Wasken Zarkissyan

Wasken Sarkissjan ( Armenian Վազգեն Սարգսյան Wasken Sargsjan , in scientific transliteration Vazgen Sargsyan ; born March 5, 1959 in Ararat , Armenian SSR ; † October 27, 1999 in Yerevan ) was Minister of Defense from 1992 to 1997 and from June 11, 1999 until his assassination Prime Minister of Armenia for the Republican Party .

Life

Wasken Sarkissjan worked as a sports teacher in his hometown after graduating in 1979. From 1983 to 1986 he also worked for the Komsomol . Then Sarkissjan, who also wrote poetry in his free time, worked in the advertising department of the monthly literary magazine Garun ( Գարուն , in German spring) until 1989 .

Since the mid-1980s he has been involved in the newly awakened Armenian national movement. An important goal was the separation of the predominantly Armenian-populated area of Nagorno-Karabakh from the Azerbaijani SSR and its affiliation with the Armenian SSR . In 1990 the first largely free elections in the Armenian SSR took place, in which Sarkissyan was elected to the Supreme Soviet. Between 1990 and 1992, Zarkissyan often stayed in Nagorno-Karabakh, where he fought in paramilitary units against Soviet and Azerbaijani troops. From 1992 to 1997 (with a short break in 1995) he was Minister of Defense. During the government crisis in February 1997, he supported the then Prime Minister and future President Robert Kocharyan . He was Prime Minister from June 11, 1999 to October 27, 1999. He died in an assassination attempt. Armed men stormed the Armenian National Assembly and shot not only Zarkissyan, but also the Speaker of Parliament Karen Demirchyan and other ministers and ordinary members of parliament. The background to the attack has not yet been fully clarified.

The next prime minister was his brother Aram Sarkissjan .

Honors

In 1999 the Wasken Sarkissjan Republican Stadium in Yerevan was named after him

the 2000 founded Wasken Zarkissjan Military University ( Armenian Վազգեն Սարգսյանի անվան ռազմական համալսարան ) in Yerevan bears his name

Streets in Yerevan, Stepanakert , Stepanawan and Mrgawet were named after Wasken Sarkissjan

Web links

Commons : Vazgen Sargsyan - Collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Zarkissjan, Wasken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Sarkissian, Wasken; Sarkisyan, Wasken; Sarkissjan, Vasgen; Zarkissjan, Vasken
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Armenian politician
DATE OF BIRTH	March 5, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ararat
DATE OF DEATH	October 27, 1999
Place of death	Yerevan