The Security Council of Armenia ( hy, Անվտանգության խորհուրդ, translit=Hayastani Anvtangut’yan khorhurd) is the highest decision-making defence and law enforcement body in the

Republic of Armenia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. The offices of the Security Council is located on 24 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

History

On 22 November 1991, President

Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan ( hy, Լևոն Հակոբի Տեր-Պետրոսյան; born 9 January 1945), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998 ...

appointed

Ashot Manucharyan Ashot Manucharyan (, born 1954 in Yerevan) is an Armenian educator, democratic socialist politician, and one of the founding members of the Karabakh Committee. After the independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union in 1991, he served as Minister ...

as Senior Advisor to the President on national security. On 13 December 1991, the National Security Council (NSC) attached to the Presidency was founded by decree. Following the 2005 constitutional amendments, article 55 of the

Constitution of Armenia The Constitution of Armenia was adopted by a nationwide Armenian referendum on July 5, 1995. This constitution established Armenia as a democratic, sovereign, social, and constitutional state. Yerevan is defined as the state's capital. Power is ...

foresaw the formation of the Armenian NSC attached to the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

and having a consultative status. On 29 February 2008,

Artur Baghdasaryan Artur Baghdasaryan ( hy, Արթուր Բաղդասարյան, born November 8, 1968) is an Armenian politician and former Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia and a former Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia. He is the ...

announced that he had accepted the post of Secretary of the National Security Council as part of a planned coalition government with then President-elect

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

.Anna Saghabalian
"Baghdasarian Returns To Armenian Government"
, Armenialiberty.org, February 29, 2008.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 29, 2008. The post of Secretary of the National Security Council was previously considered to be primarily ceremonial, with the council seldom meeting. With the election of Prime Minister Sargsyan to the presidency, with Sargsyan himself having formerly headed the council, the council became more active, giving newly appointed Secretary Baghdasaryan the opportunity "to get fully involved in the governance of our country." On 7 March 2018, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

adopted the law "About the Formation of the SC and Its Activity".

Functions

The Security Council defines main defense policy directions, as well as approves development plans for the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

and other militarized forces. It also, at the suggestion of the

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia is the head of government and most senior minister within the Government of Armenia, Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the ...

, discusses matters relating to the security and territorial integrity of Armenia. The Office of the Security Council ensures: * The organization of preparatory works for Security Council sessions * Working out of proposals on Security Council sessions * Collection of information on security threats to the Republic * Monitoring and preparation of reports * Supervision over the execution of assignments

Members

Members of the Security Council include: *Prime Minister/Chairman of the Security Council –

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan ( hy, Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, ; born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in 1 ...

*Deputy Prime Minister – Hambardzum Matevosyan *Deputy Prime Minister – Mher Grigoryan *Secretary –

Armen Grigoryan Armen Grigoryan (russian: Армен Григорян, hy, Արմեն Գրիգորյան) is a singer/songwriter, artist, and the front man (and main songwriter) of "Krematorij" (''Crematorium'') Russian rock-band. Biography Armen Grigoryan was ...

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

–

Suren Papikyan Suren Rafiki Papikyan (; born 26 April 1986) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Defense of Armenia. He formerly served as minister of territorial administration and infrastructure and briefy as deputy prime minister. ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

–

Ararat Mirzoyan Ararat Samveli Mirzoyan ( hy, Արարատ Սամվելի Միրզոյան; born 23 November 1979) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Before this, he served as President of the National A ...

*Directory of the National Security Service – Armen Abazyan *Chief of the

Police of Armenia The Police of the Republic of Armenia () is the national police of Armenia. The acting head is Vahe Ghazaryan, in office since 8 June 2020. History Soviet era The first police service of Armenia was formed in 1918, under the Ministry of Intern ...

–

Vahe Ghazaryan Vahe Haykazuni ( hy, Վահէ Հայկազունի; 351 BC – 331 BC), also known simply as Vahe, was a king of Armenia. He was the last offspring of the Hayk Dynasty. According to Moses of Khoren, he was an ally of Darius III, King of Persia ...

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

–

Artak Davtyan Artak Matevosi Davtyan (Armenian: Արտակ Մաթևոսի Դավթյան; born March 31, 1970) is an Armenian Lieutenant General who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces from May 2018 to June 2020 and again fro ...

Secretaries of the Council

(1991-1994) *

Gerard Libaridian Gerard Jirair Libaridian ( hy, Ժիրայր Լիպարիտեան, born 1945 in Beirut, Lebanon) is an Armenian American historian and politician. Biography From 1991 to 1997, he served as adviser, and then senior adviser to the former President of ...

(1994-1997) *

Alexan Harutyunyan Cytarabine, also known as cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), is a chemotherapy medication used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is given by i ...

(1998-1999) *

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

(1999-4 April 2007)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan
President.am. Retrieved on 21 June 2014. *

Armen Gevorgyan Armen Gevorgyan ( hy, Արմեն Անդրանիկի Գևորգյան; born 8 July 1973) is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia The Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia is the official deputy of the head of government of Armenia. According t ...

(6 June 2007-February 2008) *

(25 March 2008-30 April 2014) *

Yuri Khatchaturov Yuri Grigorii Khachaturov ( hy, Յուրի Գրիգորիի Խաչատուրով; born 1 May 1952) is an Armenian general. He formerly served as the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and as Chief of the Genera ...

(3 October 2016-2 May 2017) *

(17 May 2018-Present)

International cooperation

On 4 May 2022, Secretary Armen Grigoryan met with the

Prime Minister of Georgia The prime minister of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრი, tr) is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia. In Georgia, the president is a ceremonial head of state and mai ...

Irakli Garibashvili Irakli Garibashvili ( ka, ირაკლი ღარიბაშვილი, also transliterated as Gharibashvili; born 28 June 1982) is a Georgian politician and a former business executive who serves as the prime minister of Georgia since 22 ...

. The sides discussed

Armenia–Georgia relations Foreign relations exist between Armenia and Georgia. Both countries were former Soviet republics of the Soviet Union. Both countries' governments have had generally-positive relations, but there have also been some problems. Georgia is a member ...

and maintaining regional stability and security in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

. On 15 July 2022, Secretary Armen Grigoryan held a meeting with the

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...

, Willian Burns. The parties discussed the advancement of

Armenia–United States relations The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and created the opportunity for bilateral relations of the United States with Armenia and other New Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and eco ...

. On 29 September 2022, Secretary Armen Grigoryan met with the

United States Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of Defens ...

Laura Cooper Laura Katherine Cooper is an American civil servant. She is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian affairs in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and a career member of the Senior Execut ...

, at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. The sides discussed prospects for the development of bilateral relations. On 4 October 2022, Secretary Armen Grigoryan met with the special representative of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Secretary General in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Javier Colomina in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Recent developments

On 14 October 2022, Secretary Armen Grigoryan endorsed the European Union Mission in Armenia as a way for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

to become a security guarantor in the region and confirmed Armenia's commitment to support the mission.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Government of Armenia Government of Armenia Military of Armenia

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...