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The Times (London)
March 27, 2007, Tuesday
Andranik Margarian
Andranik Margarian, Prime Minister of Armenia since 2000, was born on
June 12, 1951. He died of a heart attack on March 25, 2007, aged 55
Prime Minister of Armenia who was appointed to bring a degree of
stability to the country after a turbulent period
An electronics engineer by profession, Andranik Margarian was
appointed Prime Minister of Armenia in May 2000 at a tense period in
the country's recent history as an independent state.
In October 1999 Armenia's Prime Minister, Vazgen Sargsyan had been
among a number of politicians, including the Speaker, who were killed
when armed gunmen burst into the parliament building and opened fire
on members in protest against what they regarded as the corrupt
political leadership of the country.
In the aftermath of the gunmen's surrender (they were later tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment) President Robert Kocharyan appointed
Vazgen's brother, Aram, Prime Minister.
But amid a rising tide of dissatisfaction with the country's economic
performance, Kocharyan replaced him with Margarian the following May.
Since then Margarian had been the leader of the Republican Party, the
largest grouping in the Armenian Parliament.
Although in Armenia the president is the head of the administration,
and the prime minister is, rather, an executant of policy, Margarian
was regarded as having played a stabilising role in Armenia in
difficult years. He had latterly been involved in developing economic
relations with Romania, to whose position as an EU member Armenia
attached particular importance for her own development.
Born in 1951, and educated at the Yerevan Politechnic Institute,
where he qualified as a computer engineer, Margarian had been active
in separatist politics from an early age under the Soviet regime. In
1968 he joined the illegal National United Party, which agitated
against Soviet domination of Armenia.
In 1974 he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for
disseminating anti-Soviet ideas. When Armenia declared its
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 he became a member of the
new Republican Party, and became a deputy of the national assembly in
1995. He subsequently served as the party's chairman.
March 27, 2007, Tuesday
Andranik Margarian
Andranik Margarian, Prime Minister of Armenia since 2000, was born on
June 12, 1951. He died of a heart attack on March 25, 2007, aged 55
Prime Minister of Armenia who was appointed to bring a degree of
stability to the country after a turbulent period
An electronics engineer by profession, Andranik Margarian was
appointed Prime Minister of Armenia in May 2000 at a tense period in
the country's recent history as an independent state.
In October 1999 Armenia's Prime Minister, Vazgen Sargsyan had been
among a number of politicians, including the Speaker, who were killed
when armed gunmen burst into the parliament building and opened fire
on members in protest against what they regarded as the corrupt
political leadership of the country.
In the aftermath of the gunmen's surrender (they were later tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment) President Robert Kocharyan appointed
Vazgen's brother, Aram, Prime Minister.
But amid a rising tide of dissatisfaction with the country's economic
performance, Kocharyan replaced him with Margarian the following May.
Since then Margarian had been the leader of the Republican Party, the
largest grouping in the Armenian Parliament.
Although in Armenia the president is the head of the administration,
and the prime minister is, rather, an executant of policy, Margarian
was regarded as having played a stabilising role in Armenia in
difficult years. He had latterly been involved in developing economic
relations with Romania, to whose position as an EU member Armenia
attached particular importance for her own development.
Born in 1951, and educated at the Yerevan Politechnic Institute,
where he qualified as a computer engineer, Margarian had been active
in separatist politics from an early age under the Soviet regime. In
1968 he joined the illegal National United Party, which agitated
against Soviet domination of Armenia.
In 1974 he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for
disseminating anti-Soviet ideas. When Armenia declared its
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 he became a member of the
new Republican Party, and became a deputy of the national assembly in
1995. He subsequently served as the party's chairman.