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Bako Sahakyan

Bako Sahakyan
Բակո Սահակյան
Sahakyan in 2008
3rd President of Artsakh
In office
7 September 2007 – 21 May 2020
Prime MinisterAnushavan Danielyan
Arayik Harutyunyan
Preceded byArkadi Ghukasyan
Succeeded byArayik Harutyunyan
Interior Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh
In office
1999–2001
PresidentArkadi Ghukasyan
Personal details
Born (1960-08-30) 30 August 1960 (age 64)
Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyIndependent
Alma materArtsakh University
Military service
Branch/service Soviet Army
Artsakh Defence Army
Years of service1978-1980
1990–2007
RankGeneral
Battles/warsFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War

Bako Sahaki Sahakyan[a] (Armenian: Բակո Սահակի Սահակյան; born 30 August 1960) is an Armenian politician who served as the third president of the de facto-independent Republic of Artsakh from 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving president of Artsakh.

He was first elected as president on 19 July 2007. On 19 July 2012, he was re-elected for a second five-year term, receiving approximately two-thirds of the votes.[1] In 2017, he was re-elected indirectly for a three-year term. Sahakyan replaced Arkadi Ghukasyan, who had held the presidential post for two five-year terms.

On October 3, 2023, Azerbaijan detained Bako Sahakyan from the territory of Artsakh, and since that moment he has been held in Baku in captivity.[2]

Early life

Sahakyan was born on 30 August 1960 in Stepanakert, the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijan SSR. After serving in the Soviet Army, he worked for nine years in a Stepanakert factory. In 1990, he joined the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, of which he became a deputy commander.[3]

Career

In 1999, he was named interior minister of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also led the Nagorno-Karabakh security service from 2001 to June 2007,[1][4][5] when he resigned in order to run in the 2007 Nagorno-Karabakh presidential election.

President of Artsakh

Sahakyan ran as an independent and won the elections with 85 percent of the votes. Voters mainly turned to Sahakyan because of his record in the security services.[6] He pledged to seek full independence for Artsakh, using the example of international recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, which he said would pave the way for acceptance of Artsakh's sovereignty.[7] He was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2012[8] and then indirectly by Artsakh's National Assembly in 2017 for a three-year term. He was succeeded by Arayik Harutyunyan, who previously served as Sahakyan's prime minister, in 2020.[9]

Arrest

On 3 October 2023, he and two other former presidents of Artsakh, Arkadi Ghukasyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, together with former president of the National Assembly Davit Ishkhanyan, were detained by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan and brought to Baku.[10][11]

Personal life

Sahakyan is married and has two children.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Sometimes transcribed as Sahakian or Saakian.

References

  1. ^ a b "The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in USA". Nkrusa.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  2. ^ "Azerbaijan Arrests Two Former Artsakh Presidents, Parliament Speaker". hetq. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  3. ^ "Former Security Chief Wins Nagorno-Karabakh Vote". Rferl.org. 2007-07-20. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  4. ^ [1] Archived October 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2004 - Page 132 by Taylor & Francis Group, Imogen Gladman
  6. ^ "Azerbaijan breakaway elects new president". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
  7. ^ [2] Archived August 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "СООБЩЕНИЕ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ ИЗБИРАТЕЛЬНОЙ КОМИССИИ НАГОРНО-КАРАБАХСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ". Азат Арцах. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  9. ^ Elliott, Raffi (2020-04-15). "Artsakh elects new president amid pandemic". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  10. ^ "Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Gukasyan, David Ishkhanyan were detained and brought to Baku". Azeri Press Agency. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Azerbaijan detains Arayik Harutyunyan - so-called former "leader" of separatists in Garabagh". Azeri Press Agency. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Bako Sahakyan - Biography". president.nkr.am. President of the Artsakh Republic. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by President of Artsakh
2007–2020 		Succeeded by
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