The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Armenia

This page contains a list of the greatest Armenian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 27 of which were born in Armenia. This makes Armenia the birth place of the 87th most number of Politicians behind Cambodia, and Ethiopia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Armenian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Armenian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Armenian Politicians.

1. Tigranes the Great (-140 - -55)

With an HPI of 72.59, Tigranes the Great is the most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 72 different languages on wikipedia.

Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (Tigran Mets in Armenian; Ancient Greek: Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας, Tigránes ho Mégas; Latin: Tigranes Magnus; 140 – 55 BC), was a king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries and reached its peak, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King or King of Kings. His empire for a short time was the most powerful state to the east of the Roman Republic. The appearance of Halley's comet during his reign, as depicted on the rare series of Tigranes's coins, was seen as an auspicious sign. Either the son or nephew of Artavasdes I, Tigranes was given as a hostage to Mithridates II of Parthia after Armenia came under Parthian suzerainty. After ascending to the Armenian throne, he rapidly expanded his kingdom by invading or annexing Roman and Parthian client-kingdoms. Tigran decided to ally with Mithridates VI of Pontus by marrying his daughter Cleopatra. At its height, Tigranes' empire stretched from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. With captured vassals, his lands even reached the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were forcibly relocated to his new capital, Tigranocerta. An admirer of the Greek culture, Tigranes invited many Greek rhetoricians and philosophers to his court, and his capital was noted for its Hellenistic architecture. Armenia came into direct conflict with Rome after Mithridates VI was forced to seek refuge in Tigranes' court. In 69 BC, Tigranes was decisively defeated at the Battle of Tigranocerta by a Roman army under the command of Lucullus, and a year later he met another major defeat at Artaxata, the old Armenian capital. The recall of Lucullus gave Tigranes a brief respite, but in 66 BC Armenia faced another Roman invasion led by Pompey, aided by Tigranes' own son, Tigranes the Younger. Tigranes chose to surrender and was allowed to retain the heartland of his kingdom as a Roman buffer state, while all of his conquests were annexed. He continued to rule Armenia as a client-king of Rome until his death around 55 BC at the age of 85.

2. Leo V the Armenian (775 - 820)

With an HPI of 67.83, Leo V the Armenian is the 2nd most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Leo V the Armenian (Greek: Λέων ὁ Ἀρμενίος, Leōn ho Armenios; c. 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. He is chiefly remembered for ending the decade-long war with the Bulgars, as well as initiating the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. A senior general of Armenian origin, Leo distinguished himself under Nikephoros I and Michael I Rangabe, eventually becoming the strategos of the Anatolic Theme. Taking advantage of Michael's defeat at the Battle of Versinikia, he forced the emperor to abdicate in his favour. He was able to withhold the blockade of Constantinople by Krum of Bulgaria and, after Krum's death, concluded a 30-year peace with his successor Omurtag. In 815 Leo deposed Patriarch Nikephoros and reinstituted iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, who succeeded him on the throne in 820.

3. Anastas Mikoyan (1895 - 1978)

With an HPI of 67.58, Anastas Mikoyan is the 3rd most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; Russian: Анастас Иванович Микоян; Armenian: Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան, romanized: Anastas Hovhannesi Mikoyan; 25 November [O.S. 13 November] 1895 – 21 October 1978) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union. A member of the Communist Party's Central Committee from 1923, he was the only Soviet figure who managed to remain at the highest levels of power from the days of Lenin, through the eras of Stalin and Khrushchev, and to his retirement under Brezhnev. His legacy is that of a survivor, often described with the famous quote “from Ilyich [Vladimir Ilyich Lenin] to Ilyich [Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev] without a heart attack or paralysis". An ethnic Armenian, Mikoyan joined the Bolsheviks in 1915, and following the October Revolution of 1917 participated in the Baku Commune. In the 1920s, he was the party's boss in the North Caucasus. Mikoyan was elected to the Politburo in 1935, served as foreign trade minister from 1926 to 1930 and again from 1938, and during World War II became a member of the State Defense Committee. After the war, Mikoyan began to lose favour, losing his position as minister in 1949 and being criticized by Stalin at the 19th Party Congress in 1952. Following Stalin's death in 1953, Mikoyan sided with Khrushchev in the power struggle, supported him against a failed coup in 1957, and took a leading role in crafting his de-Stalinization policy. Under Khrushchev, Mikoyan played an important role in Soviet foreign policy, making several key trips to the United States and communist Cuba. He acquired an important stature on the international diplomatic scene, especially with his skill in exercising soft power to further Soviet interests. In 1964, Khrushchev was forced to step down in a coup that brought Brezhnev to power. Mikoyan briefly served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal head of state, from 1964 until his forced retirement in 1965.

