Anna Hakobyan
{{short description|Armenian journalist and Second Lady of Armenia}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name = Anna Hakobyan
| native_name = {{nobold|Աննա Հակոբյան}}
| image = 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony (2018-06-14) 31 (cropped)1.jpg
| caption = Hakobyan in 2018
| office = Girlfriend of the Prime Minister of Armenia
| primeminister = Nikol Pashinyan
| predecessor = Lilit Karapetyan (Acting)
| term_label =
| term_start = May 8, 2018
| term_end =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1978|2|1}}
| birth_place = Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Armenia)
| nationality = Armenian
| spouse = Nikol Pashinyan
| children = 4
| alma_mater = Yerevan State University
| profession = Journalist
| website = {{url|https://annahakobyan.am|Official website}}
| signature = Ann-Hakobyan-signature.png
}}
Anna Vachiki Hakobyan ({{langx|hy|Աննա Վաչիկի Հակոբյան}}; born February 1, 1978) is an Armenian journalist and the girlfriend of the current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.{{cite web|title=Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan|url=http://www.primeminister.am/en/pm-pashinyan|website=Prime Minister|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511082907/http://www.primeminister.am/en/pm-pashinyan|url-status=live}} She is the editor-in-chief of the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://armtimes.com/hy/about|website=Armtimes.com|access-date=January 21, 2019|language=hy|archive-date=March 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314042037/https://armtimes.com/hy/about|url-status=live}} Unofficially, Hakobyan is regarded as the "First Lady of Armenia", a position that is reserved for the spouses of the President of Armenia.{{cite web|title=First Lady Anna Hakobyan was Received at YSU Faculty of Journalism (Video Material)|url=http://ysu.am/news/en/RA-First-Lady-Anna-Hakobyan-visited-YSU-journalism-faculty|publisher=Yerevan State University|date=April 6, 2018|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=June 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610032521/http://ysu.am/news/en/RA-First-Lady-Anna-Hakobyan-visited-YSU-journalism-faculty|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=My Step Foundation founded by PM's wife|url=https://en.a1plus.am/1275214.html|date=June 19, 2018|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=March 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316093527/http://en.a1plus.am/1275214.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Anna Hakobyan is NOT the First Lady of Armenia|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2018/10/18/anna-hakobyan-is-not-the-first-lady-of-armenia/|date=October 18, 2018|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120055152/https://armenianweekly.com/2018/10/18/anna-hakobyan-is-not-the-first-lady-of-armenia/|url-status=live}}
Education and career
Anna Hakobyan was born on February 1, 1978, in the Armenian SSR. She graduated from the Yerevan State University.{{cite news|title=Nikol Pashinyan Interview|url=https://mediamax.am/am/news/off-the-record/3607|date=January 15, 2012|website=mediamax.am|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018122433/https://mediamax.am/am/news/off-the-record/3607|url-status=live}} 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.
=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.{{cite news|title=He Was a Protester a Month Ago. Now, Nikol Pashinyan Leads Armenia.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/europe/armenia-nikol-pashinyan-prime-minister.html|work=The New York Times|date=May 8, 2018|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210110634/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/europe/armenia-nikol-pashinyan-prime-minister.html|url-status=live}} On May 8, 2018, Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister.{{cite web|publisher=Helix Consulting LLC|title=ՀՀ նախագահի հրամանագրերը - Փաստաթղթեր - Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Նախագահ [պաշտոնական կայք]|url=http://www.president.am/hy/decrees/item/4532/|website=www.president.am|date=May 8, 2018|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=May 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508235912/http://www.president.am/hy/decrees/item/4532/|url-status=live}}
Spouse of the Prime Minister
File:2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony (2018-06-14) 31.jpg, 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.{{cite news|title=Վարչապետի կինը՝ Աննա Հակոբյանը, կլինի նոր բարեգործական հիմնադրամի հոգաբարձուների խորհրդում (armenian)|url=https://armtimes.com/hy/article/137859|work=Armtimes.com|language=hy|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232948/https://armtimes.com/hy/article/137859|url-status=live}}
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.{{cite web|title=Armenia sends Ukraine first assistance since start of war – digital devices for schools|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/7/7418899/|date=7 September 2023|access-date=7 September 2023|website=Ukrainska Pravda|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907205439/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/7/7418899/|url-status=live}} This was Armenia’s first humanitarian aid for Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022.
=2020 War=
During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hakobyan went through a week-long training program for combat.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/armenias-all-women-military-unit/|title=The Artsakh War brought about Armenia's first all-women military unit|date=November 16, 2020|access-date=December 20, 2020|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116175657/https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/armenias-all-women-military-unit/|url-status=live}} She founded the Erato Detachment, which is the first all-women military unit in the Armenian Armed Forces.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Anna Hakobyan}}
- {{Official website|https://annahakobyan.am/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakobyan, Anna}}
Category:21st-century Armenian women writers
Category:Armenian women journalists