Arayik Harutyunyan was born on December 14, 1973, in Stepanakert, then the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijani SSR.

Education

In 1990, he graduated from the Stepanakert School of Physics and Mathematics and was admitted to the Yerevan State Institute of Economics the same year

After completing his studies at the Faculty of Economics of Artsakh State University, Harutyunyan pursued postgraduate studies in economics at the same university from 1996 to 1998.

In 2013, he defended his dissertation and earned a PhD in Technical Sciences.

Military and Political Activity

In 1992, Harutyunyan joined the self-defense forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and took part in military operations during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

Between 1995 and 1997, he served as assistant to the Minister of Economy and Finance.

From 1997 to 1999, he managed the Askeran branch of Armagrobank, and from 1999 to 2004, he held the position of manager at the bank’s head office in Stepanakert.

From 2005 to 2007, Harutyunyan served as a member of the NKR Parliament. He was also elected Chairman of the Azat Hayrenik (Free Motherland) Party and led the “Motherland” parliamentary faction. In 2009, he was re-elected as Chairman of the Free Motherland Party.

On September 14, 2007, upon the nomination of NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Harutyunyan was unanimously elected Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic by the Parliament.

In the 2010 parliamentary elections, his Free Motherland Party secured 14 out of the total 33 seats in the National Assembly.

In September, 2012, upon the nomination of NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Harutyunyan was unanimously re-elected Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic by the Parliament.

From September 25, 2017, to June 6, 2018, Harutyunyan served as State Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Presidency

On April 14, 2020, Arayik Harutyunyan was elected President of Artsakh, receiving 88% of the vote.

He assumed office on May 21, 2020. During his presidency, Artsakh experienced the largest-scale military hostilities since 1994, resulting in the loss of significant territories previously controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (including the so-called "security belt") to Azerbaijan.

On February 22, 2022, Harutyunyan recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, declaring that “the right of nations to self-determination and the establishment of their own state is an inherent right of every nation and a fundamental principle of international law.”

On August 31, 2023, Arayik Harutyunyan announced his intention to resign from the post of President.

Arrest

On October 1, 2023, Azerbaijan placed Harutyunyan on the international wanted list for what Azerbaijani Prosecutor General Kyamran Aliyev described as “crimes committed during the 44-day war of 2020.”

On October 3, 2023, according to Azeri-Press, Arayik Harutyunyan was arrested by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan along with other former officials of the NKR and was transferred to Baku.

Harutyunyan was charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan: Article 100 (“Planning, initiating, and waging aggressive war”), Article 116 (“Violating international humanitarian law during military operations”), Article 117 (“Issuing criminal orders during wartime”), Article 120 (“Premeditated murder”), Article 214 (“Terrorism”), Article 214-1 (“Financing terrorism”), Article 214-3 (“Organizing terrorist training”), Article 218 (“Establishing illegal groups”), Article 279 (“Creating armed units or groups not sanctioned by law, whose actions resulted in fatalities”).

Criminal proceedings against Harutyunyan and other former members of the NKR’s military and political leadership began on January 17, 2025.