I Submitted My Resignation to the Prime Minister as Governor of Lori Region: Andrey Ghukasian

Andrey Ghukasian, the Governor of Lori Region, announced in a Facebook post that he has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today.

“Dear residents of Lori, today I have submitted my resignation as the Governor of Lori Region to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. My resignation is based on the decision of my political team, which I have unconditionally accepted without hesitation. The last two and a half years have been, perhaps, the most responsible period of my life during which I have had the honor to hold the extremely responsible position of the regional leader.

I served as the Deputy Governor of Lori from June to October 2018, and from October 10, 2018, to the present as the Governor. This was an important phase for me, consisting of 2.5 years filled with various responsibilities and an overwhelming workload, where each day had one goal, one message, one expectation: to do everything possible for positive changes in Lori, to change the stereotypes that had been established for decades, to replace the resolution of issues through alternative means with the supremacy of law, to ensure that there are no privileged individuals, and to make public institutions and civil servants reliable, approachable, and understanding of the people.

I can confidently say that, if not completely, we have succeeded in achieving our goal to some extent. The position of Governor of Lori was not the result for me but a means to realize those goals.

Looking back, I stand before my conscience and the people of Lori with a clear conscience, and I do not hesitate to say: I have done everything possible, worked the majority of the day, often putting my family, relatives, and friends in the background, sparing neither time nor effort, nor devotion. The reward for my work was the returning smile and trust of the people of Lori, the words of gratitude that fueled my desire to act, to create, and to fight for a better future for Lori and its residents.

Today, my expression of gratitude is directed precisely to the people of Lori: Thank you for your trust and vote. I am grateful to my political team and the government for our fruitful cooperation over the years. I will continue to support and assist my political team to the best of my abilities, and I will remain committed to my principles and goals.

Thanks to my regional team and all the staff of the Lori Regional Administration for their tireless, often uninterrupted work without weekends. Particularly intense was the year 2020 when the entire staff of the administration worked under extreme pressure, often on a round-the-clock schedule, along with representatives of other responsible sectors in the region.

I thank the mayors of Lori Region for their cooperative efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for the people of Lori and for the proper implementation of subvention and investment programs directed at developing the region’s infrastructure.

I also thank those I have been able to care for the least during this period—my family. Thank you for your understanding, patience, trust, and support. I am grateful to everyone who has stood by me during this time. I ask for forgiveness from those whose expectations and hopes I have not been able to meet for various reasons.

I am still ready to invest my experience and knowledge to support the new regional government for the benefit of Lori and its residents. Lori is extremely dear to me, and our relentless efforts over the past 2.5 years directed towards the region’s development will continue.

This incredibly challenging and responsible period marks the beginning of a new phase, which, to my family’s delight, will have new content in terms of allocating more time to my beloved profession and dear ones.