Movses Hakobyan


Movses Hakobyan is a senior Armenian military official and the former commander of NKR Defense Army. Since 24 May 2018, Hakobyan has served as the Chief Military Inspector of the Armed Forces.

Biography

Hakobyan was born in the Chartar village in the Martuni region of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. He graduated from the secondary school of Chartar in 1982 and entered the Alma-Ata Army Command College in the same year. From 1986 to 1987, he served in the motorized rifle regiment 553 of the Transcaucasian Military District, as an infantry platoon commander. Hakobyan then served in the Soviet armed forces stationed in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War as deputy commander of the rifle company. In 1988, he returned to the Transcaucasian Military District to serve as company commander with the 366 Motorized Rifle Regiment of stationed in Stepanakert. After the regiment was pulled out from Stepanakert in March 1992, Hakobyan joined the Nagorno Karabakh Self-Defense Forces.
During the Nagorno-Karabakh War he participated in military operations in Martuni, Askeran, Martakert, Aghdam and was wounded at least three times. Hakobyan was the commander of the battalion of his native village Chartar from July–September 1992. Afterward he served as deputy commander, then the commander, of Shushi defense district from 1992 to 1993. From September to December 1993, he commanded the defense of Monteaberd. Subsequently and until 1998, he was commander of the 2nd Defense District of Martuni and from 1998 to 1999 of 4th Defense District of Askeran. From 1999 to 2001, Hakobyan was deputy commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, in charge of combat readiness.
Following his graduation from Russia's Academy of the General Staff, on 24 July 2002, Hakobyan was appointed Adviser to the Defense Minister of Armenia, and in July 2003, as first deputy commander and chief of staff of the NKR Defense Army. Hakobyan became the Defence Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh on 11 May 2007 by decree of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkadi Ghukasyan, succeeding Seyran Ohanyan.
In June 2015, Hakobyan was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

Awards