The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia (MFA) is a state body of executive power, which elaborates and implements the

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

of the Government of

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 ...

and organizes and manages diplomatic services. The MFA acts accordingly to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

and legislation of Armenia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates the activities of the executive power bodies of the Republic in the international arena. Since 2021, Ararat Mirzoyan has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Mission

The activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are aimed at: *strengthening of foreign security of Armenia, *maintaining favorable external conditions for the development of Armenia, *representing Armenian positions in the international area, *protecting the interests of Armenia and its citizens abroad, *deepening of involvement within international organizations and international processes, *further enhancement of cooperation with friendly and partner countries, *normalization of relations with those countries with which there are problems, *further development and deepening of ties with Armenian communities abroad, *international recognition of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

and the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

, *establishment of stability, cooperation, security and peace in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

region.

History

Early Armenian diplomatic history

In 1918, in parallel with the restoration of Armenia's statehood, Armenia gained international recognition and established diplomatic ties with several other states. Armenia established diplomatic relations with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and other countries. Plenipotentiary representatives were appointed to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, among other countries. Meanwhile, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran opened diplomatic representations in Yerevan.

Soviet era

After the establishment of Soviet rule in December 1920, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

was founded. After the

Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , conventional_long_name = Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , common_name = Transcaucasian SFSR , p1 = Armenian Soviet Socialist RepublicArmenian SSR , flag_p1 = Flag of SSRA ...

(TSFSR) was founded in July 1922, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (PCFA) of the

(Armenian SSR) was eliminated, taking into consideration the fact that the general management of TSFSR member states’ foreign policy was carried out by the TSFSR Council. In addition, national foreign policy was determined by the

People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of External Relations (MER) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (russian: Министерство иностранных дел СССР) was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Co ...

. In the final years of the

Second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the Soviet leadership decided to expand the foreign policy functions of the Union republics. To prepare the necessary personnel, the Faculty of International Relations was established at 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 ...

(functioning from 1945 to 1952). In the postwar years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Armenian SSR operated under the guidance of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR, the Soviet MFA and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia. Between 1975-1985, the MFA of the Armenian SSR did productive work on collecting information on developments in the

Armenian Diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

, on Armenian issues, and in the direction of preparing the decisions of republic's leadership and development the Political Armenology. With the beginning of the Karabakh movement in 1988, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Armenian SSR was transferring international reactions of the events in

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

, to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

and to the leadership of the Armenian SSR. The staff of the MFA of the Armenian SSR underwent significant pressure due to the devastating

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

, when it became necessary to deal with the issues of organizing huge humanitarian aid arriving from abroad, as well as with issues of political, diplomatic and consular support. During the Soviet era, especially after the 1988 earthquake, the leadership of the Armenian SSR several times asked the central government for greater involvement of representatives of the republic's MFA in Soviet foreign missions, especially in countries with large Armenian communities. Only in 1960, 82 diplomats, recommended by the Armenian SSR, worked at the Soviet Embassy in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Independence

With the proclamation of independence of Armenia in 1991, the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic radically changed, taking into account the new status of Armenia in international relations. The structure of the Ministry and the quantity of staff were brought in line with the requirements of the foreign policy of an independent state. Its duties are enshrined in the Law on Consular Service. A special body was created within the MFA to coordinate cooperation with the

at the state level, on the basis of which the Ministry of Diaspora was established in October 2008. The first assignment of diplomatic ranks was held in July 1992. Since 1996, the MFA of Armenia has been located at the Republic Square in Government House #2 (which was built in 1955 by architect Samvel Safarian). Between 1991-1996, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was located currently where the Constitutional Court is located. The Foreign Ministry has its own awards, with the Commemorative Medal of the Ministry being instituted in 2002, and in 2009, the Medal “80 years of John Kirakosyan” was created.

Structure

Press service

Press secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1991: * Garnik Badalyan (1991-1992) * Aram Safaryan (1993-1996) * Arsen Gasparyan (1997-1999) * Ara Papyan (1999-2000) * Dzyunik Aghajanyan (2000-2003) * Hamlet Gasparyan (2003-2006) * Vladimir Karapetyan (2006-2008) * Tigran Balayan (2008-2018) * Anna Naghdalyan (since 2018)

Protocol service

As the first department of the MFA in 1991, the Armenian State Protocol Service within the MFA was established in 1998, and later on, in 2002 was succeeded by the MFA “State Protocol Service” Agency, with the status of a separated subdivision of the Ministry. In the making of State Protocol great significance is given to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia of March 16, 2002, which approved the “Basic Principles of the State Protocol of the Republic of Armenia. It is divided into the Diplomatic Missions Division, the Diplomatic Corps Division and the Official Visits Division.

