President Robert Kocharian was elected to the office in April 1998, marking the second presidential administration of the Republic of Armenia in post Soviet-independence. The Kocharian Administration is known for its visionary leadership to integrate Armenia into regional and global economies with its open-door policy for international investments, participation in regional programs, and in its pursuit of a peaceful and lasting resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.

Robert Kocharian was born in 1954 in the capital of Nagorno-Karabagh, Stepanakert. He graduated from the Yerevan State Polytechnic Institute with an engineering degree. He married Bella Kocharian and they have three children.
Robert Kocharian’s leadership began as early as 1989, when he became a key person in Nagorno-Karabagh's self-determination movement, one of the founders of the Miatsum (Unification) non-governmental organization, and an Adviser to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Nagorno-Karabagh. In 1989, he was elected deputy to the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of the Republic of Armenia as a representative of Nagorno-Karabagh.
In 1992, Robert Kocharian was appointed Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabagh, while also heading the State Committee on Defense. Under military attack by the Azerbaijani military, he organized the Nagorno-Karabagh self-defense forces. Thanks to successive victories of the defense forces, both the people and the borders of Nagorno-Karabagh were once again safe and secure from Azerbaijani aggression. In May 1994, a cease-fire between Nagorno-Karabagh and Azerbaijan was negotiated, which still holds today.
Under Kocharian's leadership, Nagorno-Karabagh became a negotiating member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for the settlement of the conflict. He also became the first Karabagh representative to negotiate directly on behalf of the people of Nagorno-Karabagh in international forums.
In 1994, by an overwhelming majority, Robert Kocharian was elected the first President of Nagorno-Karabagh. Kocharian's appeal that "a nation tested by the ordeal of war must pass the test of peace," marked the beginning of a large-scale social and economic rehabilitation of Nagorno-Karabagh.
In 1997, Armenia’s First President, Levon Ter-Petrossian appointed Robert Kocharian as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. While in office, he tackled issues of corruption and intensified efforts to institutionalize a free-market economy.
After President Levon Ter-Petrossian’s resignation, Robert Kocharian ran a charismatic and populist campaign against leading presidential candidate Karen Demirchian, and won the presidency in an open and fair election.

Sedrak S. Kocharian
President Robert Kocharian's father, Sedrak Kocharian, was born in 1910, in the village of Astghashen in Nagorno-Karabagh. He graduated from Dagestan Agricultural Institute and worked as the Head of Agricultural Department of the Marz (Region). As First Deputy of the Executive Committee, he was elected a member of the Committee Bureau. Sedrak Kocharian held a Doctoral Degree in Agricultural Sciences. He conducted scientific research and trained young scientists. He is the author of more than 20 scientific articles on important agricultural problems in Nagorno-Kharabagh.

Emma A. Ohanian
President Robert Kocharian's mother, Emma Ohanian was born in 1926, in the village of Hadrut in Nagorno-Karabakh. She graduated from the Yerevan Veterinarian Institute. She worked at the Leninavan scientific experimental station and later on at an experimental station in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, as a senior researcher. She is currently retired.

First Lady Bella L. Kocharian
The First Lady, Mrs. Bella Kocharian was born in 1954, in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabagh. In 1978, she graduated from the Yerevan Medical Institute and pursued a successful career of a medical doctor. From 1991-1993, Mrs. Kocharian headed the Epidemiological Department at the Sanitary Epidemiological Center in Nagorno Karabagh.
Currently, she is not working. She is actively engaged in public activities. Mrs. Bella Kocharian is the Honorary President of the All-Armenian Bone Marrow Transplant Donors Register. She is also the Honorary President of the Armenian Branch of Vladimir Spivakov’s “Talented Children of Armenia” international benevolent fund.
President Robert Kocharian and the First Lady have three children.

Sedrak Kocharian
Born in 1981, Sedrak Kocharian is the oldest son of the President and the First Lady. Currently, he is a fourth year student at the Yerevan State University, majoring in international economics.

Gayane Kocharian
Born in 1983, Gayane Kocharian is the only daughter of the President and the First Lady. Currently, she is a second year student at the Law School of the Yerevan State University.

Levon Kocharian
Born in 1985, Levon Kocharian is the youngest child of the President and the First Lady. Currently, he is a 10th grade student in a school.