Karen Karapetyan

Karen Vilhelmi Karapetyan (Armenian: Կարեն Վիլհելմի Կարապետյան, Karen Vilhelmi Karapetyan; born 14 August 1963[1]) is an Armenian politician who was Prime Minister of Armenia from September 2016 until April 2018. He was previously Mayor of Yerevan, the capital, from 2010 to 2011.

Karen Karapetyan
Կարեն Կարապետյան
14th Prime Minister of Armenia
In office
23 April 2018 – 8 May 2018
Acting
PresidentArmen Sarkissian
Preceded bySerzh Sargsyan
Succeeded byNikol Pashinyan
In office
13 September 2016 – 17 April 2018
Acting: 9 April 2018 – 17 April 2018
PresidentSerzh Sargsyan
Armen Sarkissian
Preceded byHovik Abrahamyan
Succeeded bySerzh Sargsyan
First Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia
In office
18 April 2018 – 8 May 2018
Prime MinisterSerzh Sargsyan
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byArarat Mirzoyan
Mayor of Yerevan
In office
17 December 2010 – 15 November 2011
Preceded byGagik Beglaryan
Succeeded byTaron Margaryan
Personal details
Born (1964-08-14) 14 August 1964
Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AO, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Children3
Alma materYerevan State University

Karapetyan was chief executive of the Armenian-Russian joint venture ArmRosGazprom beginning in 2001.[2] He became Mayor of Yerevan on 17 December 2010 after receiving overwhelming support from the municipal assembly. He succeeded Gagik Beglaryan, a controversial mayor who resigned in early December 2010 after being embroiled in a high-profile scandal with the presidential administration of Serzh Sargsyan.

Karapetyan resigned as Mayor on 28 October 2011 and in November 2011 Taron Margaryan was elected mayor in his place. After his resignation, he returned to Russia to continue working for Gazprom.[3] He was appointed as Prime Minister by President Serzh Sargsyan on 13 September 2016 and held office until 9 April 2018. Karapetyan served as First Deputy Prime Minister since 17 April 2018, when he was appointed Acting Prime Minister following the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.[4]

Mayor of Yerevan (2010-2011)

Just one month into his term as mayor, Karapetyan arguably sparked the 2011 Armenian protests when he ordered the municipality to enforce a strict ban on street trading. Angry street vendors took to the streets to call for Karapetyan's resignation and the repeal of the ban.[5] As protests grew larger, with many rallies being held illegally in Yerevan's central Freedom Square,[6] Karapetyan held his ground, insisting that the ban on gathering in Freedom Square would remain in place and refusing to consider relaxing the municipality's restrictions on street trading.[7]

Prime Minister of Armenia (2016-2018)

After the resignation of Hovik Abrahamyan, Karapetyan was quickly named a possible successor. This was confirmed during a meeting of the Republican Party of Armenia and officially confirmed by President Serzh Sargsyan on 13 September 2016. It was said that Karapetyan's new Government would bring sweeping changes and reforms to the country and economy. His term ended on 17 April 2018, when former President Serzh Sargsyan was named Prime Minister, in a move that opposition groups denounced as a power grab. After a week of protests, Sargsyan resigned on 23 April, and Karapetyan was named Acting Prime Minister until 8 May, when Nikol Pashinyan was elected new Prime Minister.

Personal life

Karen Karapetyan is married and has three children. In 1989, he earned a PhD in economics.

References
  1. Newly appointed Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan’s biography on https://armenpress.am
  2. "Երևան". Yerevan.
  3. "Gazprom executive Karen Karapetyan named as Armenian PM". Reuters. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. Обязанности премьера Армении возложены на Карена Карапетяна [Duties of the Prime Minister of Armenia assigned to Karen Karapetyan]. Interfax (in Russian). 23 April 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. "Municipality ignores vendors' claims". A1+ TV. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  6. "Armenian opposition undeterred by Freedom Square ban". News.Az. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. Astghik Bedevian (1 April 2011). "Ban On Street Trade In Yerevan 'Irreversible'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 13 December 2019.

See also
Political offices
Preceded by
Gagik Beglaryan		 Mayor of Yerevan
2010–2011		 Succeeded by
Taron Margaryan
Preceded by
Hovik Abrahamyan		 Prime Minister of Armenia
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Serzh Sargsyan
Preceded by
Serzh Sargsyan		 Prime Minister of Armenia
Acting
2018		 Succeeded by
Nikol Pashinyan


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