Who is Karen Sargsyan and through whom was he appointed to his position of responsibility?

According to the ''Joghovurd'' newspaper, the National Assembly held a heated discussion yesterday regarding amendments to the law on approving annual and complex programs for the restoration, preservation, reproduction, and use of Lake Sevan's ecosystem, presented by the head of the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Karen Sargsyan. During this session, Sargsyan ultimately exposed the shortcomings of his knowledge. Specifically, he was unable to respond to any of the professional questions raised by the MPs, resulting in a heated exchange in the hall and shouting matches among members.

In light of this, the ''Joghovurd'' newspaper sought to understand who Karen Sargsyan is, how he ended up in this responsible position within the committee, through whom he was appointed, and most importantly, what professional qualifications he holds. Upon reviewing his biography, we discovered that Sargsyan, born on the symbolic date of October 27, is a professional sports journalist. After graduating from the Institute of Physical Culture, he moved to Russia for work. In 2016, feeling the need for education, he enrolled and is still studying in the management department of the Moscow Institute of Regional Law and Management. This means that the head of the Water Committee of Armenia is essentially still a student.

As for his work experience, Sargsyan has accumulated it exclusively after the 2019 revolution. Since 2009, while in Russia, he returned to Armenia in 2019. Those who know Karen Sargsyan report that he was engaged in typical migrant work in Russia, carrying out paving jobs and working at a car wash. He may have later owned an individual car wash service. Thus, his connection to the water sector was solely at a car wash; however, this did not prevent him from now leading that sector.

As for how he obtained this position, he is a close friend of Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan and ran as a candidate for the parliament in the Gegharkunik region through the rating system of the ''My Step'' alliance in 2019, but was not elected. To prevent the repatriated Sargsyan from being unemployed, he was placed as the deputy director of the ''Gegharkunik'' Water Utility Company, subsequently working as the director for a 7-month term, after which he served as the acting general director of ''Melioratsia'' LLC for 3 months. However, he ultimately reached this position as the head of the Water Committee.

It is noteworthy that this individual, with disgracefully scant biographical details, was audaciously boasting about his experience over other MPs with serious backgrounds. Incidentally, Karen Sargsyan is the nephew of the former Communist MP Khoren Tjrchunich.