Armenian National Assembly Announces the Passing of Galust Sahakyan

Galust Grigoriy Sahakyan, the former speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, has passed away unexpectedly today after a long illness.

Sahakyan served as the speaker of parliament from 2014 to 2017. He was a member of multiple convocations and led the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction for many years. Our deepest condolences go out to Galust Sahakyan's family, relatives, and friends. This was announced by the National Assembly of Armenia on its Facebook page.

As previously reported by Hraparak.am, Sahakyan had been undergoing treatment for a severe illness for an extended period, and in recent days he had been transferred to Germany for treatment. Today, his health condition deteriorated sharply, and efforts to save Galust Grigoriy did not succeed.

The dates for the funeral and memorial service have not yet been determined, as arrangements must first be made for the repatriation of the deceased from Germany to Armenia.

Galust Sahakyan was born on April 8, 1948, in Yerevan. He graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Yerevan State University in 1971. After graduating, he worked from 1970 to 1972 at the Yerevan Silk Factory as a locksmith.

From 1972 to 1991, Sahakyan worked in the education system, serving as a teacher at School No. 30, and as deputy director at Schools No. 94 and No. 153, later becoming the director of Schools No. 3 and No. 185. He was the deputy head of the executive committee of the Mashtots district council in Yerevan from 1992 to 1996, and then its first deputy head.

From 1995 to 1999, he served as a member of the National Assembly of Armenia, representing constituency No. 32, and was a member of the standing committee on science, education, culture, and youth affairs. He was part of the “Republic” faction and later the “Demitry” parliamentary group.

From 1999 to 2003, he was again a member of the National Assembly, elected via the proportional representation based on the “Unity” alliance. He served as the deputy chair of the standing committee on science, education, culture, and youth affairs and was a member, later leader, of the “Unity” faction.

From 2003 to 2007 and 2007 to 2012, he continued his work in the National Assembly as a member of the RPA, where he held various committee positions, including leading the RPA faction from November 11, 2008, until May 31, 2012. On May 6, 2012, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly through the proportional representation from the RPA.

On April 29, 2014, he was elected as the President of the National Assembly by a vote of 101 in favor and 3 against. He was also a member of the RPA’s executive body and the RPA council, serving as the deputy head of the RPA until leaving politics in 2019.