Ruben Ter-Minasian

Ruben Ter Minassian
Defense Minister of Armenia
In office
5 May 1920 – 24 November 1920
Preceded by Christophor Araratov
Succeeded by Drastamat Kanayan
Interior Minister of Armenia
In office
5 May 1920 – 24 November 1920
Personal details
Born Minas Ter Minassian
1882
Akhalkalaki, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
Died November 1951
Paris, France
Resting place Père Lachaise Cemetery
Nationality Armenian
Political party Armenian Revolutionary Federation

Ruben Ter Minassian (Armenian: Ռուբէն Տէր Մինասեան) (1882–1951) He was an Armenian politician, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and had an important role in the Armenian national liberation movement and later in the First Republic of Armenia.

Early life

He was born Minas Ter Minassian in 1882 in Akhalkalaki to Armenian parents. He pursued higher education at Gevorgian seminary, Echmiadzin and Lazarian Institute, Moscow. After returning to the Caucasus in 1903.

Ruben was a leader of the Armenian fighting units in Sasun, established relations and negotiated with numerous Kurdish tribal chieftains. Ter Minasian was destined to become a prominent figure in the Armenian National Movement. He was active as a fighter until the proclamation of the Ottoman constitution in 1908 and later moved to Geneva until 1913.

World War I

He returned to Ottoman Empire in 1914 to be general director of all Armenian schools in the region of Moush. He prepared Armenians for self-defense after the Ottoman Empire entered the first world war. In 1915 he led the defense of the Armenians of Sasun against the Third Army. He was a member of the Armenian National Council in 1917. An adviser to the Transcaucasian Sejm delegation in the Trebizond negotiations with the Ottoman Empire in March 1918.

First Republic of Armenia

Ter Minasian played a key role in the formation of the First Republic of Armenia along with Aram Manukian, Simon Vratsian, Hamo Ohanjanyan and others. Later he was a member in the Armenian Parliament serving as Defense Minister of Armenia and political activist. He was one of the individuals served as Ministers of Interior in the period May 1920 – September 1920.

After the Sovietization of the Armenian republic, Ter Minasian moved to Paris, France and continued his intellectual and political activities as a member of the ARF Bureau. He later lived in Palestine and Egypt. In 1948 he finally returned to Paris, where he passed away in November 1951. His body was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery on November 30, 1951 under number 13874.

Publications

Ter Minassian wrote his memoirs in seven volumes, entitled "Memoirs of an Armenian Revolutionary" [Հայ յեղափոխականի մը յիշատակները]. He is author of several other books, including "Armenia in the Inter-Continental Roads" (Հայաստանը միջցամաքային ուղիներու վրայ).

References