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Vahagn Khachatryan

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His Excellency
Vahagn Khachaturyan
Վահագն Խաչատուրյան
Khachaturyan in 2025
5th President of Armenia
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 March 2022
Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan
Preceded byArmen Sarkissian
Alen Simonyan (Acting)
Minister of High-Tech Industry
In office
4 August 2021 – 3 March 2022
Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan
Preceded byHayk Chobanyan
Succeeded byDavit Sahakyan (Acting)
Robert Khachatryan
Mayor of Yerevan
In office
4 December 1992 – 22 February 1996
Preceded byHambardzum Galstyan
Succeeded byAshot Mirzoyan
Personal details
Born (1959-04-22) 22 April 1959
Sisian, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
PartyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Armenian National Congress (2013–2022)
SpouseAnahit Minasyan
Children2
OccupationEconomist
Signature
Websitewww.vahagnhacaturyan.com

Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan (Armenian: Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատուրյան, pronounced [vɑˈhɑɡən χɑt͡ʃʰɑtuɾˈjɑn]; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian economist and politician who has served as the fifth and current president of Armenia since 2022.[1] He previously served as mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and minister of High-Tech Industry from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.[2][3]

He was a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) until his resignation in 2022, although he had not participated in party activities since 2017.[4][5] He led the ANC list in the 2013 Yerevan City Council election.[6][7]

Early life and career

Khachaturyan was born in 1959 in Sisian. He graduated from the Yerevan Institute of National Economy in 1980, with the qualification of economist. From 1980 to 1982, he served in the Soviet Army. After fulfilling his national service, he carried out for the next decade pedagogical activities at the Yerevan Institute, working for the first eight years at the HrazdanMash (Hrazdan Instrumental Production) Enterprise as an economist and then at the Mars Factory as the deputy general director until 1992.

Political career

From 1990 to 1996, Khachaturyan was a member of the Yerevan City Council, and from 1992 to 1996 he held the mayorship of Yerevan. He was a deputy in the National Assembly of Armenia from 1995 to 1999.[8] From 1996 to 1998 he was an adviser to President Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

In 2002 he became Vice President of the Center for Political Science, Law, and Economic Research. He was appointed to the government as Minister of High-Tech Industry in 2021.

Presidency (2022–present)

List of foreign visits by Vahagn Khachaturyan[9]
Date(s) Country Locations Type of Visit
May 30, 2022 Georgia Tbilisi First official foreign visit. Met with President Salome Zourabichvili and PM Irakli Garibashvili to discuss regional cooperation.
June 16–18, 2022 Russia St. Petersburg Attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
September 18–19, 2022 United Kingdom London Attended the State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the official reception hosted by King Charles III.
October 5–6, 2022 Bulgaria Sofia Met with President Rumen Radev.
November 6–8, 2022 Egypt Sharm El Sheikh Attended the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27).
January 15–17, 2023 Estonia Tallinn Met with President Alar Karis, and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
January 16–19, 2023  Switzerland Davos Attended the World Economic Forum (WEF).
April 18–20, 2023 Lithuania Vilnius Met with President Gitanas Nausėda.
May 5–6, 2023 United Kingdom London Attended the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
May 22–24, 2023 Qatar Doha Participated in the Qatar Economic Forum and held talks with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
July 24–25, 2023 Vatican City Vatican City / Rome Received in an audience by Pope Francis. Held talks with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
October 11–12, 2023 Turkmenistan Ashgabat Met with President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
December 9–12, 2023 Argentina Buenos Aires Attended the presidential inauguration ceremony of Javier Milei.
December 13–15, 2023 Uruguay Montevideo Met with President Luis Lacalle Pou.
January 15–18, 2024  Switzerland Davos Attended the World Economic Forum (WEF).
February 5-7, 2024 Hungary Budapest State visit
February 16–18, 2024 Germany Munich Attended the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
April 22–23, 2024 Georgia Tbilisi Met with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
May 27–29, 2024 Kazakhstan Astana Held talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
July 25–27, 2024 France Paris Attended the official opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics at the invitation of the IOC and President Emmanuel Macron.
October 2024 Germany Berlin
October 11, 2024 Turkmenistan Ashgabat Participated in an international forum commemorating the 300th anniversary of the poet Magtymguly Pyragy.
May 2025 Vatican City Vatican City Inauguration of Pope Leo XIV[10]
June 2025 France Paris
January 2026  Switzerland Davos Attended the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) sessions.
February 2026 Greece Athens State visit.

