Dr Armen Sarkissian Appointed Armenia’s Ambassador
to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland
On 27th September 2013, President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree appointing former Prime Minister Armen Sarkissian, Armenia’s new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Dr Sarkissian’s Diplomatic career began in 1991, immediately following the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, when he was appointed the Armenian Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Dr Sarkissian established the first Armenian Embassy in the West in London and served as Ambassador until 1999. In addition to his diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom, he concurrently represented Armenia as Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and The Vatican. In 1995-96 he was Head of Mission of the Republic of Armenia to Europe.
Dr Sarkissian served as Armenia’s Prime Minister of Armenia from November 1996 to March 1997.
Dr Sarkissian succeeds the late Ambassador Karine Ghazinyan, who served from September 2011 until her untimely death in December 2012.
The Chairman of the Armenian Community Council of the United Kingdom, Mr Ara Palamoudian, congratulated Dr Sarkissian on behalf of the British Armenian Community and stated that Dr Sarkissian is well known by the community in the United Kingdom and is a highly respected and much loved personality, and he pledged the full support of the Council to Ambassador Sarkissian and wished him every success in his new appointment.
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DR ARMEN SARKISSIAN:
After serving as Ambassador from 1991 to 1996, Dr. Sarkissian became Prime Minister of Armenia from 1996 to 1997.
He was reappointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1998.
He also served as Special Advisor to the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as a Governor of the EBRD from 1999-2000. In 2000 Dr. Sarkissian established the Eurasia Research Program at the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge. He is founding President and Chairman of Eurasia House International in London, which fosters critical dialogue and cooperation among political and business leaders and is involved in bridge-building between the West and the vast geographic space
extending from Eastern Europe to Russia, to CIS and China. Dr. Sarkissian is Senior Executive Advisor to the Board of Directors and Chairman of Alcatel, the French telecom giant.
He is Senior Advisor to the Chairman of BP.
He is also Senior Advisor to the CEO and the Board of Directors of Bekaert (Belgium), one of the largest steel companies in the world; member of the Board of Brazil Invest, a large investment group in Central America; Chairman of Cambridge Pharmaceuticals, a UK-based medical and health systems company; and is a Board member of Rosy Blue (Belgium). He holds honorary and executive positions in numerous international organizations, including Member of the Board of Directors of East West Institute; Advisory Board Member of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; IREX, Editorial Board Member of Russia in Global Politics (a foreign affairs journal); and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College, London University.
