Robert Kocharyan

Robert Kocharyan
Ռոբերտ Քոչարյան
Official portrait, c. 1998
2nd President of Armenia
In office 9 April 1998 – 9 April 2008 Acting: 4 February – 9 April 1998
Prime Minister	Armen Darbinyan Vazgen Sargsyan Aram Sargsyan Andranik Margaryan Serzh Sargsyan
Preceded by	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Succeeded by	Serzh Sargsyan
6th Prime Minister of Armenia
In office 20 March 1997 – 10 April 1998
President	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Preceded by	Armen Sargsyan
Succeeded by	Armen Darbinyan
1st President of Nagorno-Karabakh
In office 29 December 1994 – 20 March 1997
Prime Minister	Leonard Petrosyan
Preceded by	Garen Baburyan [hy] (Acting)
Succeeded by	Leonard Petrosyan (Acting)
2nd Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh
In office August 1992 – 29 December 1994
President	Georgy Petrosyan (Acting) Karen Baburyan (Acting)
Preceded by	Oleg Yesayan
Succeeded by	Leonard Petrosyan
Personal details
Born	(1954-08-31) 31 August 1954 (age 69) Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Soviet Union
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Armenia Alliance
Spouse	Bella Kocharyan
Children	3
Alma mater	National Polytechnic University of Armenia
Signature
Website	robertkocharyan.am

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan (Armenian: Ռոբերտ Սեդրակի Քոչարյան pronounced [rɔˈbɛɾt sɛtʰɾɑˈki kʰɔtʃʰɑɾˈjɑn]; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008 and as Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.

Kocharyan was elected president of Armenia twice, in 1998 and 2003; both presidential elections were held in two rounds. During most of his presidency, between 2001 and 2007, Armenia's economy grew on average by 12% annually,^[1] largely due to a construction boom.^[2] While Kocharyan's supporters credit him with securing Armenia's economic growth during his presidency, his critics accuse him of promoting corruption and the creation of an oligarchic system of government in Armenia.^[3][4]

On July 26, 2018 Kocharyan was charged in connection with the crackdown on the 2008 Armenian presidential election protests in the final weeks of his presidency, which resulted in the deaths of ten people.^[5] Kocharyan's trial began on 13 May 2019.^[6] The trial ended in March 2021 after the Constitutional Court of Armenia declared unconstitutional the article of the criminal code under which Kocharyan was being tried.^[7]

Kocharyan returned to active participation in Armenian politics following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. He participated in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election as the head of the Armenia Alliance with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Reborn Armenia party, which came in second place after Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party and entered parliament as the opposition.^[8]