Armen Sarkissian
A physicist-turned-president who brought a global, analytical perspective to the leadership of post-Soviet Armenia during a period of profound transformation.
Born 1953 (age 73)·President of Armenia from 2018 to 2022·Birthday: June 23·Baby Boomers
Biography
Armen Sarkissian's path to the Armenian presidency was anything but conventional. A brilliant theoretical physicist and computer scientist, he spent his early career in academia, teaching at Cambridge and conducting research that seemed worlds away from politics. The collapse of the Soviet Union changed his trajectory; he became independent Armenia's first ambassador to the United Kingdom and later served a brief term as Prime Minister. His true calling, however, seemed to be as a diplomatic and intellectual ambassador, cultivating international business and scientific ties. Elected president in 2018—a largely ceremonial role in Armenia's parliamentary system—he aimed to be a stabilizing, apolitical figure and a connector to the global stage. His tenure was marked by the devastating 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, after which he cited the role's constitutional limitations as a reason for his early resignation, returning to his life as a scholar and thinker.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Armen was born in 1953, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Armen Was Born
The biggest hits of 1953
#1 Movie
Peter Pan
Best Picture
From Here to Eternity
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Armen's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1953Born
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1958Started school
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1966Became a teenager
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Could drive
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1971Could vote
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Turned 21
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1983Turned 30
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 40
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 50
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 60
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 70
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 73 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the first Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United Kingdom from 1991 to 1996.
- Founded and led the Eurasia House International, a consultancy and think tank focused on business and politics in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- Was elected the fourth President of Armenia in 2018, serving until his resignation in 2022.
- Had a significant academic career, including a professorial fellowship at Cambridge University where he worked on quantum cosmology and chaos theory.
Did You Know?
He is a former chess champion of Armenia and has represented the country in international competitions.
He survived a serious assassination attempt via a car bomb in 1999 while serving as ambassador in London.
He holds honorary citizenship of the city of Florence, Italy.
Before his presidency, he served on the boards of several major international corporations.
“The president must be a unifier, a person who stands above political divisions.”
