Andranik Markarjan

Andranik Margarian (center left) with Bishop Sebouh Chouldjian

Andranik Markarjan ( Armenian Անդրանիկ Մարգարյան , in English transcription Markarian ; born June 12, 1951 in Yerevan ; † March 25, 2007 ibid) was an Armenian politician ( Republican Party ) and most recently Prime Minister of Armenia from 2000 until his death .

Life

Andranik Markarjan's parents were from Sason and had fled to Aragazotn province as survivors of the genocide , where they lived in the village of Irind . From 1967 to 1972 he studied computer technology in the cybernetic department of the Yerevan Polytechnic Engineering School (Yerevan, as the capital of the Armenian SSR, was a center of the Soviet computer industry). Since 1965 he was involved in politics and since 1968 a member of the National United Party, which operated underground in the Armenian SSR from 1967 to 1987. Since 1973 he was a member of the party's executive committee. He criticized the totalitarian Soviet system, defended Armenian affairs and expressed his vision of the future of Armenian citizens in a democratic and independent state. From 1972 to 1974 Markarjan was a research assistant at a college , later an engineer in the Yerevan branch of the Research Institute of the Gas Industry. In 1974 he was arrested for his political activities and sentenced to two years in prison as a nationalist dissident .

After imprisonment, he worked as an engineer in the Armenian Energy Research Institute from 1977 to 1978 (at that time there was an energy deficit problem, which was solved by the construction of the Mezamor nuclear power plant ). 1978–1979 he worked as head of the computer department of the electrotechnical factory, 1979–1990 as head of the electronics department of the national information computer center in the Ministry of Commerce.

From 1990, when the USSR was already in the process of disintegration, until 1994 he was head of the information department in the “National Department for Special Programs”. Since 1992 he was a member of the Republican Party, now the largest party in Armenia. In 1996 he joined a Nagorno-Karabakh War Veterans Association and later became a member of the board of directors.

1994–1995 he worked again as a research assistant at a college at the State Engineering University of Armenia, until he moved in 1995 as a member of the National Assembly . In 1997 he became chairman of the Republican Party. He defended his direct mandate in the 1999 elections and was then elected group leader. On May 12, 2000, he took over the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia from Aram Zarkissyan . After the 2003 elections, he remained in office as Prime Minister and has since headed the coalition government that was formed as a result of the elections. For the parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007 he wanted to run again and was also number 1 on his party's list. However, it was agreed that Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan would take over Markarian's post after the elections. Sargsyan had only joined the Republican Party in 2006, but immediately took over the chairmanship of the party council. As before, Markarjan played a balancing role in the current election campaign.

Markarjan died at the age of only 55 from complications from a heart attack . He left a wife, three children and five grandchildren.

Government balance sheet

When Markaryan was appointed, the country was in a deep internal political crisis. On October 27, 1999, assassins stormed the Armenian National Assembly and shot leading politicians (including Prime Minister Wasken Zarkissyan , Speaker of Parliament Karen Demirchyan , a minister and five ordinary MPs). This event not only increased the general polarization in society, it also intensified the formation of factions within the Republican Party. Initially, Aram Sarkissjan , the brother of the murdered Prime Minister, took office, but he got into ever greater conflicts with President Robert Kocharyan .

A compromise candidate was needed who could be trusted by the broadest possible circles within the elite. Markarjan fulfilled this position well. Over time, despite his lack of charisma, he became a key figure in the political system and earned respect among opposition representatives. With his ability to balance and mediate, he achieved an internal political stability that is widely considered to be his greatest achievement. His almost seven-year term as Prime Minister is by far the longest in the young history of the Republic of Armenia - previously there had been nine Prime Ministers in nine years.

During his reign the economy grew strongly (the growth rate of the gross domestic product was over 10% in each case), but it was not until 2006 that unemployment fell noticeably. This phenomenon, known as " employment-free growth called" (jobless growth), is typical of earlier socialist countries because the growth primarily by an increase in labor productivity is achieved. In Armenia, the gap between rich and poor has widened in recent years, and the inequality of income and wealth is greater than in any other CIS country . The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict persisted during his term of office (it should be noted, however, that in Armenia - similar to France, for example - the president has far greater powers in the field of foreign policy).

Little progress has been made in the fight against corruption. Although on the initiative u. a. Council of Europe has passed several new laws in this area but has not been implemented. For example, the traffic police are considered endemically corrupt. The same applies to city administrations with regard to building permits and the health sector. The reform of the education system that has begun cannot yet be assessed because successes or failures will only become apparent over the course of years. In connection with the Bologna Process , the universities are to be reformed. However, corruption is currently widespread there too. According to the Soviet model, the school system used to consist of only eleven grade levels. It was changed to 12 grade levels with the new first graders. This means that all children start school at the age of six. As part of this change, lessons in the first grade are to be less performance-oriented and more playful.

Web links

Commons : Andranik Margaryan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Government of the Republic of Armenia ( Armenian , English, Russian)

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The common English spelling Andranik Margaryan is a transliteration , because the name is written with g (գ), but it is pronounced [ kʰ ] (ք)
2. ↑ Armenia's prime minister is dead , taz of March 26, 2007, p. 2, 21 Z. (dpa agency)