Edward Nalbandian is a prominent Armenian diplomat. He was the 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and served in that capacity from April 2008 to May 2018.
Mr. Nalbandian started his diplomatic career in 1978. After obtaining a doctorate degree in political science from the prestigious Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Nalbandian was sent first to Lebanon as a diplomat and then, in 1986, appointed First Secretary of the USSR Embassy in Egypt. In 1982, Nalbandian was the youngest diplomat in the Soviet Union who was rewarded the highest diplomatic medal for his service-the Peoples Friendship Medal – USSRs third highest honor. When Armenia became independent, Nalbandian was invited to become Armenias representative in Egypt, thus in 1992 Edward Nalbandian joined the diplomatic service of newly independent Armenia as Chargé d'Affaires and later in 1994 as Ambassador of Armenia to Egypt. From Cairo he was also accredited as Armenia's Ambassador to Morocco and Oman. By October 1992, Nalbandian had established an embassy in Cairo-one of the first embassies Armenia opened. In 1999 Nalbandian was appointed as Ambassador to France, where he served for almost a decade. This period marked the flourishing of Armenian-French interstate relations, marked notably by the state visits of the Presidents and the Year of Armenia in France. Edward Nalbandian served also as non-resident Ambassador to Israel, Vatican and Andorra, and he was Personal Representative of the President of Armenia to the International organization of La Francophonie from 2006-2008. Edward Nalbandian represented Armenia in several dozens of international conferences and summits. After Serzh Sargsyan took office as President, he appointed Nalbandian as Foreign Minister from April 14, 2008 till May 2018.
Honors, Honorary titles and awards
Edward Nalbandian has received a number of awards, among them:
2012 – 2nd degree medal “For Services Contributed to the Motherland”
2014 – Honorary Doctorate degree of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations for his contribution to strengthening international security, and his ongoing contribution to Russia-Armenia relations.
2017 – Russian Order of Friendship awarded by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his great contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation with Russia.
