Nikol Pashinyan has retained much of Armenia’s previous government, with dozens of ministers, deputy ministers, governors, service chiefs and senior officials reappointed following the formation of the new government.

The appointments come after the June 7 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling Civil Contract party received 49.7456 percent of the vote and maintained its parliamentary majority. Pashinyan was formally reappointed on August 2 following the opening session of the newly elected National Assembly.

Since then, a series of decisions published through the government’s e gov system have kept much of the existing political and administrative structure intact.

Most of the Cabinet Remains

Nearly the entire previous Cabinet has remained in place.

Suren Papikyan continues as Defense Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan as Foreign Minister, Arpine Sargsyan as Interior Minister, Anahit Avanesyan as Health Minister, Gevorg Papoyan as Economy Minister, Vahe Hovhannisyan as Finance Minister, Davit Khudatyan as Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Minister, Hambardzum Matevosyan as Environment Minister, Zhanna Andreasyan as Education, Science, Culture and Sport Minister, Srbuhi Galyan as Justice Minister and Arsen Torosyan as Labor and Social Affairs Minister.

David Tadevosyan is the major new addition at the Cabinet level, replacing Mkhitar Hayrapetyan as High Tech Industry Minister. The current government roster confirms the new Cabinet lineup.

Much of the Cabinet’s political core is composed of members of Civil Contract.

Papikyan is a member of the party board, while Mirzoyan is a founding member who has served on the board since 2016. Papoyan has served as a party board member and vice chairman, while Khudatyan, Matevosyan, Avanesyan, Torosyan and Hovhannisyan are also officially identified as Civil Contract members.

The result is a Cabinet whose main political figures remain largely unchanged from the previous administration.

Governors and State Bodies Retained

The continuity extends into Armenia’s regional administrations.

On August 13, nine governors were reappointed.

Sergey Movsisyan remains governor of Aragatsotn, Sedrak Tevonyan of Ararat, Vahram Khachatryan of Armavir, Karen Sargsyan of Gegharkunik, Aren Mkrtchyan of Lori, Davit Arushanyan of Shirak, Robert Ghukasyan of Syunik, Vahagn Arsenyan of Vayots Dzor and Hayk Ghalumyan of Tavush.

Suren Tovmasyan was also retained as head of the Cadastre Committee, Eduard Hakobyan as chairman of the State Revenue Committee and Yeghiazar Vardanyan as chairman of the Urban Development Committee.

Several of the governors are prominent Civil Contract figures. Aren Mkrtchyan, for example, previously served as a Civil Contract parliamentarian and is officially listed as a member of the party. Davit Arushanyan also served in parliament representing Civil Contract before becoming governor of Shirak.

The appointments reinforce Civil Contract’s presence not only at the Cabinet level but throughout Armenia’s regional government structure.

Foreign Affairs, Defense and Justice

Another large wave of reappointments came during the final week of August.

Mnatsakan Safaryan, Vahan Kostanyan and Robert Abisoghomonyan were retained as deputy foreign ministers, while Zareh Sinanyan remained High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.

Arman Sargsyan, Hrachya Sargsyan and Karen Brutyan were reappointed as deputy defense ministers.

At the Justice Ministry, Gevorg Kocharyan, Anna Karapetyan, Oksanna Abrahamyan and Tigran Dadunts were retained as deputy ministers.

Tsovinar Tadevosyan remained head of the Penitentiary Service, Gurgen Afrikyan continued as head of the Probation Service, and Siro Amirkhanyan remained Armenia’s chief compulsory enforcement officer.

A similar pattern occurred across the education, finance, economy, social affairs and inspection systems, where numerous officials serving before the election were formally returned to their positions through decisions issued on August 28.

Interior Ministry Leadership Stays in Place

The Interior Ministry saw another round of reappointments on August 29.

Kamo Tsutsulyan was reappointed Chief of Police and Deputy Interior Minister. Aram Ghazaryan was retained as Director of the Rescue Service and Deputy Interior Minister.

Both had held those positions since January 2026.

Armen Ghazaryan was also reappointed Deputy Interior Minister after serving in the role since November 2024.

Nelli Davtyan remained head of the Migration and Citizenship Service.

Artak Kamalyan was reappointed chief adviser to Pashinyan, while Gagik Isakhanyan and Karine Davoyan were retained as his assistants.

Health Ministry Sees a Reshuffle

One of the more notable personnel changes occurred at the Health Ministry.

Lena Nanushyan was relieved of her position as First Deputy Health Minister on August 28. The following day, she was appointed Deputy Health Minister, keeping her within the ministry’s senior leadership but removing the first deputy designation.

Samvel Kharazyan was also appointed Deputy Health Minister.

At the same time, Levon Hakobyan and Armen Gasparyan were relieved of their positions as deputy health ministers.

The moves represent more of an internal restructuring than a full leadership change, with Avanesyan remaining at the head of the ministry and Nanushyan continuing in a senior role.

Similar changes occurred elsewhere, where officials holding acting or first deputy positions were formally relieved and then appointed to slightly different positions within the same ministry.

Some Reappointed Officials Have Faced Past Controversies

Several of the officials retained in the new government have previously been at the center of public controversy.

Defense Minister Suren Papikyan acknowledged in 2020 that he had a criminal conviction dating back to his compulsory military service. The disclosure came after Hraparak reported that Papikyan had been sentenced in 2006 to two years and three months in prison for stabbing his commander. Papikyan confirmed the existence of the conviction while condemning the disclosure of the information as an intrusion into his private life.

Papikyan has also recently faced renewed criticism over deaths within the Armed Forces. On August 24, amid several military deaths in a short period, he pushed back against arguments that the defense minister should personally be held responsible for killings, suicides and other deaths in the military.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan was questioned by law enforcement in late 2023 as part of an investigation into alleged abuses and embezzlement connected to Armenia’s COVID 19 response. Avanesyan had served as a deputy and later first deputy health minister during part of that period. The report of her questioning did not state that she had been charged.

Arsen Torosyan, who headed the Health Ministry during the early stages of the pandemic and now leads the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, also faced significant criticism over the government’s COVID 19 response. In June 2020, Torosyan publicly apologized for what he described as possible mistakes made during the early stages of the outbreak.

Broad Continuity After the Election

Taken together, the August appointments show that the formation of the new government has produced considerably more continuity than change.

Civil Contract’s established political figures remain in control of many of the country’s most powerful ministries, while governors closely associated with the ruling party have also largely remained in place.

The same pattern extends further down the government structure, with deputy ministers, committee chairs, service chiefs, advisers and senior administrative officials overwhelmingly continuing from the previous administration.

Rather than assembling an entirely new governing team following the June election, Pashinyan has largely renewed the officials and administrative structure that were already in place, while making a smaller number of changes and internal reshuffles in key ministries.