Karen Demirchyan

Karen Serobi Demirchyan (; 17 April 1932 – 27 October 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian politician who served as President of the National Assembly in 1999 until he was killed in the Armenian parliament shooting. He had been also the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1974 to 1988.

Early life and career Demirchyan had a difficult childhood. Both his parents died when he was still an infant. He decided on a career in engineering, and took up studies at the Yerevan Polytechnical Institute in 1949. After graduating in 1954 he worked briefly for a research institute in Leningrad before returning to Armenia to join the Yerevan Electrotechnical Factory. A member of the Communist Party since 1954, he soon became secretary of the factory party committee.

His party career flourished and in 1959 Demirchyan was sent to Moscow to the Higher Party School, gaining his diploma in 1961, a prerequisite for higher party service.

Post-independence politics After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 when Armenia regained its independence, Demirchyan became director of the Hayelectromekena electrical equipment plant, the biggest plant in Armenia. He kept out of politics and was a half-forgotten figure from the past, until his surprise reemergence into politics in 1998.

Although not a member of any political party, he contested the March 1998 presidential elections, managing to garner 30 per cent of the votes in the first round and 40 per cent in the second-round run-off against the eventual winner, Robert Kocharyan. He later formed the People's Party, teaming up with defense minister Vazgen Sargsyan to form the Miasnutyun (Unity) alliance to contest the May 1999 parliamentary elections.

Death

The alliance won with 43 per cent of the vote and the majority of parliamentary seats. Demirchyan was overwhelmingly elected President of the National Assembly in June 1999. Four months later, on 27 October, he, along with Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and 6 other senior politicians were shot and killed in the Armenian parliament shooting at Yerevan.

He was buried at Komitas Pantheon which is located in the city center of Yerevan.

Personal life Demirchyan was married with two sons, one of whom, Stepan Demirchyan, became a politician in Armenia after its independence in 1991.

Legacy A school, metro and a major concert complex are named after Karen Demirchyan in Yerevan. He was buried in a decorative tomb at the Komitas Pantheon, a cemetery in Yerevan where Armenia's most prominent artists and musicians have been buried. He posthumously received the honorary title National Hero of Armenia.

A sort of apple, which was planted in the north-western outskirts of Yerevan under his guidance, was named after Demirchyan.