Diplomatic school

Since 2010, a Diplomatic school operates within the MFA of the Republic of Armenia offices.

Diplomatic relations

Armenia has established diplomatic relations with 178 countries (as of November 2020). Armenia became a member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

in 1992, and is currently a member of over 70 international organizations including the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, CIS,

CSTO The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treat ...

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

, EAEU,

La Francophonie LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, and the BSEC.

Diplomatic representations

Since independence, Armenia has opened embassies and consulates in many countries, while permanent missions have been established to a number of international organizations. As of November 2020, there are 43 embassies, 10 consulate-generals, 4 consulates and consular agencies, 40 honorary consulates, and over 20 Permanent Missions accredited to various international organizations.

List of Ministers

First Armenian Republic 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 ...

Alexander Khatisian Alexander Khatisian (; 17 February 1874 – 10 March 1945) was an Armenian politician, doctor and journalist. Khatisian was born in Tiflis in the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire (Tbilisi, Georgia) to a prominent Armenian family of nobl ...

(1918, 1919–1920) *

Hovhannes Kajaznuni Hovhannes Kajaznuni or Katchaznouni (; 14 February 1868 – 15 January 1938) was an Armenian architect and politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from June 6, 1918 to August 7, 1919. He was a member of ...

(1918) * Sirakan Tigranyan (1918–1919) * Hamo Ohanjanian (1920) * Simon Vratsian (1920)

Armenian SSR

* Alexander Bekzadian (1920–1921) *

Askanaz Mravyan Askanaz Harutyuni Mravyan ( hy, Ասքանազ Հարությունի Մռավյան, – October 23, 1929) was a Soviet Armenian statesman and political activist. He was one of the early leaders of Soviet Armenia. Biography Askanaz Mravyan w ...

(1921–1922) * Sahak Karapetyan (1944–1946) * Gevorg (Kimik) Hovhannisian (1947–1954) * Anton Kochinyan (1954–1958) * Balabek Martirosian (1958–1972) * Kamo Udumian (1972–1975) * John Kirakosyan (1975–1985) * Anatoly Mkrtichian (1986–1991)

Republic of Armenia

Raffi Hovannisian Raffi K. Richardi Hovannisian ( hy, Րաֆֆի Կ. Ռիչարդի Հովհաննիսյան; hyw, Րաֆֆի Կ. Ռիչարդի Յովհաննէսեան; born 20 November 1959) is an Armenian politician, the first Foreign Minister of Armenia and t ...

(1991–1992) * Arman Kirakossian (Acting Minister – 1992–1993) *

Vahan Papazian Vahan Papazian ( hy, Վահան Փափազյան; 1876–1973), also known by his pseudonym Goms (Կոմս) was an Armenian doctor, politician, political activist who was one of the leaders of the Armenian national liberation movement. He was the ...

(1993–1996) * Alexander Arzoumanian (1996–1998) *

Vartan Oskanian Vartan Minasi Oskanian ( hy, Վարդան Մինասի Օսկանյան; born February 7, 1954) is the former Foreign Minister of Armenia (1998–2008) and founder of the Civilitas Foundation. Early life and career Born into a wealthy Armenian ...

(1998–2008) *

Eduard Nalbandyan Eduard Aghvani Nalbandian ( hy, Էդվարդ Աղվանի Նալբանդյան; born July 16, 1956) is an Armenian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia from April 2008 to May 2018. Biography Edward Nalbandian was born i ...

(2008–2018) *

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan Zohrab Hrachiki Mnatsakanyan ( hy, Զոհրաբ Հրաչիկի Մնացականյան, born 20 March 1966) is an Armenian diplomat. Mnatsakanyan previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Armenia's Permanent Representative to the United ...

(2018–2020) *

Ara Ayvazyan Ara Henrii Ayvazyan ( hy, Արա Հենրիի Այվազյան, born 30 March 1969) is an Armenian diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Early life and career Ayvazyan was born on 30 March 1969 in Yerevan. From 1986 t ...

(2020–2021) * Armen Grigoryan (Acting Minister – 2021) * Ararat Mirzoyan (2021–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (Armenia)

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

Foreign relations of Armenia

Armenia, Foreign Affairs