The politics of Armenia take place in the framework of the parliamentary representative democratic republic of Armenia, whereby the President of Armenia is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Armenia the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and Parliament.
The Government of the Republic of Armenia or the executive branch of the Armenian government is an executive council of government ministers in Armenia. It is one of the three main governmental branches of Armenia and is headed by the Prime Minister of Armenia.
Robert Kocharyan is an Armenian politician who served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008. He was previously President of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998. He was arrested on December 7, 2018.
Artur Baghdasaryan is a Republic of Armenia politician and former President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. He is the leader of the pro-government Armenia Renaissance party. He is married and has two children.
Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 19 February 2008. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan was elected in the first round according to official results, but this was disputed by former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who was officially placed second.
Armenian-Turkmen relations refers to the bilateral diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkmenistan. Diplomatic relations on October 9, 1992. Armenia is represented in has in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and Turkmenistan has its embassy in Yerevan. The current Ambassador of Armenia to Turkmenistan is Vladimir Badalyan. The current Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Armenia is Mukhamedniaz Mashalov.
Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 18 February 2013. In the run-up to the elections, Armenian's first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and one of the richest men in the country Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the second largest parliamentary party Prosperous Armenia, withdrew from the race in December 2012. Many believed that no candidate would be able to challenge incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, others stated that people see "absence of alternatives" and these factors caused great apathy among the public.
Yerevan City Council election was held on May 5, 2013. The Republican Party of Armenia won 56% of the total vote, Prosperous Armenia had 23%, while Barev Yerevan won over 8%. The opposition parties and the local observers denounced the elections as "unfair".
Various political and civil groups staged anti-government protests in Armenia in 2013. The first series of protests were held following the 2013 presidential election and were led by the former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian. Hovannisian, who, according to official results, lost to incumbent Serzh Sargsyan, denounced the results claiming they were rigged. Starting on 19 February, Hovannisian and his supporters held mass rallies in Yerevan's Freedom Square and other cities. On 10 March, Hovannisian started a hunger strike, calling elected President Sargsyan to resign before 9 April, the inauguration day. Hovannisian called "for the solution of this unprecedented pan-national fundamental issue before April 9." During an interview on 18 March 2013, Sargsyan said he would not visit Hovannisian and described his claims as "arrogant phrases seasoned with obscenities". Sargsyan was inaugurated on 9 April 2013, while Hovannisian and thousands of people gathered in the streets of Yerevan to protest it, clashing with the police forces blocking the way to the Presidential Palace. Hovannisian's movement was dubbed "Barevolution", a portmanteau of barev and revolution, referring to Raffi Hovannisian's habit of walking up to people and greeting them during the election campaign.
Hovik Argami Abrahamyan is an Armenian politician. A former member of the ruling Republican Party, he was the Prime Minister of Armenia from 13 April 2014 to 8 September 2016. Previously he was the President of the National Assembly of Armenia.
A constitutional referendum was held in Armenia on 6 December 2015. Its amendments to the constitution put the country on a course from having a semi-presidential system to being a parliamentary republic, with the changes beginning to take place during the 2017–18 electoral cycle. The referendum passed with 66.2% of voters supporting it. Voter turnout was 50.8%, passing the 33% threshold to validate the results.
Vigen Sargsyan is an Armenian politician, and ex-Defence Minister of Armenia, serving from October 2016 until May 2018. He is not related to either the former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan or the former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. He left office at his own accord after the newly appointed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised to fire him. Later Sargsyan said that he would continue to act as defence minister until a new minister is appointed.
The following lists events that occurred in 2018 in Armenia.
The 2018 Armenian revolution was a series of anti-government protests in Armenia from April to May 2018 staged by various political and civil groups led by member of parliament Nikol Pashinyan. Protests and marches took place initially in response to Serzh Sargsyan's third consecutive term as the most powerful figure in the government of the Armenia and later against the Republican Party-controlled government in general. Pashinyan declared it a Velvet Revolution.
The Second Serzh Sargsyan government was the governing body of Armenia from 17 April 2018 until 23 April 2018. Serzh Sargsyan was elected by National Assembly and was appointed Prime Minister by President Armen Sarkissian on 17 April 2018.
