No term limit Parliamentary elections to the National Assembly are held every five years at most. After election Prime Minister and the Cabinet resigns and the newly elected National Assembly approves the Prime Minister.
The prime minister of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետության վարչապետ, romanized: Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan varch’apet) is the head of government and most senior minister within the Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the activities of the Government and coordinate the work of the members of the Government." Also, according to the constitution, the prime minister heads the Security Council, which prescribes the main directions of the country's defense policy; thus, the prime minister is effectively the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Armenia.[4]Nikol Pashinyan is the current prime minister. He took the office on 8 May 2018 following the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan.
History
Original role
The office of prime minister was first established in 1918 with the foundation of the First Republic of Armenia. The prime minister chosen by the National Council of Armenia and was accountable for international, domestic and regional issues. The first Prime Minister became Hovhannes Katchaznouni whose cabinet was made up from five members, all of which were from ARF. In addition, a ministry of interior was created, whose first head was Aram Manukian.[5] It vanished when the First Republic of Armenia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and then transferred into a full Soviet republic.
Soviet era
The governmental structure of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was similar to that of the other Soviet republics. The highest executive and administrative organ of state power was the Council of Ministers. The Council consisted of the following positions:
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Chairman of the State Planning Commission
Cabinet Ministers
Representative of the Committee of Agricultural Stocks
Chairman of the Board of Arts
Representative of the All-Union People's Commissariat
The Prime Minister's Staff has the task of ensuring the enforcement of the powers vested in the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers, as well as making preparations for Cabinet meetings:[6]
Staff Department
Principal executive
Incumbent
Prime Minister's Staff
Chief of Staff
Arayik Harutyunyan
Deputy Chiefs of Staff
Armenak Khachatryan
Artur Hovsepyan
Sargis Torosyan
Taron Chakhoyan
Zaruhi Matevosyan
Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister
Hambardzum Matevosyan
Advisers to Prime Minister
Artashes Toumanian
Voluntary Advisor
Aleksandr Avetisyan
Suren Maghakyan
Press Secretary
Nazeli Baghdasaryan
Chief Protocol Officer
Suren Varosyan
Assistants to the Prime Minister
Arsen Mikhaylov
Artur Grigoryan
David Gevorgyan
Gagik Isakhanyan
Hakob Abrahamyan
Karine Davoyan
Relations with the National Assembly
Department Head
Anahit Stephanyan
External Relations
Karen Gasparyan
Legal
Hayk Kesoyan
Programmes Expertise
Personnel and Human Resources Management
State and Legal Affairs
Social Affairs
Territorial Development and Environmental Issues
Information and Public Relations
Financial and Accounting
Financial-Economical
Regulatory Impact Assessment
Applications, monitoring and evaluation of citizen feedback
Administrative Service
Protocol Division
Protocol Department
First Division
Mobilization Preparations and Mobilization Programmes Division
General Division
Division of Pardons, Citizenship, Awards and Titles
Security Council Bureau
Civil Service Bureau
Inspection Bodies’ Coordination Bureau
Public Council Secretariat
Office of the Representative on international legal matters