Vazgen Manukyan

Who is Vazgen Manukyan?

Vazgen Manukyan was Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993 Manukyan was acting Minister of Defense.

Manukyan was born in Leninakan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, and holds a PhD in mathematics and physical science. He is married and has three children.

He was arrested in December 1988 in Moscow because he was a member of the Karabakh committee and spent six months in prison. He became Prime Minister on August 13, 1990 but resigned on November 22, 1991. After Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, he was elected in parliament three times and ran unsuccessfully for President of Armenia in 1996, 1998 and 2003. Vazgen Manukyan is the Chairman of National Democratic Union party.

It has been alleged that the September 1996 presidential election was rigged to ensure a first round victory for President Levon Ter-Petrossian so that he would not have to face Manukyan in a second round.

In the February 2008 presidential election, Manukyan, running again as the National Democratic Union's candidate, placed fifth with 1.3% of the vote according to final official results.