Arpine Hovhannisyan ( hy, Արփինե Աշոտի Հովհաննիսյան; born 4 December 1983) is an Armenian politician, lawyer, former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

of Armenia, and former Vice President of the

National Assembly of Armenia The National Assembly of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային ժողով, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also infor ...

. Hovhannisyan is also the first female to ever hold the position of Justice Minister in Armenia.

Early life

Arpine Hovhannisyan was born on 4 December 1983 in

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

, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Education

*2000-2004 – Studied and graduated from the

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

Faculty of Law. *2004-2006 – Received her master's degree in law from the Yerevan State University. *2006-2009 – Postgraduate from the Yerevan State University. Candidate of Law Sciences.

Career

*2003-2006 – A specialist of the first category of the Division of Reforms of the Criminal Executive Service of the Judicial Reforms Department of the Staff of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia. *2006-2007 – Leading specialist. *2007 – Lecturer in the Civil Law Department of Yerevan State University. *2007-2008 – Deputy Head of the Department of Examination of Legal Acts of the Staff of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia. *May 19, 2008 - September 30, 2008 – Assistant to the Chief of the Staff of the President of Armenia. *2008-2011 - Adviser to the President of the National Assembly. *May 6, 2012 - Elected Deputy of the National Assembly by the proportional electoral system from the Republican Party of Armenia. *September 4, 2015 – President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia signed a decree to appoint Arpine Hovhannisyan Minister of Justice. *April 2, 2017 - elected a deputy of the National Assembly from the Republican Party of Armenia in nationwide elections. *May 19, 2017 - elected Vice President of the RA National Assembly. 73 MPs voted in favor of Arpine Hovhannisyan, 22 were against. 100 MPs took part in the voting, with 5 ballots declared invalid.

Personal life

Arpine Hovhannisyan is engaged. She is a supporter of involving more women in Armenian politics, and has stated that the relatively low number of female deputies in Armenia is not due to legal discrimination, but women’s psychology.

Critics

She was criticized for the death of previously imprisoned citizen Arthur Sargsyan. On March 17, 2017, participants of a demonstration in Yerevan demanded bringing to justice Minister of Justice Hovhannisyan, as well as all investigators who sentenced Sargsyan to detention, which indirectly led to his death.

References