31 Facts About Vigen Sargsyan

Vigen Sargsyan is an Armenian politician who served as the Defence Minister of Armenia from October 2016 until May 2018 and as the Chief of Presidential Administration from October 2011 to October 2016.

Vigen Sargsyan is not related to either the former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan or the former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

Vigen Sargsyan left the office after the Velvet Revolution led by opposition politician Nikol Pashinyan, who became Armenia's new prime minister.

In 2019, Vigen Sargsyan joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow.

Vigen Sargsyan is wanted in Armenia on charges of abuse of power during his time as defence minister; Sargsyan rejects the charges as politically motivated.

Vigen Sargsyan was born on 10 May 1975 in Yerevan into a family of medics.

Vigen Sargsyan graduated from the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Saint Petersburg in 1996, then graduated from Yerevan State University's Department of International Relations in 1999, earning a master's degree in "History of Diplomacy and International Relations".

Vigen Sargsyan holds an Executive MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an Honorary Professor of the North-West Academy of Public Administration.

Vigen Sargsyan was an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Armenia from 2001 to 2011, teaching graduate course in the field of International Public Law, International Human Rights and International Relations.

When Serzh Sargsyan was sworn in as President in April 2008, Vigen Sargsyan was offered to stay and continued public service.

On 27 January 2009 the then-President Serzh Vigen Sargsyan promoted him to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff.

Vigen Sargsyan has regularly expressed his confidence that the conflict shall be resolved based on compromises, but only when the right of people of Artsakh for self-determination is acknowledged and its execution is internationally guaranteed.

On 3 October 2016 Vigen Sargsyan was appointed Minister of Defence by President Serzh Vigen Sargsyan, succeeding Seyran Ohanyan.

Vigen Sargsyan announced that his efforts as Defence Minister would be aimed at building the "nation-army" concept, which he described as the idea of assuring full democratic control over military in a country, where the Armed Forces are unproportionally big compared to the size of population.

Vigen Sargsyan launched programs of introduction of educational programs in the military units, aimed at giving conscripts professional skills and knowledge, particularly in IT field, to empower them for growth after demobilization.

Vigen Sargsyan has launched a scientific research battalion for conscripts with advanced degrees in various scientific branches.

Vigen Sargsyan was reappointed to the same position by President Armen Sarkissian in 2018.

The "nation-army" term, though frequently discussed during Vigen Sargsyan's tenure, fell out of use after he left the post in May 2018.

Vigen Sargsyan resigned on 8 May 2018, following the election of Nikol Pashinyan as the Prime Minister of Armenia.

Vigen Sargsyan said that he would only continue to act as Defence Minister until a new minister is appointed, citing impossibility of serving as a minister under an administration whose political views, values and methods one does not share and warned the new authorities of potential mistakes in foreign policy, particularly related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Since 2003 Vigen Sargsyan has been actively involved in initiation, planning and execution of major international cultural projects and initiatives, related to presentation of Armenian historic and cultural heritage.

In 2004 Vigen Sargsyan coordinated the first major Armenian Diaspora cultural festival in Yerevan, Armenia, attended by 2,000 participants from over 35 countries.

Since 2008, Vigen Sargsyan chaired the Educational Committee of the "Luys" Foundation, which established generous scholarships for students from Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, admitted to top 10 universities globally.

Vigen Sargsyan called for peace in the region and emphasized importance of dialogue and tolerance.

New authorities of Armenia neither invited Vigen Sargsyan to participate in the launch of the exhibition, nor wanted to acknowledge his contribution until pressed on the matter by international partners and some of the participating cultural institutions in Armenia.

In 2014 Vigen Sargsyan has been elected and served as the Chairman of the Board of Matenadaran, the Museum-Institute of Ancient Armenian Manuscripts.

Vigen Sargsyan has been a severe critic of Pashinyan's government since August 2018.

Vigen Sargsyan has described the authorities' stance on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and matters of domestic and international politics as amateur and opportunistic, and warned that they will inevitably lead to a new war and dire consequences for the country.

In November 2020, after the defeat of the Armenian side in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Vigen Sargsyan joined a number of other public figures calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In February 2023, Vigen Sargsyan was charged in connection with the aforementioned case of alleged violations in the process of distribution of government-funded housing to Armenian army officers.

Vigen Sargsyan is fluent in Russian and English, apart from his native Armenian.