Seyran Ohanyan

Seyran Musheghi Ohanyan (Armenian: Սեյրան Մուշեղի Օհանյան; born 1 July 1962) is an Armenian general and former politician. He served as Defence Minister of Armenia from 14 April 2008 until 3 October 2016. A native of Nagorno-Karabakh, he participated in both the first and second Karabakh wars, and from 2000 to 2007 served as Defence Minister of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh.

Seyran Ohanyan
Defence Minister of Armenia
In office 14 April 2008 – 3 October 2016
President	Serzh Sargsyan
Preceded by	Mikael Harutyunyan
Succeeded by	Vigen Sargsyan
Defense Minister of Artsakh
In office August 1999 – May 2007
President	Leonard Petrosyan Arkadi Ghukasyan
Preceded by	Samvel Babayan
Succeeded by	Movses Hakobyan
Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces
In office May 2007 – 14 April 2008
President	Robert Kocharyan Serzh Sargsyan
Preceded by	Mikael Harutyunyan
Succeeded by	Yuri Khatchaturov
Personal details
Born	1 July 1962 Shusha, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Independent
Relations	Ruzanna Khachatryan (wife)
Awards	see below
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic  Armenia
Branch/service	Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army Armenian Army
Years of service	1983-present
Rank	Colonel General
Commands	Soviet 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment Armenian 5th Army Corps
Battles/wars	First Nagorno-Karabakh War Four-Day War 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

Biography

Ohanyan with David Tonoyan.

Early life

Ohanyan was born in the town of Shusha, then a part of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union. In 1979, he completed high school in the village of Mrgashen, in the region of Nairi in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.[1]

Soviet military career and Karabakh war

Ohanyan attended the Baku Higher Joint Command College and completed his studies there in 1983. He subsequently served with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, as platoon commander and from March 1987, as company commander. In June 1988 he was transferred to the Transcaucasus Military District's 23rd Motor-Rifle Division based in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan and was appointed motor-rifle company commander of the 366th Motor-Rifle Regiment based in Stepanakert; he became deputy battalion commander in August 1989 and 2nd battalion commander with the same regiment in September 1990.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, 366th regiment was pulled out of Stepanakert in March 1992 and Ohanyan joined Nagorno-Karabakh's newly formed army, playing a major role in the First Nagorno-Karabakh war against Azerbaijan.[1] He was seriously wounded in action near Chldran, Mardakert district in September 1992, with his leg amputated as a result. Following treatment, Ohanyan re-joined the military.

Military career (1994-2007)

After the war, he was Deputy Commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army from 1994 to 1998, commander of Armenia's 5th Army Corps from 1998 to 1999 and the Defence Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1999 to 2007. Ohanyan was promoted to Maj. General in 1995, Lt. General in 2000 and Col. General in 2007.

In May 2007, Ohanyan was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia.

Defence minister

After Serzh Sargsyan took office as President of Armenia, he appointed Ohanyan as Minister of Defense on 14 April 2008.[2][3] During Ohanyan's time as Defence Minister, Armenian forces fought with Azerbaijan in the Four-Day War of April 2016, which was the worst outbreak of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh after the 1994 ceasefire and before the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. He was dismissed from his post in October 2016.

Opposition Politician

In February 2017, Ohanyan formed a political coalition with opposition politicians Vartan Oskanian and Raffi Hovannisian and their respective political parties to participate in the 2017 Armenian parliamentary election. The "Ohanian-Raffi-Oskanian" alliance received 32,508 votes in the 2017 election, failing to reach the 5 percent threshold required to enter parliament.[4]

Post-politics and 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

In 2019 and 2020, Ohanyan was called several times to answer the questions of the Armenian parliament's investigative committee on the Four-Day War.[5] In January 2019, he was charged with "overthrowing the constitutional order" in relation to the 2008 Armenian presidential election protests, when army and police forces suppressed mass protests against the election results, resulting in the deaths of 10 people; Ohanyan was serving as Chief of General Staff at the time. He is being tried along with former president Robert Kocharyan, general Yuri Khachaturov, and former security council secretary Armen Gevorgyan, although the trial was delayed in September 2020 due to Ohanyan's participation in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.[6][7] In March 2020, he was charged with embezzlement of state funds during his tenure as defence minister. Ohanyan denies all charges.[8]