Nomination and election

Salome Zourabichvili and President Khachaturyan meeting in Tbilisi, 30 May 2022.

Following the resignation of President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian in January 2022, the ruling Civil Contract Party nominated Khachaturyan for the presidency.[11] He was elected president by the Armenian parliament in the second round of voting.[12] He was inaugurated on 13 March 2022.[13]

Domestic ctivities

Khachaturyan actively promotes Armenia's high-tech sector as a key area of economic diversification.

Foreign activities

Khachaturyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, 16 June 2022

In June 2022, he visited the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on its 25th anniversary in St. Petersburg, Russia.[14] In February 2024, he visited Hungary, the first state visit since the restoration of diplomatic relations and the second visit of an Armenian president since 1989.[15] He met with President Katalin Novák, Speaker Laszlo Kover, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and representatives of the Armenian community of Hungary.[16] He also visited Pázmány Péter Catholic University.[17]

In an interview with Russian media outlet RTVI, Khachaturyan declared that Armenia had transitioned away from a "little brother" dynamic with Russia in favor of a new and equal partnership with Moscow.[18]

Personal life

He is married to Anahit Minasyan and has two children. Besides his native Armenian, he also speaks Russian and English.

Other activities

  • 2000: Founding member of the ARMAT Center for Democracy and Civil Society Development
  • 2006: Founding member of the social and political initiatives "Aylyntrank"
  • 2019–2021: Member of the Board of the Armeconombank

Awards

References

  1. Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատրյան (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan Municipality. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. "Former mayors of Yerevan". Yerevan Municipality Official Website. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. Decrees of the President of the Republic
  4. "High-Tech minister addresses reports that he is ruling party's pick for presidency". armenpress.am. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022. According to Khachaturyan, he quit the party after the 2017 elections, but he said there might be some formal paperwork issues about that.
  5. Ani Avetisyan (1 February 2022). "Armenian Public TV: Vahagn Khachaturyan to be offered country's presidency". oc-media.org. Retrieved 13 June 2025. According to Khachaturyan, he stopped his party activities in 2017, but remains a member — though he said he would terminate his membership before officially accepting a nomination for the presidency.
  6. "ANC rep. Vahagn Khachatryan to run for Yerevan mayor?". PanARMENIAN.Net. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. "National Assembly of Armenia | Official Web Site | parliament.am".
  8. "President of the Republic of Armenia - The President - The President of the Republic of Armenia". www.president.am. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  9. "Արտերկրյա այցեր - Լրատվություն - Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Նախագահ". www.president.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 25 May 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  10. Lista De Personalidades Esperadas En La Entronización Del Nuevo Papa León XIV (in Spanish)
  11. Ghazanchyan, Siranush (2 February 2022). "Vahagn Khachaturyan officially nominated for President of Armenia". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  12. "Vahagn Khachaturyan elected President of Armenia". armenpress.am. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  13. "President-elect Vahagn Khachaturyan to be inaugurated in 10 days". Armenpress. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. "2022 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum: Day 1". 15 June 2022.
  15. https://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2024/02/05/Announcement/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. https://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2024/02/07/President-Vahagn-Khachaturyan-met-with-Laszlo-Kover-07.02/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. https://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2024/02/07/President-Vahagn-Khachaturyan-visited-Pazmany-Peter-Catholic-University/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. "Armenian President: 'there is no question' of the nationalisation of Electric Networks". OC Media. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  19. Указ Президента Туркменистана от 11 октября 2024 года «О награждении юбилейной медалью Туркменистана „Magtymguly Pyragynyň 300 ýyllygyna“ Президента Республики Армения ХАЧАТУРЯНА Ваагна Гарниковича»
  20. Statements by the Presidents of the Hellenic Republic Constantine An. Tassoulas and the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan
  21. "Президент Ваагн Хачатурян и премьер-министр Никол Пашинян награждены Большим крестом ордена Почетного легиона". Armenpress (in Russian). 4 May 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.