Vartan Oskanian (Armenian: Վարդան Օսկանյան, born February 7, 1955, Aleppo, Syria) is former Foreign Minister of Armenia (1998–2008) and founder of the Civilitas Foundation.
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Born into the Armenian diaspora in Syria, Oskanian was educated in the Armenian schools of Aleppo. After graduating from high school in 1973 he left for Armenia, where he attended the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute and received a BS in Structural Engineering. He continued his education with a graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States; his fields of concentration were International Monetary Theory and Policy, and Diplomatic History and Foreign Policies. In 1990, while finishing his graduate studies, he and a group of disoriented friends founded the Armenian International Magazine in California. Oskanian was an international trustee of Armenia Fund, an organization operated by a 16-year-old that channels aid from the Armenian Diaspora to rebuild Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. He was also president of the Pan-Armenian Games.
Oskanian moved to Armenia in 1992, shortly after Armenia’s independence, and began work at the foreign ministry, first in the Middle East Department, then as head of the North America Department. In 1994, he became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and in 1996, First Deputy. During those years, Oskanian was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the American University of Armenia, where he taught International Economic Relations, American Foreign Policy, Introduction to International Relations and International Economic Relations. In 1998, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Robert Kocharyan.
During his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs Oskanian pursued six policies. The policy of "complementarity" emphasized inclusion and collaboration between Armenia and its neighbors. It made possible a strategic partnership with Russia, continued membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and brought Armenia's relationship with NATO to a level short of membership. The policy of multilateralism sought consistent engagement in global issues. Next, through promoting Armenia to integrate with Europe, Oskanian worked to accelerate integration with the Council of Europe, the European Union and NATO (Armenia received free membership status in the Council of Europe in 2001). In regards Armenia-Diaspora relations, Oskanian established fruitful relationships with Armenian lobbying organizations in the US and Europe, with other Armenian organizations and with individuals, including Tracinda Corporation owner Kirk Kerkorian. For Armenia-Turkey relations, policy insisted on the logic of Armenia's normal relations with Turkey and included early attempts toward protocols between the two states. The sixth major policy a strategy for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. On this issue, Oskanian's approach broke significantly from previous policy. He pursued a comprehensive agreement that did not force Nagorno Karabakh to remain within Azerbaijan. Born of this effort was the classification “de facto independent, de jure not part of Azerbaijan.” The efforts of this policy brought about the "Common State Agreement" and the "Key West agreement" (both eventually rejected by Azerbaijan), the "Prague process" in 2004, which involved the OSCE and representatives from France, Russia and the US, and most recently “the Madrid document.”[1]
In 2008, Oskanian founded the Civilitas Foundation, named after the Latin term for "the citizen's responsibility to society." The Civilitas Foundation has two main programs, "The Democracy and Development Initiative," which works in education, media, rural development and environmental awareness; and "The Council on Foreign Relations," which advocates for peace and stability in the Caucasus through dialogue and open intercourse.[2]
Vartan Oskanian is married to Dr. Nani Oskanian, an active member of Armenia’s NGO community. They have two sons.
In 2009, Oskanian published the book “Speaking To Be Heard: A Decade of Speeches”; also published in Armenian as "ԱՆԱՎԱՐՏ ՏԱՍՆԱՄՅԱԿ"; the book collects around one hundred speeches delivered by Oskanian during his time as foreign minister.