Vazgen Sargsyan

Vazgen Sargsyan
Վազգեն Սարգսյան
8th Prime Minister of Armenia
In office 11 June 1999 – 27 October 1999
President	Robert Kocharyan
Preceded by	Armen Darbinyan
Succeeded by	Aram Sargsyan
Defence Minister of Armenia
In office 25 July 1995 – 11 June 1999
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan Robert Kocharyan
Preceded by	Serzh Sargsyan
Succeeded by	Vagharshak Harutiunyan
In office 5 December 1991 – 20 October 1992
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded by	Drastamat Kanayan (1920)
Succeeded by	Vazgen Manukyan
Leader of the Republican Party
In office 1998–1999
Preceded by	Ashot Navasardyan
Succeeded by	Andranik Margaryan
State Minister on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs
In office July 1993 – 25 July 1995
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Serzh Sargsyan
Presidential Adviser on Defence Affairs
In office 20 October 1992 – 5 March 1993
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Vazgen Manukyan
Head of the Supreme Council Commission on Defence and Internal Affairs
In office June 1990 – 5 December 1991
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1959-03-05)5 March 1959 Ararat, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	27 October 1999(1999-10-27) (aged 40) Yerevan, Armenia
Manner of death	Assassination
Resting place	Yerablur
Political party	Pan-Armenian National Movement (1990–1998) Republican Party of Armenia (1998–1999)
Relations	Aram Sargsyan (brother)
Alma mater	Yerevan Institute of Physical Culture
Occupation	Politician military commander teacher writer
Awards	National Hero of Armenia Hero of Artsakh
Signature
Nickname	Sparapet
Military service
Branch/service	Armed Forces of Armenia Armenian militia
Years of service	1989–1994
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan^[1] (Armenian: Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, pronounced [vɑzˈɡɛn zɑvɛˈni sɑɾkʰəsˈjɑn]; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 1999. He served as Armenia's Prime Minister from 11 June 1999 until his assassination on 27 October of that year. He rose to prominence during the mass movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia in the late 1980s and led Armenian volunteer groups during the early clashes with Azerbaijani forces. Appointed defence minister by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan soon after Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in late 1991, Sargsyan became the most prominent commander of Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.^[2] In different positions, he regulated the military operations in the war area until 1994, when a ceasefire was reached ending the war with Armenian forces controlling almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.

In the post-war years, Sargsyan tightened his grip on the Armed Forces of Armenia, establishing himself as a virtual strongman.^[3] After strongly supporting Ter-Petrosyan to retain power in 1996, he forced the president out of office in 1998 due to the latter's support for concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement negotiations, and helped Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan to be elected president. After his relations with Kocharyan deteriorated, Sargsyan merged the influential war veterans group Yerkrapah into the Republican Party and joined forces with Armenia's ex-communist leader Karen Demirchyan. In the May 1999 elections, their reform-minded alliance secured a comfortable majority in the National Assembly. Sargsyan became prime minister, emerging as the de facto decision-maker in Armenia with effective control of the military and the legislature.^[4]

Sargsyan, along with Demirchyan and several others, was assassinated in the Armenian parliament shooting of 27 October 1999. The perpetrators were sentenced to life in prison. However, the distrust toward the trial process gave birth to a number of conspiracy theories. Some experts and politicians argue that their assassination was masterminded by Kocharyan and National Security Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Others have suspected the possible involvement of foreign powers in the shooting.

Despite his mixed legacy, Sargsyan is now widely recognized as a national hero across the political spectrum and by the public. Given the honorific Sparapet, he made significant contributions to the establishment of Armenia as independent state and ensuring its security as the founder of the Armenian Army.^[5] He has also been criticized by human rights organizations for being undemocratic, especially for his role in elections. Sargsyan was awarded the highest titles of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh—National Hero of Armenia and Hero of Artsakh.