# Nikol Pashinyan By [Mocak](https://paragraph.com/@mocak) · 2024-01-17 --- **Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan** ([Armenian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_language): Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան,[\[a\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-1) pronounced [\[nikɔl pʰɑʃinˈjɑn\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Armenian); born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the [prime minister of Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Armenia) since 8 May 2018.[\[b\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-2) A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in 1998, which was shut down a year later for libel. He was sentenced for one year for defamation against then Minister of National Security [Serzh Sargsyan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serzh_Sargsyan). He edited the newspaper [_Haykakan Zhamanak_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haykakan_Zhamanak) ("Armenian Times") from 1999 to 2012. A supporter of Armenia's first president [Levon Ter-Petrosyan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levon_Ter-Petrosyan), he was highly critical of second president [Robert Kocharyan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kocharyan), Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan, and their allies.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-Arshaguni_weekly-3) Pashinyan was also critical of Armenia's close relations with Russia, and promoted establishing closer relations with Turkey instead.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-eviction_plan-4) He led a minor opposition party in the [2007 parliamentary election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Armenian_parliamentary_election), garnering 1.3% of the vote. Pashinyan was a dedicated supporter of Ter-Petrosyan, who made a political comeback prior to the [2008 presidential election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Armenian_presidential_election), before losing to Serzh Sargsyan in what Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters claimed was a fraudulent election. Pashinyan was one of the leaders of Ter-Petrosyan's supporters in the [post-election protests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Armenian_presidential_election_protests) in February and March 2008; the protests were dispersed by security forces on March 1, resulting in the deaths of ten people.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-RFE12tough-5) Convicted of organizing mass disorders, he went into hiding until mid-2009. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the protests. He was released in May 2011 as part of a general amnesty. He was [elected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Armenian_parliamentary_election) to parliament from Ter-Petrosyan's broad opposition coalition, the [Armenian National Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_National_Congress), in 2012. Pashinyan later distanced himself from Ter-Petrosyan on political grounds, establishing the party [Civil Contract](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Contract_\(Armenia\)). Along with two other opposition parties, Pashinyan formed the [Way Out Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Out_Alliance) which garnered almost 8% of the vote in the [2017 parliamentary election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Armenian_parliamentary_election). He was the leader of the [2018 Armenian revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Armenian_revolution) which forced Prime Minister [Serzh Sargsyan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serzh_Sargsyan) and his government to resign. He was elected acting prime minister by parliament on 8 May 2018 and won [snap parliamentary elections](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Armenian_parliamentary_election) in December 2018.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-6)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-7) Pashinyan's victory had originally been heralded by some observers as an improvement in democracy,[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-transit2020-8) while others have criticized Pashinyan as a mere populist.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-Populist_Showman-9) Pashinyan's new government included multiple liberal western [NGO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization) activists being appointed to senior positions,[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-Kucera_elections-10) as well as supporters from the Velvet Revolution who had no previous political experience.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-makunts1-11)[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-makunts2-12) Pashinyan led Armenia through the [2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nagorno-Karabakh_war), the most recent and significant outbreak of violence due to the [Nagorno-Karabakh conflict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_conflict) between Armenia with the self-proclaimed [Republic of Artsakh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Artsakh) and its neighbor [Azerbaijan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan). The war, which was ended after 44 days of fighting by a [trilateral ceasefire agreement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nagorno-Karabakh_ceasefire_agreement) signed by Pashinyan on 9 November 2020, resulted in significant human, material and territorial losses for the Armenian side. Pashinyan's government was criticized within Armenia for its management of the war.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-hetq127361-13) Following the war, Pashinyan was accused of being a traitor and faced [protests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%932021_Armenian_protests) and calls for his resignation.[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-14) Despite the protests and a declaration by 40 high-ranking military officers [calling for his resignation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Armenian_political_crisis) (which Pashinyan described as a coup attempt), Pashinyan resisted calls to hand over political power.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-:2-15)[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-:3-16) On 25 April 2021, Pashinyan announced his formal resignation to allow snap elections to be held in June, although he remained as acting prime minister in the leadup to the elections.[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol_Pashinyan#cite_note-17) His party won the [2021 election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Armenian_parliamentary_election), receiving more than half of all votes. --- *Originally published on [Mocak](https://paragraph.com/@mocak/nikol-pashinyan)*