Armenia Government

Who is the president of Armenia?

Executive Branch:

chief of state: President Armen SARKISSIAN (since 9 April 2018)

head of government: Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 8 May 2018); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN and Tigran AVINYAN (since 16 January 2019)

cabinet: Council of Ministers 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 March 2018; prime minister elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed by the National Assembly; election last held on 14 January 2019

election results: Armen SARKISSIAN elected president in first round; note - Armen SARKISSIAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 90-10; Nikol PASHINYAN was chosen as prime minister by the parliament automatically after his party won a landslide victory in the December 2018 elections

note: After initially winning election on 8 May 2018, Nikol PASHINYAN resigned his post (but stayed on as acting prime minister) on 16 October 2018 to force a snap election (held on 9 December 2018) in which his bloc won more than 70% of the vote; PASHINYAN was reappointed prime minister on 14 January 2019

Citizenship Criteria:

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Armenia

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

Legal System:

civil law system

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Legislative Branch:

description: unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (minimum 101 seats, currently 132; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections: last held on 9 December 2018 (next elections to be held December 2023)

election results: percent of vote by party - My Step Alliance 70.4%, BHK 8.3%, Bright Armenia 6.4%, RPA 4.7%, ARF 3.9%, other 6.3%; seats by party - My Step Alliance 88, BHK 26, Bright Armenia 18; composition - men 112, women 20, percent of women 15.2%

Judicial Branch:

highest court(s): Court of Cassation (consists of the court chairman and organized into the criminal chamber and a civil and administrative chamber, each with a chamber chairman and 2 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Judicial Council, a 9-member body of selected judges and legal scholars; judges appointed by the president; Constitutional Court judges - 4 appointed by the president, and 5 elected by National Assembly; judges of both courts can serve until retirement at age 65

subordinate courts: 2 Courts of Appeal (for civil cases and for criminal and military cases); district courts; Administrative Court

Regions or States:

11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan

Political Parties and Leaders:

Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]

Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN]

Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF ("Dashnak" Party) [Hrant MARKARIAN]

Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]

People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]

Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSARUKYAN]

Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN]

Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]

Tsarukyan Alliance [Gagik TSARUKYAN]

Yelk (Way Out) Alliance [Edmon Marukyan]

International Law Organization Participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

International Organization Participation:

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

Diplomatic Representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Grigor HOVHANNISSIAN (since 28 January 2016)

chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 319-1976

FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982

consulate(s) general: Glendale (CA)

Diplomatic Representation from US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard MILLS (since 13 February 2015)

embassy: 1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082

mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, US Department of State, 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020

telephone: [374](10) 464-700

FAX: [374](10) 464-742