GLENDALE–Upon the invitation of Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee–Aghvan Vartanian–a member of Armenian Parliament–the head of ARF Parliamentary faction as well as member of ARF Executive Council of Armenia–arrived in Los Angeles Thursday. Vartanian will be the key-note speaker at the ARF Day Celebration–which will take place on December 2 at 6 p.m.–at the Pasadena City College Sexton Auditorium.
Vartanian will visit the Armenian community of San Francisco on Saturday. During his stay in Los Angeles–Vartanian is scheduled to meet with the Primate Arch. Vatche Hovsepian–Prelate Bishop Moushegh Mardirossian–community activists–media representatives as well as American political officials. He will also visit several Armenian schools and institutions and will participate in a live interview on Horizon Television.
Aghvan Vartanian was born in 1958 in Nakhichevan. In 1982 he graduated from Yerevan State University–with a degree in linguistics. After his graduation he worked in the print media–including Garoun and Aghpyur monthlies for eight years. He has been a member of Armenia’s Writers’ Union since 1987–and its secretary from 1990-93.
Vartanian joined the ARF in 1990–and was Armenia’s ARF Central Committee member from 1990-92. From 1991-93 he was the editor of Yerkir Daily–the publication of ARF Central Committee of Armenia–which had the largest circulation in Armenia at the time. From 1994 to 1996 he was an editor of Droshak–the official publication of the ARF Bureau.
From 1993 to 1994 he worked at Radio Free Europe–and from 1996 to 1999 he was the director of the Yerevan Informational Center.
In 1999–as a member of ARF–Aghvan Vartanian was elected into the Armenian parliament–and in 2001 he became the head of ARF parliamentary faction.
In 2001–he was elected into the ARF Executive Council.
Aghvan Vartanian is married and has two children.