preceded by	Andranik Margaryan
Succeeded by	Tigran Sargsyan
Minister of Defence
In office 20 May 2000 – 26 March 2007
Prime Minister	Andranik Margaryan
Preceded by	Vagharshak Harutiunyan
Succeeded by	Mikael Harutyunyan
In office 21 August 1993 – 17 May 1995
Prime Minister	Hrant Bagratyan
Preceded by	Vazgen Manukyan
Succeeded by	Vazgen Sargsyan
Minister of Interior and National Security
In office 4 November 1996 – 11 June 1999
Prime Minister	Armen Sarkissian Robert Kocharyan Armen Darbinyan
Preceded by	Vano Siradeghyan
Succeeded by	Suren Abrahamyan
Personal details
Born	Serzhik Azati Sargsyan (1954-06-30) 30 June 1954 (age 70) Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Soviet Union
Political party	Communist Party (?–1988) Pan-Armenian National Movement (1989–?) Republican Party (2006–present)
Spouse	Rita Sargsyan ​ ​ (m. 1983; her death 2020)​
Children	2
Residence	Dzoraghbyur
Alma mater	Yerevan State University
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Branch/service	Soviet Army Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
Years of service	1972–1974 1989–1992
Battles/wars	First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Serzh Azati Sargsyan (Armenian: Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան; born 30 June 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the third President of Armenia from 2008 to 2018. He was also the Prime Minister of Armenia twice. His second time as prime minister was very short, from 17 to 23 April 2018. He resigned after large protests in Armenia.

Sargsyan won the presidential election in February 2008. He had the support of the Republican Party of Armenia, where he was the chairman. He became president in April 2008. In 2013, he was re-elected and served his full term.

In 2018, Sargsyan was again chosen as prime minister. This happened after changes to the constitution. Many people saw this as him trying to keep power. Just six days after taking office, he resigned because of big protests. He is currently the leader of the Republican Party. This party was in charge of Armenia from 1999 to 2018.

Early Life and Beginnings

Serzh Sargsyan was born on June 30, 1954, in Stepanakert. This city was in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast at that time. His parents were Azat Avetisi Sargsyan and Nora Sargsyan. His father's family came from a village called Tegh. They moved to Stepanakert after his grandfather was arrested in 1937.

Sargsyan started studying at Yerevan State University in 1971. He also served in the Soviet Armed Forces for two years. In 1975, he began working at an Electrical Devices Factory in Yerevan. He finished his studies in 1979, graduating from the Philological Department. In 1983, he married Rita Dadayan. Besides Armenian, he speaks Russian and knows some Azerbaijani. He is not related to former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan or former President Armen Sarkissian.

Becoming a Leader

Early Political Steps

In 1979, Sargsyan started working for the Stepanakert Komsomol Committee. He held several important roles there. Later, he became an assistant to the First Secretary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Committee.

In 1989, Sargsyan represented Nagorno-Karabakh at a big meeting for the Pan-Armenian National Movement. He was elected to the Supreme Council of Armenia in 1990. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, he helped organize the defense of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also helped create the NKR Defense Army.

In 1992, Sargsyan became the head of the Defense Committee for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He later served as the minister of the army.

Key Government Roles

From 1993 to 1995, he was Armenia's Minister of Defense. This was under President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. In 1995, he became the Minister of National Security. From 1996 to 1999, he was also the Minister of Interior.

In 1998, Sargsyan, along with others, asked President Ter-Petrosyan to resign. This was to stop a peace plan for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. From 1999 to 2000, he was the Chief of Staff for President Robert Kocharyan. Then, he served again as the Defense Minister from 2000 to 2007. He was also the Secretary of the National Security Council. In April 2007, Sargsyan was appointed Prime Minister of Armenia. This happened after the death of Andranik Margaryan.

Presidential Election

Sargsyan was seen as the strongest candidate for president in 2008. He had the support of President Kocharyan. He won the election with about 53% of the votes. International observers like the OSCE said the election was mostly democratic.

However, supporters of the other candidate, Levon Ter-Petrossian, protested the results. These protests lasted over a week in Yerevan. On March 1, 2008, the protests turned violent. Ten people died, and a state of emergency was declared.

Presidency (2008–2018)

Serzh Sargsyan became president on April 9, 2008. He promised to work for reconciliation and Armenia's future. He appointed Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister. This Prime Minister was not part of a political party.

During his presidency, Armenia worked to fight corruption. New rules and better enforcement led to more lawsuits against officials. This helped Armenia's corruption rating improve. Freedom of speech and press also got better. More people started using the internet, which gave them more access to online news.

Civil society groups also grew a lot. These groups work on human rights, protecting the environment, and social justice.

Economy During His Time

Sargsyan's presidency started during a big worldwide economic slowdown. In 2009, Armenia's economy shrank by over 14%. This was one of the worst rates in the world that year. After that, the economy grew slowly, around 3% by 2013. The number of people living in poverty also doubled during his first term.

In 2013, Armenia decided to join the Eurasian Economic Union. This union includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The union started on January 1, 2015. Armenia officially joined on January 2, 2015. This union allows goods, money, services, and people to move freely between member countries.

Foreign Policy

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Sargsyan continued to work for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This was a main goal of Armenia's foreign policy. He met with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, many times. These meetings were part of the OSCE Minsk Group talks.

Sargsyan said that Armenia wants a fair and peaceful solution. He blamed Azerbaijan for making the peace process difficult. He pointed to Azerbaijan's "anti-Armenian policies." These included changing history and building up their military.

