Armenian economy minister criticises claims of “right” path to government office

Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan has criticised claims that there is a single “right” career path to becoming a government minister, responding to comments by Narek Karapetyan, the nephew of detained Russian oligarch Samvel Karapetyan.

Papoyan challenged Karapetyan’s argument that senior government roles should follow a narrowly defined career trajectory in a post on Facebook, Caliber.Az reports. 

According to Papoyan, Karapetyan had questioned how an individual could become a minister after serving in roles such as chair of a standing committee in the National Assembly, a member of parliament, a university lecturer, a deputy director of a private company, a department head, and a marketing specialist.

“And the ‘right’ path, in his opinion, is like his own: he was born, ate bread, ate a lot of bread, grew up and became the director of a factory," he wrote. 

By Sabina Mammadli