Alexander Khatisian (; 17 February 1874 – 10 March 1945) was an

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 ''O ...

n politician, doctor and journalist. Khatisian was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

in the Tiflis Governorate of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(Tbilisi,

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) to a prominent Armenian family of noble origins. He first studied at a state school in Tiflis, then received his training as a doctor at universities in Moscow, Kharkov and Germany. He served as the mayor of Tiflis from 1910 to 1917. During this period Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov consulted with him, Primate of Tiflis Bishop Mesrop Der-Movsesian, and prominent civic leader Dr. Hakob Zavriev about the creation of Armenian volunteer detachments in the summer of 1914, which Khatisian enthusiastically supported and organized. In 1917, Khatisian became a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. In the lead up to the establishment

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

, he served as a member from the

Armenian National Council of Tiflis Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

to the Armenian National Council and later to the permanent executive committee selected by Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians. After declaration of the First Republic of Armenia, he served as foreign minister and signed the

Treaty of Batum The Treaty of Batum was signed in Batum on 4 June 1918, between the Ottoman Empire and the three Transcaucasian states: the First Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. It was the first ...

with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. He served as interior minister January–April 1920 following the death of

Aram Manukian Aram Manukian, reformed spelling: Արամ Մանուկյան, and he is also referred to as simply Aram. (19 March 187929 January 1919), was an Armenian revolutionary, statesman, and a leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (D ...

, then served as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

from May 1919 to May 1920, resigning in the aftermath of the Bolshevik-led

May Uprising The May Uprising ( hy, Մայիսյան ապստամբություն, translit=Mayisyan apstambutyun) was a coup d'état attempt by the Armenian Bolsheviks that started in Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri) on May 10, 1920. It was eventually supp ...

. After his resignation, he sought aid for the Republic of Armenia in various European capitals. On December 3, 1920, an Armenian delegation led by Khatisian signed the

Treaty of Alexandropol The Treaty of Alexandropol ( hy, Ալեքսանդրապոլի պայմանագիր; tr, Gümrü Anlaşması) was a peace treaty between the First Republic of Armenia and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The treaty ended the Turkish-Armenian ...

with Kemalist Turkey, though the government it represented no longer existed (power had already been transferred to the new Soviet authorities), making the treaty illegal. Following the Soviet takeover of Armenia, Khatisian went into exile in

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. He wrote his memoirs titled ''Kʻaghakʻapeti mě hishataknerě'' ("The Memoirs of a Mayor") and ''Hayastani Hanrapetutʻian tsagumn u zargatsʻumě'' ("History and Development of the Republic of Armenia", 1930, revised edition 1968). He was arrested following the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation on suspicion of collaborating with the Germans, but was soon released. He died in Paris on 10 March 1945 at the age of 71.

References

1874 births 1945 deaths Georgian people of Armenian descent National University of Kharkiv alumni Foreign ministers of Armenia Prime Ministers of Armenia Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians Armenian political scientists Interior Ministers of Armenia People of the First Republic of Armenia Armenian mayors of Tbilisi Ministers of Social Protection of the First Republic of Armenia {{Georgia-politician-stub