Ohanyan went to Nagorno-Karabakh to command Armenian forces after the start of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War in September 2020. He commanded Armenian forces in a four-day battle over Shusha, which resulted in an Azerbaijani victory.[9] The Azerbaijani Army claimed that during the battle, they had wounded Ohanyan, a claim which was denied by the spokesperson of the President of Artsakh.[10] On 11 November, the Baku Military Court initiated a criminal case against him in absentia with the charge of "genocide". Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs also put him on their international wanted list.[11][12] After the war, he joined a number of officials in calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, saying that "the independence of the Republic of Armenia, the inviolability of its borders, and the physical existence of the population are endangered", should he not leave.[13]

Personal life

Ohanyan is married to Ruzanna Khachatryan, an Armenian doctor,[14] and has three sons and one daughter.[1] His oldest son David is an officer in the Armenian Army. His other son Arthur is also in the army, and took part in the Battle of Shusha, during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war under his father's command.[15][16]

Awards

He has been awarded with the medals and decorations of the USSR, Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Republic:[1]

Armenia

• Order of the Combat Cross, 1st class
• Tigran Mets Order
• Drastamat Kanayan Medal
• Medal of Marshal Baghramyan
• Medal "For the Service to the Motherland"

Nagorno Karabakh

• Medal "For the liberation of Shushi"
• Hero of Artsakh (September 1999)
• Order of the Combat Cross, 1st class

Soviet Union

• Medal "For Distinction in Military Service"
• Medal "For Impeccable Service", 3rd class
• Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

Foreign

• Order of Zhukov

See also

• Armed Forces of Armenia

Notes

1. Seyran Ohanyan Archived 2011-05-31 at the Wayback Machine. Ministry of Defence of Armenia. Accessed 10 January 2010.
2. "New President Appoints Two Key Ministers", ArmeniaNow.com, April 15, 2008.
3. "Sarkisian Appoints Key Ministers in Emerging Cabinet." RFE/RL. April 15, 2008.
4. "Final Results of Parliamentary Elections Announced". asbarez.com. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
5. "Սեյրան Օհանյան. Քառօրյա պատերազմի ժամանակ բանակն իր առջև դրված խնդիրները լուծել է". azatutyun.am (in Armenian). 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
6. "Սեյրան Օհանյանը չի ընդունում "Մարտի 1"-ի գործով իրեն առաջադրված մեղադրանքը". azatutyun.am (in Armenian). 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
7. "Kocharyan trial delayed as indicted ex-defense minister Seyran Ohanyan heads to Artsakh amid attack". armenpress.am. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
8. "Former Armenian Defense Minister Charged With Embezzlement". rferl.org. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
9. "Legendary liberator of Shushi Seyran Ohanyan during these days has become legendary defender of Shushi: MOD representative". Aysor.am. 8 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
10. https://armenpress.am/eng/amp/1034228
11. "Azerbaijan accuses Armenia's ex-DM Seyran Ohanyan of genocide, puts him on international wanted list". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
12. "Azerbaijan aims to put Armenian ex-defense minister on int'l wanted list". AzerNews.az. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
13. https://hetq.am/en/article/125244
14. ""Ամենակարևոր բանը, որ ես ցանկանում եմ…". Հարցազրույց Ռուզաննա Խաչատրյանի հետ (Տեսանյութ)". aravot.am (in Armenian). 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
15. "Colonel-General Seyran Ohanyan wounded in Shusha". Azeri Daily. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
16. "Son of ex-Armenian defense minister wounded in Karabakh battles". Defence.az. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

External links

• Ohanyan's Official Biography