Vartan Oskanian

Vartan Oskanian is the founder of the Civilitas Foundation. He is a diplomat and political figure who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia from 1998 to 2008 under Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. He was born on February 7, 1955, in Aleppo (Syrian Arab Republic).

Oskanian received his education in Armenia, graduating in 1979 from the Faculty of Architecture and Construction at Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. He later graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Tufts University in Boston in 1984 and from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston in 1992.

In 2008, Oskanian founded the Civilitas Foundation, whose key project is the CivilNet online news outlet. On May 6, 2012, he was elected to the National Assembly on the proportional list of the Prosperous Armenia Party.

Later that year, the National Security Service launched a criminal case against Oskanian and the Civilitas Foundation on money laundering charges. Oskanian was serving as a member of the Prosperous Armenia faction and was subsequently stripped of his parliamentary immunity. The criminal case centered on funds donated to Civilitas by the family of American philanthropist Jon Huntsman. Law enforcement alleged that Oskanian had embezzled USD 181,000 from more than USD 1.4 million transferred to his personal account by the Huntsman family for charitable purposes.

Throughout the case, Oskanian, his party members, and close associates maintained that the criminal prosecution was politically motivated, triggered by his political activism, opposition activity, and statements regarding his readiness to become a presidential candidate.

In July 2013, the National Security Service issued a statement announcing termination of criminal prosecution against Oskanian. According to the NSS, Oskanian had confessed to using donated funds for personal purposes and had reimbursed the difference resulting from tax obligations. Oskanian, however, denied making any confession, stating that the case was dropped due to the absence of a crime.

On March 5, 2015, Oskanian left the Prosperous Armenia Party. In 2016, he founded the Hamakhmbum (Consolidation) political party.