Your Excellency, Distinguished Guests and Dear Compatriots:
I am pleased to be here tonight to introduce Mr. Vartan Oskanian, a dynamic and engaging individual, whose life can be viewed as having four distinct stages: the Middle East, the Soviet Union, the United States, and independent Armenia. As we shall see, there is a common thread running through all of them.
Vartan Oskanian was born in Aleppo, Syria and is a graduate of the AGBU Lazar Najarian high school there. Though a Syrian national, Vartan felt a strong sense of his Armenian identity and to further his education went to Armenia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Structural Engineering from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute.
He then went to the US and obtained a Master’s in Structural Engineering from Tufts University in the Boston area. There he was captivated by the tremendous intellectual activity and energy of such a huge centre of learning, with scores of universities, and hundreds of thousands of students and professors. While working as a structural engineer, he succumbed to the need to fulfill his intellectual curiosity, which led him to take a second Master’s degree, this time at Harvard, in the field of Government Studies.
Why does one make such a sudden change? There is no single answer, but one obvious factor is the intense intellectual environment of his student years, during which he observed huge changes in the world around him, which must have impacted him deeply. Let me give you some examples of what was going on during that time: the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan, a huge empire defeated by a small country; glasnost and perestroika, the catchwords for the promise of openness and restructuring in the Soviet Union; the Armenian Earthquake; the Karabagh Movement questioning the hegemony of the Soviet super power; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the dissolution of the Soviet Union; the reunification of Germany; the break-up of Yugoslavia; the pro-democracy rallies in Tiananmen Square; the release of Nelson Mandela from prison; and, finally, globalization, which brings the effects of events around the world right to our doorstep. Imagine how such epochal events impacted Vartan’s intellect and identity, and how he, as a citizen of the world, strived to define himself and find his place in this dynamic space. He had to confront the question of where he, as an individual, fits into the great scheme of things.
The answer came in 1990. Empowered by all the multifaceted knowledge and experience gained on three continents, driven by the need to engage in an intellectual pursuit, and seeing that the Diaspora needed a medium to connect its widespread elements together, it was natural for him to become a founder and editor of the greatly admired Armenian International Magazine, a creative forum to explore critical issues. Its mission included a commitment to “the dissemination of information for the purpose of developing an informed public.” It proclaimed that “the firm conviction that the vitality of an independent press is fundamental to a democratic society in Armenia and democratic institutions in the Diaspora.”
As if graduate degrees in Engineering and Government Studies were not enough, Vartan earned a third Master’s degree, this time in Law and Diplomacy from the renowned Fletcher School at Tufts University. One begins to see the thread weaving its way through all of these activities.
Then suddenly, a new event changes the direction of Vartan’s life, as he was taken by Armenian independence. He wrote that by the time he witnessed the raising of the Armenian flag at the United Nations in 1992, he already knew his future lay in Armenia. Wishing to make his contribution to the fledgling republic, he moved his family to Armenia that year. He described that decision as “one of the easiest of my life … Armenia, for me, always felt like home.”
Now, let’s all stop for a moment and take ourselves back to 1992. What was Armenia like at that time? It is a country still emerging from the massive destruction of the Earthquake, destroying 85% of its economy. It is in the middle of a war with Azerbaijan, has just been separated from a market of 300 million and been reduced to a market of 3 million, is undergoing a severe energy crisis because of a blockade of the railroads and the closure of the Medzamor nuclear plant, as a result of which people are cutting down every tree in sight for fuel. The price of food increases up to 50 times, and bread is being rationed. On top of all this, the country has just achieved independence and has to create all of its institutions from scratch. Knowing full well the countless challenges he would face, Vartan leaves the comfort of his home and successful career in the United States to respond to the call of Armenia and dedicate himself to the nation-building process.
The independent republic needed people. He went to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a simple civil servant, where he applied his combined experience as a member of the Armenian Diaspora, as a resident of Armenia, and as a citizen of the world, with all of the educational, intellectual, and language skills that these entail. He rose quickly through the ranks, serving, among many other roles, as Lead Negotiator for Armenia in the Karabagh Peace Process from 1993 to 2008, and as Foreign Minister from 1998 to 2008, a long and distinguished tenure by any measure.
His term as Foreign Minister was marked by many qualities. I have time to mention only a few. He set a new, high standard of professionalism for the ministry, whereby staff was appointed for their competence, not who they knew. He demonstrated that diplomacy and defence do not replace each other, but work together to secure the nation’s future. He showed that Armenia could be a respected member of the international community and at the same time pursue its particular interests in assuring self-determination and security for Karabagh. He practiced the foreign policy principle that what is important for success is not just defining your interests, but choosing the strategy, tactics and methods you use to pursue and defend those interests. As he has written, it is especially important to choose strategies that will not backfire or cause harm. Working with limited resources and therefore limited options, Vartan strived to assemble all of our national resources, both inside the country and in the Diaspora, something we sorely need today. Under his tenure, the Foreign Ministry became the de facto ministry for Diaspora affairs, linking Armenia and the Diaspora on several levels–cultural, educational, scientific, economic and political.
His motivation in all this was his strong sense of civic duty. Having served two different administrations illustrates, in his own words, that “he served not a man, but a people and a country.”
On his life’s journey, Vartan received numerous national and international awards and honours, too many to enumerate here.
When Vartan left the government in 2008, he was convinced that Armenia’s domestic problems must be solved in order for any positive movement internationally to be successful. Towards this end, he undertook as a priority to strengthen civil society and foster informed public debate. As a result, he established the Civilitas Foundation. Civilitas encourages the right of every individual to benefit from his or her full potential, and promotes the responsibility of every citizen to contribute to the realization of a functioning and prosperous democracy.
Vartan Oskanian personifies the Diasporan, the Armenian and the universal citizen. His multifaceted education, training and experience in nation-building make him a unique leader for our people. All this has enabled him to serve our nation with skill, creativity, and wisdom, and above all, with integrity and dignity. His achievements, his capacity, his youthful energy, his passion and his commitment mean he still has a lot to contribute to our nation.
I now ask you to join me in expressing our appreciation for this great man, as we invite him to come forward and share his thoughts with us. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Vartan Oskanian.