A clear example of this was when Ramil Safarov was made a hero in Azerbaijan. Safarov had killed an Armenian officer, Gurgen Margaryan, with an axe in 2004. After being sent back to Azerbaijan in 2012, Safarov was pardoned and promoted. Sargsyan said this showed that Azerbaijan was teaching its people to hate Armenians.

Sargsyan stated that Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan. He said that forcing the people of Karabakh back into Azerbaijan would lead to more ethnic cleansing. He believed the conflict should be solved based on human rights and the will of the Karabakh people.

In 2016, Armenia faced the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War. This was a big outbreak of violence. Sargsyan called it a victory for Armenia. However, he also faced criticism. Some people accused him of agreeing to give up land to Azerbaijan. This led to protests and a hostage crisis in Yerevan in July 2016.

After the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Sargsyan said he wanted a final solution to the conflict. He said this was why he stayed as prime minister in 2018. He denied delaying talks or saying no land could be given to Azerbaijan. He said he was ready to be called a "traitor" if it meant solving the problem.

Relations with Turkey

When he became president, Sargsyan promised to improve relations with Turkey. He wanted to do this without any conditions. He also continued to seek international recognition for the 1915 Armenian genocide.

Sargsyan tried to normalize ties with Turkey. This was called "football diplomacy." In 2008, he invited the Turkish President, Abdullah Gül, to Armenia. They watched a football match together. Sargsyan made a return visit to Turkey later.

In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed agreements to start diplomatic relations. These agreements also planned to open the border between the two countries. Turkey had closed this border in 1993. The agreements were signed in Switzerland with international help.

This effort to improve relations caused different reactions in Armenia. Some people wanted the border to open and trade to grow. Others worried that Armenia would have to give up too much. Armenian opposition parties were against the agreements. They worried about recognizing the current border and a joint history commission. Many Armenians living outside Armenia also opposed it. They feared it would hurt efforts to recognize the Armenian genocide.

The process of improving relations stopped after a year. Armenia's Constitutional Court said that the agreements did not mean Armenia recognized the existing border. Turkey saw this as changing the agreements and stopped the process. Armenia accused Turkey of linking the talks to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Sargsyan said Turkey had tried to delay and fail the process. He stated that Armenia was still committed to normalizing relations.

European Union

President Sargsyan supported Armenia's efforts to sign a trade agreement with the European Union (EU). Negotiations for this agreement were finished. However, in September 2013, Sargsyan changed his mind. After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he decided to join the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union instead. Many believed Russia pressured Armenia to do this.

Despite this change, Sargsyan's government still worked on EU-inspired reforms. This led to Armenia signing a new agreement with the EU in November 2017. This agreement focused on partnership and cooperation, but without the economic parts.

Protests Against His Leadership

Big protests against Sargsyan's government started in 2011. His 2008 election rival, Levon Ter-Petrossian, led some of these. In response, Sargsyan promised to investigate the violence after the 2008 election.

In July 2016, thousands of Armenians protested in Yerevan. They supported a group called "Daredevils of Sasun." This group took over a police building and demanded Sargsyan's resignation. The government called it a terrorist attack. But many Armenians disagreed and supported the attackers. The crisis ended when the gunmen surrendered.

Prime Minister (2018)

After his presidency ended on April 9, 2018, Sargsyan was elected Prime Minister of Armenia on April 17. Many opposition figures called this a "power grab." Large protests began against him.

On April 22, Sargsyan met with Nikol Pashinyan, an opposition leader. Sargsyan accused the opposition of giving an ultimatum instead of talking. He left the meeting early. Pashinyan was arrested hours later.

The protests continued and eventually pressured Sargsyan. On April 23, Pashinyan was released. Sargsyan then announced his resignation. Former Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan became acting Prime Minister. Armenia's National Assembly, still controlled by Sargsyan's party, elected Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister on May 8, 2018.

Awards and Honors

Serzh Sargsyan has received many awards for his service:

• Order of first Degree "Martakan Khach" ("Combat Cross") (Armenia, 1994)
• Hero of Artsakh (Republic of Artsakh, 2000)
• Order of "Voske Artsiv" (Golden Eagle) (Republic of Artsakh, 2000)
• Order of "Tigran Mets" (Armenia, 2006)
• Order of Honor (Georgia, 2010)
• Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France, 2011)
• The First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine, 2011)
• Order of the Republic of Serbia (2013)
• Presidential Order of Excellence (Georgia, 2013)
• National Order of Merit (France, 2014)
• Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia)

Personal Life

Serzh Sargsyan married Rita Sargsyan in 1983. They had two daughters, Anush and Satenik. They also have two granddaughters, Mariam and Rita, and two grandsons, Ara and Serzh. Sargsyan is also the chairman of the Armenian Chess Federation. His wife Rita passed away on November 20, 2020, at age 58.

Sargsyan has two younger brothers. Alexander (Sashik) is a businessman and former member of parliament. Levon is a diplomat and professor.

Images for kids

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  Sargsyan and U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton in Yerevan, 4 June 2012

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  Dmitry Medvedev in Armenia, 20 August 2010

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  Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev, 23 January 2012

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  Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in Sochi, 9 August 2014

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  Sargsyan with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 16 May 2016

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  Sargsyan in Doha, Qatar, 24 July 2017

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  Sargsyan with Turkish President Abdullah Gül in Yerevan, 6 September 2008

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  Sargsyan with President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European People's Party Wilfried Martens at the European People's Party Eastern Partnership Leaders' Summit in Yerevan, 30 November 2012