Anna Hakobyan

Anna Hakobyan
Աննա Հակոբյան
Hakobyan in 2018
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Armenia
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 8, 2018
Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan
Preceded byLilit Karapetyan (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1978-02-01) February 1, 1978 (age 46)
Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Armenia)
SpouseNikol Pashinyan
Children4
Alma materYerevan State University
ProfessionJournalist
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Anna Vachiki Hakobyan (Armenian: Աննա Վաչիկի Հակոբյան; born February 1, 1978) is an Armenian journalist and the wife of the current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.[1] She is the editor-in-chief of the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper.[2] Unofficially, Hakobyan is regarded as the "First Lady of Armenia", a position that is reserved for the spouses of the President of Armenia.[3][4][5]

Education and career

Anna Hakobyan was born on February 1, 1978, in the Armenian SSR. She graduated from the Yerevan State University.[6] After she graduated, she began working as a journalist in Armenia. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper in Armenia, Haykakan Zhamanak.[3]

2018 Velvet Revolution

Hakobyan played an active role in the 2018 Armenian revolution, which were a series of anti-government peaceful mass protests in response to the past president's third consecutive term.[7] On May 8, 2018, Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister.[8]

Spouse of the Prime Minister

Hakobyan in Moscow
Hakobyan with her husband, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Moldovan President Igor Dodon.

Hakobyan became the official spouse of the prime minister on May 8, 2018, following her husband's election as prime minister.

Charity work

Just after the election, Hakobyan initiated a meeting with the charitable organisations involved in pediatric cancer and specialists. During the meeting session under her leadership, a working group to improve the state of pediatric cancer in Armenia was formed. Currently, a charitable foundation, of which Hakobyan is the Honorary President, is in the formation process to support the development of pediatric oncology and hematology in Armenia.[9]

On 7 September 2023, Hakobyan personally handed over 1,000+ smartphones, tablets and laptops for primary schoolchildren at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine.[10] This was Armenia’s first humanitarian aid for Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022.[10]

2020 War

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hakobyan went through a week-long training program for combat.[11] She founded the Erato Detachment, which is the first all-women military unit in the Armenian Armed Forces.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan". Prime Minister. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "About Us". Armtimes.com (in Armenian). Archived from the original on March 14, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "First Lady Anna Hakobyan was Received at YSU Faculty of Journalism (Video Material)". Yerevan State University. April 6, 2018. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  4. ^ "My Step Foundation founded by PM's wife". June 19, 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "Anna Hakobyan is NOT the First Lady of Armenia". October 18, 2018. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nikol Pashinyan Interview". mediamax.am. January 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  7. ^ "He Was a Protester a Month Ago. Now, Nikol Pashinyan Leads Armenia". The New York Times. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  8. ^ "ՀՀ նախագահի հրամանագրերը - Փաստաթղթեր - Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Նախագահ [պաշտոնական կայք]". www.president.am. Helix Consulting LLC. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "Վարչապետի կինը՝ Աննա Հակոբյանը, կլինի նոր բարեգործական հիմնադրամի հոգաբարձուների խորհրդում (armenian)". Armtimes.com (in Armenian). Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Armenia sends Ukraine first assistance since start of war – digital devices for schools". Ukrainska Pravda. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "The Artsakh War brought about Armenia's first all-women military unit". November 16, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
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