Political figures are those holding the positions identified as of 7 October 1993.

Armenia

PRESIDENT: Levon Ter-Petrossyan

VICE-PRESIDENT: Gagik Arutyunyan

PRIME MINISTER: Hrant Bagratyan

SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT: Babken Ararktssyan

FOREIGN MINISTER: Vahan Papazyan

DEFENSE MINISTER: Sergey Sarkissyan

INTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER: Vanik Siradegyan

SECURITY MINISTER: Eduard Simonyants

CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: David Vartanyan

CHAIRMAN, DEFENSE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Gevork Bagdasaryan

Elections to the 240-seat, unicameral Armenian Supreme Council were held in May 1990; in July 1991 the parliament created the posts of president, vicepresident, and prime minister. On 16 October 1991, Armenian National Movement candidate Levon Ter-Petrossyan, then parliamentary chairman, was elected president with more than 80 percent of the vote. Relations between the government and parliament grew tense in 1992, erupting in late April after the parliament rejected for the third time the government's economic program. Prime Minister Gagik Arutyunyan submitted his resignation in protest, but Ter-Petrossyan refused to accept it. The parliamentary opposition, led by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the Dashnaks), united to form the National Alliance bloc, and organized massive rallies calling for Ter-Petrossyan's resignation over his refusal formally to recognize the independence of Nagorno- Karabakh. On 30 July, Khosrov Arutyunyan was named prime minister, succeeding Vice-President Gagik Arutyunyan, who had also been serving as acting prime minister since November 1991. Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh in August set off demonstrations demanding a national referendum of confidence in Ter- Petrossyan's leadership. The parliamentary opposition declined to vote for the referendum when Ter-Petrossyan announced that if he won, he would dissolve parliament and hold new elections.