Samvel Babayan

Samvel Babayan
Minister of Defence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
In office January 1995 – August 1999
President	Leonard Petrosyan Arkadi Ghukasyan
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Seyran Ohanyan
Personal details
Born	(1965-03-05) 5 March 1965 (age 59) Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AO, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Liberal Party Dashink (previously) United Homeland Party (Artsakh)
Occupation	Soldier, Politician
Awards	Hero of Artsakh (Renounced in 2020)
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union Republic of Artsakh
Branch/service	Soviet Army Artsakh Defense Army
Years of service	1983—1985 1988—2000 2020
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	First Nagorno-Karabakh War Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

Samvel Andraniki Babayan (Armenian: Սամվել Անդրանիկի Բաբայան; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenian military officer and politician. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and became a war hero among Armenians for the military victories achieved under his command.

Following the war, he served as the Defense Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 2000. During this period, Babayan "became not only the military leader but the most powerful man in Karabakh overall, controlling its government and economy" until his arrest and imprisonment in 2000 on charges of attempting to assassinate Arkadi Ghukasyan, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.^[1] Babayan was released from prison early in 2004. He served as Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh from May 2020 until November 2020, when he resigned after Armenia's defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.