Suren Papikyan
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Short description|Armenian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Suren Papikyan
| image = File:Suren Papikyan 1.jpg
| office = Minister of Defense
| termstart = 15 November 2021
| predecessor = Arshak Karapetyan
| primeminister = Nikol Pashinyan
| president = Armen Sarkissian
Vahagn Khachaturyan
| office1 = Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia
| successor1 = Hambardzum Matevosyan
| predecessor1 = Tigran Avinyan
| president1 = Armen Sarkissian
| primeminister1 = Nikol Pashinyan
| alongside1 = Mher Grigoryan
| termend1 = 15 November 2021
| termstart1 = 2 August 2021
| office2 = Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia
| predecessor2 = Davit Lokyan
| termend2 = 2 August 2021
| termstart2 = 11 May 2018
| successor2 = Gnel Sanosyan
| office3 = Chairman of the Board of Civil Contract
| predecessor3 =
| termend3 =
| termstart3 = 16 June 2019
| successor3 =
| birth_place = Stepanavan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|04|26|df=y}}
| alma_mater = Yerevan State University
Saint Petersburg State University
| party = Civil Contract Party
| caption = Papikyan in 2018
| native_name = {{nobold|Սուրեն Պապիկյան}}
| native_name_lang = hy
}}
Suren Rafiki Papikyan ({{Langx|hy|Սուրեն Ռաֆիկի Պապիկյան}}; born 26 April 1986) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Defense of Armenia. He formerly served as minister of territorial administration and infrastructure and briefly as deputy prime minister. He is also chairman of the board of the ruling Civil Contract Party.
Biography
Suren Papikyan was born on 26 April 1986, in the town of Stepanavan, now in the Lori Province of Armenia. He graduated from Stepanavan College No. 1 and was accepted to the Faculty of History of Yerevan State University in 2003. Papikyan was called up for service in the Armenian Armed Forces while attending university.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Suren Papikyan - Curriculum Vitae|url=https://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/789/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Gov.am|publisher=The Government of Armenia|language=en}} While serving in the military, Papikyan was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment, reportedly due to a violent incident with a commanding officer, but was released about a year later in a general amnesty.{{Cite web|last=Danielyan|first=Anahit|date=26 February 2020|title=Պապիկյանը պնդում է, որ իր խնդիրը ոչ թե լրագրողի հետ է, այլ տեղեկությունը լրագրողին հասցնողի|trans-title=Papikyan insists that he has no problem with the journalist, but with the person who gave the journalist the information|url=https://media.am/hy/newsroom/2020/02/26/19729/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Media.am}}
Papikyan received his master's degree in history with honors from Yerevan State University in 2012.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Suren Papikyan - Curriculum Vitae|url=https://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/789/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Gov.am|publisher=The Government of Armenia|language=en}} Parallel to his studies, he worked as a history teacher at Yerevan High School No. 54 from 2010 to 2016 and from 2011 to 2018 at Quantum College in Yerevan. From 2012 to 2016 he conducted his postgraduate studies at Saint Petersburg State University.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Suren Papikyan - Curriculum Vitae|url=https://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/789/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Gov.am|publisher=The Government of Armenia|language=en}}
Papikyan is a founding member of the Civil Contract Party.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Suren Papikyan - Curriculum Vitae|url=https://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/789/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Gov.am|publisher=The Government of Armenia|language=en}} He was elected deputy chairman of the party board in 2016 and chairman of the board in 2019.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Suren Papikyan - Curriculum Vitae|url=https://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/789/|access-date=29 December 2021|website=Gov.am|publisher=The Government of Armenia|language=en}}
Papikyan participated in the 2017 Armenian parliamentary elections as a candidate for the Way Out Alliance. Papikyan participated in the 2018 Armenian revolution which brought Nikol Pashinyan to power.
On 11 May 2018, Papikyan was appointed Minister of Territorial Administration and Development of Armenia in Nikol Pashinyan's first government.
During the 2018 snap parliamentary elections, he headed the campaign headquarters of the My Step bloc and was elected to parliament as a member of the same bloc. Papikyan resigned from parliament in January 2019. He was reappointed minister of territorial administration and infrastructure on 1 June 2019.
After briefly occupying the position of deputy prime minister, Papikyan was appointed Minister of Defense of Armenia on 15 November 2021. The day after his appointment, significant clashes occurred on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, resulting in human and territorial losses for the Armenian side.{{Cite web|last=Dovich|first=Mark|date=17 November 2021|title=Ceasefire resumes on Armenia-Azerbaijan border after worst fighting in a year leaves 15 Armenian soldiers dead|url=https://www.civilnet.am/news/639907/ceasefire-resumes-on-armenia-azerbaijan-border-after-worst-fighting-in-a-year-leaves-15-armenian-soldiers-dead/?lang=en|access-date=29 December 2021|website=CivilNet}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Arshak Karapetyan}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Defence of Armenia|years=2021–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{Defence Ministers of Armenia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papikyan, Suren}}
Category:21st-century Armenian politicians
Category:21st-century Armenian historians
Category:Ministers of defence of Armenia
Category:Yerevan State University alumni