Raffi Hovannisian
Raffi K. Hovannisian (Armenian: Րաֆֆի Հովհաննիսյան; born November 20, 1959) is an American-born Armenian politician, the first Foreign Minister of Armenia and the founding leader of Heritage party. He is the founder of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, the republic’s first independent research center. His wife Armenouhi K. Hovannisian is the executive director of Junior Achievement of Armenia, an affiliate of Junior Achievement Worldwide.
Hovannisian, a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors, was born in Fresno, CA to Richard Hovannisian, Ph.D., professor of Armenian and Near Eastern History at the UCLA, and Vartiter Hovannisian, MD. He moved to Armenia with his family in 1990. In 1991, Hovannisian was appointed as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the newly independent Republic of Armenia by then-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. In 2002, Hovannisian founded the Heritage party. It gained 6% of the popular vote in the 2007 parliamentary election, which gave 7 seats in a 131-seat National Assembly of Armenia. During the 2008 presidential election, Heritage supported main opposition candidate, ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, although Hovannisian voted against that decision during the party convention. In 2012 parliamentary election, which was not recognized by any opposition parties, Heritage won 5 seats.
In 2013, Hovannisian was one of the seven candidates at the presidential election and came in second with 37% vote. Hovannisian claimed victory due to alleged electoral fraud. In days following the election, mass protests take place both in Yerevan (Freedom Square in particular) and other cities and towns throughout Armenia. Hovannisian urged Sargsyan to accept "people's victory" and concede his defeat. Hovannisian called the movement 'Barevolution', a portmanteau of 'barev' (բարև, 'hello') and 'revolution', referring to his habit of walking up to people and greeting them during the election campaign.
Read more about Raffi Hovannisian: Background and Early Life, Education and Lawyer Career, Emigration To Armenia, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Personal Life, References
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