The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia announces with great sadness that Ashot Melik-Shakhnazarian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Republic of Cuba and the United States of Mexico, passed away on January 18th following heart failure.

As a long-time professional diplomat, Ambassador Melik-Shakhnazarian served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and in several Soviet representations abroad. After Armenia declared independence, he returned to his homeland and, until his last day, served with devotion and enthusiasm to help form and develop Armenian diplomacy.

Ashot Melik-Shakhnazarian was born in Tbilisi on October 2nd 1931 and graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1956. Between 1969-71 he studied at the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. From 1981-82 he took courses in diplomatic leadership training.

From 1960, he worked in the Central Staff of the MFA of the Soviet Union in a number of departments. He also worked in many Soviet embassies worldwide, in Guinea, Senegal, Zaire, Cambodia and Mali (serving as Charge d'Affaires) and participated as a member of Soviet delegations in several international conferences.

In 1989, he obtained the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

After the collapse of the USSR, he returned to Armenia at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. At the Ministry, he held the positions of Counselor in the CIS Division, Advisor to the Minister, Permanent Representative to the UN Human Rights Europe Office in Geneva as well as other international organizations as well as Consul General, and subsequently head of the Ministry's International Organizations Department. He was actively involved in the creation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh.

In 1997, he received the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and from 1998 to 2000 was Special Envoy. In 2000, he was appointed Ambassador to the United States of Mexico and the Republic of Cuba.

Ashot Melik-Shahnazarian was a man of varied interests. He wrote music and poetry, and was a sportsman as well. In his youth, he was both a boxer and a marksman. He was vice president of the Soviet Fencing Federation and the Soviet Pentathlon Federation, as well as a fencer with international ranking.

He was most actively engaged in the concept and creation of the Pan-Armenian Games. In 1997, he became the founder of the Pan Armenian Games International Committee and its president. He was also Vice President of Armenia's Olympic Committee. He was a national ambassador of the Spirit of Sport and Athletics, associated with the Council of Europe. Finally, he was a lecturer at the international Olympic Academy.

Ambassador Melik-Shahnazarian spoke Russian, French, Spanish and English. In 2000, he established the Supporting Francophony in Armenia NGO.

Since 1960, he had been a member of the Soviet Journalists Union, and author of a series of books.

During his active and productive life, he had received many government and public awards and medals. Among them are the Movses Khorenatsi award, the NKR Gratitude Medal, the 10-year medals of the MFAs of Armenia and Karabakh, he was a knight of the World Committee of the PanArmenian Games, and a recipient of the award for 50 years of cooperation and involvement into the International Fencing Association.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers its sincere condolences to Ambassador Melik-Shahnazarian's widow, his two sons, his daughter, and to all those who mourn his loss.

The home viewing will take place on January 20, beginning at 6 pm, at Mashtots 7, Apartment 10, in Yerevan.

The public viewing will take place on January 21 from 12 noon to 2 pm at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to be followed by the funeral procession.