State to Cover Annual Rent for Former Prime Minister's Office

The Prime Minister of Armenia is not yet formally resigned, but already has a virtual office staffed with completely real employees receiving actual salaries. During a government meeting today, decisions were made to establish the salaries for future employees of the office of the former Prime Minister.

According to the decision, salaries are set at 507,520, 407,680, and 274,560 AMD per month for the office's three employees, leading to an annual payroll fund of 14.8 million AMD. This amount does not include the pension for the former Prime Minister, which is calculated at 70% of the current Prime Minister's salary, nor the necessary funds for the ongoing operations and procurement of services and goods for the office—calculations for which are currently deemed unfeasible by the government.

Instead, it has been calculated that the annual rent for the space rented for the office will cost the state budget 2 million AMD per year. Notably, this decision was made during a meeting attended by neither Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is abroad.

It should be reminded that the law on “Ensuring the Activities of Public Officials, Services, and Social Guarantees” was amended in May 2022, adding the institution of the office for former Prime Ministers to that of former Presidents. The amendment clarified that former Presidents receive personal state protection for a period of seven years, while former Prime Ministers are entitled to protection for ten years, extendable if necessary.

Like former Presidents, former Prime Ministers will also be provided with a furnished office, a car, a three-member staff, and a pension equivalent to 70% of the current Prime Minister's salary. In addition, expenses for their travels to other countries for up to a total of 20 days over the course of a year will be covered by the state, including travel allowances for the staff members providing their security.