4. Najm ad-Din Ayyub (1100 - 1173)

With an HPI of 65.70, Najm ad-Din Ayyub is the 4th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān (Arabic: الملك ألأفضل نجم الدين أيوب بن شاذي بن مروان, Kurdish: نەجمەدین ئەییووبی شادی مەڕوان, romanized: Necmeddin Eyûbî Şadî Meřiwan; died August 9, 1173), or simply Najmadin, was a Kurdish Mercenary and politician from Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Ayyubid dynasty.

5. Shirkuh (1100 - 1169)

With an HPI of 64.81, Shirkuh is the 5th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh bin Shādhī (Kurdish: ئەسەدەدین شێرکۆ, romanized: Esed El-Dîn Şêrko; Arabic: أسد الدين شيركوه بن شاذي), also known as Shirkuh, or Şêrko (meaning "lion of the mountains" in Kurdish) (died 22 February 1169) was a Kurdish Mercenary commander in service of the Zengid dynasty, and uncle of Saladin. His military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor in establishing the Ayyubid dynasty in that country.

6. Hayk (410 - 490)

With an HPI of 63.81, Hayk is the 6th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Hayk (Armenian: Հայկ, Armenian pronunciation: [hajk]), also known as Hayk Nahapet (Հայկ Նահապետ, Armenian pronunciation: [hajk naha'pɛt], lit. 'Hayk the Patriarch'), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the History of Armenia attributed to the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi and in the Primary History traditionally attributed to Sebeos. Fragments of the legend of Hayk are also preserved in the works of other authors, as well as in Armenian folk tradition.

7. Tiridates III of Armenia (255 - 330)

With an HPI of 63.42, Tiridates III of Armenia is the 7th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Tiridates III (c. 250s – c. 330), also known as Tiridates the Great or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from c. 298 to c. 330. In the early 4th century (the traditional date is 301), Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to officially embrace Christianity.

8. Albert Azaryan (1929 - 2023)

With an HPI of 62.02, Albert Azaryan is the 8th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Albert Azaryan (Armenian: Ալբերտ Ազարյան; 11 February 1929 – 5 September 2023) was a Soviet and Armenian artistic gymnast who competed internationally representing the Soviet Union. He was the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Champion on the still rings. Azaryan was the first gymnast to become an Olympic Champion in rings twice, a feat that Akinori Nakayama would also accomplish twelve years later and that no one else has matched since. He was the first person to do one of the rings most famous variations of the Iron Cross called the Azaryan Cross (not to be confused with the Azarian Roll to Cross), which incorporates a quarter turn to the side.

9. Vahagn Khachaturyan (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 60.55, Vahagn Khachaturyan is the 9th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan (Armenian: Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատուրյան, pronounced [vɑˈhɑɡən χɑt͡ʃʰɑtuɾˈjɑn]; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian politician who is the 5th and current president of Armenia. He served as Mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and as the Minister of High-Tech Industry from 2021 to 2022. He was a member of the Armenian National Congress until his resignation in 2017. He led the ANC list in the 2013 Yerevan City Council election, and is currently an independent.

10. Ashot I of Armenia (820 - 890)

With an HPI of 60.54, Ashot I of Armenia is the 10th most famous Armenian Politician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Ashot I (Armenian: Աշոտ Ա; c. 820 – 890) was an Armenian king who oversaw the beginning of Armenia's second golden age (862 – 977). He was the son of Smbat VIII the Confessor and was a member of the Bagratuni dynasty.

People

Pantheon has 28 people classified as Armenian politicians born between 350 BC and 1985. Of these 28, 11 (39.29%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Armenian politicians include Vahagn Khachaturyan, Nikol Pashinyan, and Shavarsh Karapetyan. The most famous deceased Armenian politicians include Tigranes the Great, Leo V the Armenian, and Anastas Mikoyan. As of April 2024, 2 new Armenian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Vahagn Khachaturyan, and Paruyr Hayrikyan.