Vazgen Manukyan was Prime Minister of Armenia

Prime Minister of Armenia

The Prime Minister of Armenia is the most senior minister within the Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "oversee the Government's regular activities and coordinate the work of the Ministers." The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Armenia, but can be removed by...

 from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993 Manukyan was acting Minister of Defense

Defence Minister of Armenia

The Defence Minister of Armenia, heading the Ministry of Defense is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was established in January 1992 and is currently headed by Seyran Ohanyan. From 1993-1995 there was a concurrent position of the State Minister for...

.

Manukyan was born in Leninakan (present-day Gyumri

Gyumri

Gyumri is the capital and largest city of the Shirak Province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 120 km from the capital Yerevan, and, with a population of 168,918 , is the second-largest city in Armenia.The name of the city has been changed many times in history...

) in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, and holds a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

 and physical science

Physical science

Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...

. He is married and has three children.

He was arrested in December 1988 in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 because he was a member of the Karabakh committee

Karabakh Committee

Karabakh Committee was a group of Armenian intellectuals recognized by many Armenians as their de facto leaders in the late 1980s. The Committee was formed in 1988 with the stated objective of the reunification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia...

 and spent six months in prison. He became Prime Minister on August 13, 1990 but resigned on November 22, 1991. After Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in 1991, he was elected in parliament three times and ran unsuccessfully for President of Armenia

President of Armenia

President of Armenia is the title of the head of state of Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.-Democratic Republic of Armenia :*Avetis Aharonyan *Avetik Sahakyan *Avetis Aharonyan -Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and Armenian...

 in 1996, 1998 and 2003. Vazgen Manukyan is the Chairman of National Democratic Union party.

It has been alleged that the September 1996 presidential election

Armenian presidential election, 1996

Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 29 September 1996. The result was a victory for Levon Ter-Petrossian, who won 51.3% of the vote. Turnout was 60.3%.-Results:...

 was rigged to ensure a first round victory for President Levon Ter-Petrossian

Levon Ter-Petrossian

Levon Ter-Petrossian , sometimes transliterated Levon Ter-Petrosyan or Ter-Petrosian , was the first President of Armenia from 1991 to 1998...

 so that he would not have to face Manukyan in a second round.

In the February 2008 presidential election

Armenian presidential election, 2008

A presidential election was held in Armenia on 19 February 2008. Prime Minister of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan won the election in the first round according to official results, but this is disputed by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian, who officially placed second.The candidacy of Sargsyan was...

, Manukyan, running again as the National Democratic Union's candidate, placed fifth with 1.3% of the vote according to final official results.