Robert Kocharyan

Infobox_President
name = Robert Sedraki Kocharyan
_hy. Ռոբերտ Սեդրակի Քոչարյան


office = 2nd President of Armenia
primeminister = Armen Darbinyan
Vazgen Sargsyan
Aram Sargsyan
Andranik Margaryan
Serzh Sargsyan
vicepresident =
term_start = 4 February 1998
term_end = 9 April 2008
Acting until 10 April 1998
predecessor = Levon Ter-Petrossian
successor = Serzh Sargsyan
order2 = Prime Minister of Armenia
president2 = Levon Ter-Petrossian
deputy =
term_start2 = 20 March 1997
term_end2 = 10 April 1998
predecessor2 = Armen Sargsyan
successor2 = Armen Darbinyan
birth_date = birth date and age|1954|08|31|df=y
birth_place = Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Soviet Union
death_date =
death_place =
spouse = Bella Kocharyan
religion = Armenian Apostolic
party =

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan (IPA2|ɾobɛɹtʼ sɛdɹɑk’i kʰotʃʰɑɹjɑn, _hy. Ռոբերտ Սեդրակի Քոչարյան) (born August 31, 1954) was the President of Armenia from 1998 to 2008. He was previously President of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.

Personal details

Robert Kocharyan was born in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, at that time the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast under the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. He received his secondary education there and from 1972 to 1974 served in the Soviet Army. He and his wife, Bella Kocharyan, have three children: Sedrak, Gayane, and Levon, each of whom was born in Stepanakert. His wife, also born in Stepanakert, is a graduate of the Yerevan Medical Institute and each of his children is an alumnus of Yerevan State University.

Early career

Kocharyan's career began as an engineer at Stepanakert's electro-technical plant in 1971. After starting as a turner, he was later promoted to the post of mechanical engineer. In 1982, he graduated from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute's Electro-Technical Department with honors.

Kocharyan was drawn to politics after joining a movement to cede the land of Nagorno-Karabakh, his birth place, from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR. Throughout the 1980s, he occupied various posts in Nagorno-Karabakh's communist youth league and party. By February 1988, Kocharyan became one of the leaders in the Karabakh movement, as a member of the Krunk organization. After the organization broke apart, he founded the Miatsum (or Unification) organization. His influential political style brought him through the ranks of Soviet politics and by 1989, emerged as a deputy of Armenia's Supreme Soviet. In 1991, Kocharyan was elected a deputy of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's Supreme Soviet of the first convocation.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict plunged into all-out war. In August 1992, Kocharyan became Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (or NKR). He played a key role in mobilizing forces and stopping the Azerbaijani military offensive that threatened to overrun NKR and remove its population. This made it possible to turn the tide in the war for the Armenians. On May 12, a cease-fire was proclaimed and has largely held since. Kocharyan was elected NKR's first President on December 24 by the decision of the NKR Supreme Soviet.

On March 20, 1997, Kocharyan left his post as President when he was appointed Prime Minister of Armenia. In February 1998, Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian was forced to step down [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/s/w_asia/52898.stm Staff (4 February 1998) "Armenian president resigns" "BBC World Service"] ] after advocating concessions to Azerbaijan in the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh that many Armenians regarded as undermining their security. His key ministers, led by Kocharyan, refused to accept a peace plan for Karabakh put forward by international mediators in September 1997. The plan, accepted by Ter-Petrossian and Azerbaijan, called for a "phased" settlement of the conflict which would postpone an agreement on Karabakh's status. That agreement was to accompany the return of most Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh and the lifting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades of Armenia.

The engaging, multilingual Kocharian also had the diplomatic skills to keep Armenia on good terms with Moscow, Brussels, Washington, and Tehran – through the Iraq debacle, rhetorical blasts between the White House and Kremlin, and now the Iran imbroglio – is an impressive feat by any standard.

Presidency

After Ter-Petrossian's resignation, Kocharyan was elected as Armenia's second President on March 30, 1998, defeating his main rival, Karen Demirchyan, in an early presidential election marred by irregularities and violations as reported by international electoral observers. Complaints included that he had not been an Armenian citizen for ten years as required by the constitution.

In April 2002, less than a year before he was due to seek re-election, Kocharyan closed Armenia's main independent TV station, A1 Plus, and kept them off the air. This resulted in criticism from the Council of Europe and international media watchdogs, but A1 Plus is still (2006) not allowed to broadcast.Fact|date=April 2008

On March 5, 2003, Kocharyan won re-election for a second term as President. While live television debate between the candidates in 2003 was a first in Armenia and in the CIS, Kocharyan's re-election as President was marred by allegations of electoral fraud by both candidates' supporters. In early 2004, there were calls for Kocharyan's resignation and opposition-led demonstrators took to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of "no confidence" in him.

Foreign policy

As President, Kocharyan continued to negotiate a peaceful resolution with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Talks between Aliyev and Kocharyan were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, and holding referendums (plebiscites) in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region. On February 10-11, 2006, Kocharyan and Aliyev met in Rambouillet, France to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict, including the withdrawal of troops, formation of international peace keeping troops, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. [http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=1346&CID=1511&IID=&lng=eng Ghazinyan, Aris (10 February 2006) "Drawing the Line: Maps meet principles in the search for a settlement over Nagorno Karabakh" "Armenia Now"] ]

During the weeks and days before the talks in France, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen expressed cautious optimism that some form of an agreement was possible. French President Jacques Chirac met with both leaders separately and expressed hope that the talks would be fruitful. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from Kalbajar still being contentious. The next session of the talks was held in March 2006 in Washington, D.C. Russian President, Vladimir Putin applied pressure to both parties to settle the disputes. [ [http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=news_arm&id=21875 Staff (23 February 2006) "Putin Going to Invite Kocharyan to Moscow to Discuss Karabakh Issue" "YERKIR Armenian Online Newspaper"] ] Later in 2006 there was a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Minsk on 28 November and ministerial meetings in Moscow. "These talks did not initiate any progress, but I hope that time for solution will come." said Peter Semneby, EU envoy for the South Caucasuses. [Staff (21 February 2007) "Peter Semneby: EU tries to create trust between Karabakh and Azerbaijan" "YERKIR Armenian Online Newspaper"]

In September 2006, in his congratulatory message [ [http://armtown.com/news/en/aza/20060905/1840/ (1 September 2006) "Congratulations on Independence Day" "Azat Artsakh Newspaper"] ] on the occasion of 15th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Kocharyan said "The Karabakh people made their historical choice, protected their national interests in the forced war. Today, they are building a free and independent state." The accompanying message said that the duty of the Republic of Armenia and all the Armenians is to contribute to the strengthening and development of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to the international acknowledgment of the republic. [Staff (1 September 2006) "Robert Kocharyan: Nagorno Karabakh People Made Their Historical Choice, Protected Its National Interests in the Forced War. Today They Built Free and Independent State" "ARMINFO News Agency"]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Robert_Kocharian Article at armeniapedia.org]
* [http://www.persons.am/en/info.php?id=40 Robert Kocharyan]