Arkadi Ghukasyan

Arkadi Ghukasyan is an Armenian journalist, diplomat and political figure who served as the second President of the Republic of Artsakh. Born in Stepanakert, he graduated from Yerevan State University with a degree in linguistics and began his professional life in journalism, eventually becoming a senior editor at the newspaper Soviet Karabakh.

As the Artsakh movement developed, Ghukasyan moved from journalism into public service. He was elected to Artsakh’s first parliament and later served as a political adviser to the State Defense Committee. During the first Artsakh war, he became one of Artsakh’s principal diplomatic representatives and led delegations in internationally mediated negotiations with Azerbaijan.

Ghukasyan became the first Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, helping establish the young republic’s foreign-policy institutions and serving as one of its main representatives abroad. He was elected President in 1997 and served two terms until 2007. His presidency covered a decade of postwar reconstruction, state-building and negotiations over Artsakh’s status. He survived an attempt on his life in 2000 and continued serving until the end of his second term.

After leaving office, Ghukasyan remained an influential public figure in Artsakh. During Azerbaijan’s September 2023 attack and the forced displacement that followed, he stayed in Stepanakert rather than leaving before the population. Azerbaijani forces later took him hostage together with Bako Sahakyan and Davit Ishkhanyan and transferred him to Baku.

Ghukasyan was placed in the mass sham trial against Artsakh’s former political and military leadership. In 2026, the Baku Military Court illegally sentenced him to 20 years in prison on sweeping charges tied to the existence and defense of Artsakh. The Baku Court of Appeals later upheld the sentence. He remains an illegally held Armenian hostage in Azerbaijan.