Government & politics — Armenia

• the etymology of the country's name remains obscure
• according to tradition, the country is named after Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and the great-great-grandson of Noah
• Hayk's descendant, Aram, purportedly is the source of the name Armenia

• 21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
• notable earlier dates: 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty)
• 1198 (Cilician Kingdom established)
• 28 May 1918 (Democratic Republic of Armenia declared)

• history: previous 1915, 1978;
• latest adopted 5 July 1995 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; passage requires approval by the president, by the National Assembly, and by a referendum with at least 25% registered voter participation and more than 50% of votes; constitutional articles on the form of government and democratic procedures are not amendable; amended 2005, 2015, last in 2020; the Constitutional Reform Council formed in 2019 was dissolved in December 2021, and replaced by a new Constitutional Reform Council, whose members were officially appointed in late January 2022; the new council is expected to address the form of government, i.e. presidential or semi-presidential or parliamentary, and whether to merge the Court of Cassation with the Constitutional Court

• chief of state: President
• Vahagn KHACHATURYAN (since 13 March 2022) head of government: Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 10 September 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN (since 3 August 2021) and Tigran KHACHATRYAN (since 19 December 2022); note - Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN resigned on 25 April 2021 in advance of the 20 June 2021 parliamentary election; he was reappointed by the preside
• nt on 2 August 2021 and sworn in on 10 September 2021 cabinet: Council of Min
• isters appointed by the prime minister elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly in 3 rounds if needed for a single 7-year term; election last held on 2-3 March 2022; prime minister indirectly elected by majority vote in 2
• rounds if needed by the National Assembly election results: 2022: Vahagn KHACHATURYAN elected president in second round; note - Vahagn K
• HACHATURYAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 71-0 2018: Armen SARKISSIAN elected president in first round; note - Armen
• SARKISSIAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 90-10 note: Nikol PASHINYAN was first elected prime minister on 8 May 2018 and reelected on January 2019; in response to a political crisis that followed Armenia's defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in late 2020, PASHINYAN called an early legislative election for June 2021; his party won the election and PASHINYAN was elected to the prime ministership for a third time; his election was confirmed by the president on 2 August 2021, and he was sworn in on 10 September 2021

Description

unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (minimum 101 seats, with additional seats allocated as necessary and generally changing with each parliamentary convocation; current - 107; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms; four mandates are reserved for national minorities; no more than 70% of the top membership of a party list can belong to the same sex; political parties must meet a 5% threshold and alliances a 7% threshold to win seats; at least three parties must be seated in the Parliament)

Elections

last held early on 20 June 2021 (next to be held in June 2026)

Election Results

• percent of vote by party/coalition - Civil Contract 53.9%, Armenia Alliance 21%, I Have Honour Alliance 5.2%, other 19.9%
• seats by party/coalition - Civil Contract 71, Armenia Alliance 29, I Have Honour Alliance 7
• composition as of January 2024 - men 68, women 39, percent of women 36.5%

• highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Appeals Court (consists of the Criminal Chamber with a chairman and 5 judges and the Civil and Administrative Chamber with a chairman and 10 judges – with both civil and administrative specializations); Constitutional Co
• urt (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body of selected judges and legal scholars; judges appointed by the president; judges can serve until age 65; Constitutional Court judges - 4 appointed by the president, and 5 elected by the National Assembly;
• judges can serve until age 70 subordinate courts: criminal and civil appellate courts; administrative appellate court; first instance courts; specialized administrative and bankruptcy courts

• 5165 National Conservative Movement Party [Karin TONOYAN]
• Alliance of Democrats [Arman BABAJANYAN]
• Armenia Alliance or HD [Robert KOCHARYAN] (formerly known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation)
• Armenian National Congress or ANC [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN] (bloc of independent and opposition parties)
• Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN]
• Civil Contract or KP [Nikol PASHINYAN]
• Country To Live In [Mane TANDILYAN]
• Homeland of Armenians [Artak GALSTYAN]
• Homeland Party [Artur VANETSYAN]
• I Have Honor Alliance (formerly known as the Republican Party of Armenia, [Serzh SARGSIAN]
• Liberal Party [Samvel BABAYAN]
• National Democratic Party [Vahe GASPARYAN]
• Prosperous Armenia or BHK [Gagik TSARUKYAN]
• Republic Party (Hanrapetutyun Party) [Aram SARGSYAN]

• no citizenship by descent only: at least one pa
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Kristina A. KVIEN (since 21 February 2023) embassy: 1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082 mailing address: 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020

telephone

[374] (10) 464-700

FAX

[374] (10) 464-742

Email address and website

• acsyerevan@state.gov
• https://am.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador Lilit MAKUNTS (since 15 September 2021)

chancery

2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

[1] (202) 319-1976

FAX

[1] (202) 319-2982

Email address and website

• armembassyusa@mfa.am
• https://usa.mfa.am/en/

consulate(s) general

Glendale (CA)