| Ara Papian | |
| Office: | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Canada |
| Termend: | 2006 |
| Termstart: | 2000 |
| Birth Date: | 6 June 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality: | Armenian |
| Children: | 2 sons (Narek and Taron) |
| Alma Mater: | Yerevan State University (MA) Moscow Diplomatic Academy NATO Defense College |
| Occupation: | lawyer, historian and diplomat |
Ara Papian (hy|Արա Պապյան; born June 6, 1961) is an Armenian lawyer, historian and diplomat. He served as Armenia's Ambassador to Canada from 2000 to 2006. He is currently the president of the "Modus Vivendi" Center for Social Science.[1]
Papian was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, then Soviet Union on June 6, 1961. In the 1980s, he served in the Soviet Army in Afghanistan as a military translator.[1] He was decorated seven times with military awards.[2]
Papian first graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in history. In 1989, he completed postgraduate degree studies in Armenian History at Yerevan State University.[3] Papian graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in 1994 and from the NATO Defense College in Rome in 1999.[1] He also completed a course of study in Public Diplomacy (1999, Oxford).
Papian also lectured on Armenian language and literature at the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus[1] and taught Armenian and Iranian history at Yerevan State University from 1987 to 1989 and from 1998 to 2000.[4]
Papian worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia for many years, holding different positions. He worked as secretary and head of numerous departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also worked in Tehran, Iran and Bucharest, Romania as secretary. Later he was appointed the spokesman and Head of Public Affairs Department. From 2000 to 2006 he was the Armenia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Canada.[1]
After his retirement from his diplomatic career, Papian studied legal aspects of the Armenian Question, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Wilsonian Armenia, etc.
He has given speeches in many Armenian communities throughout the world (including Los Angeles)[5] on these issues.[6]
Ara Papian is an advocate of minority rights and has stated in his interviews that Armenia should assist nation-less ethnic groups, such as the Talysh and Lezgin people, to secede from Azerbaijan.[7]
Ara Papian is founder and Head of the Modus Vivendi Center.[8]
Ara Papian is a member of the National Democratic Pole.
Papian is fluent in Armenian, Russian, English, Persian and Greek. He is married, with two sons: Narek and Taron.[1]