PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am
Website:
February 5, 2009
Richard Giragosian Appointed Director of ACNIS
Yerevan–In his new position as the director of the Armenian Center
for National and International Studies (ACNIS), Richard Giragosian
brings a wealth of experience and a reputation for independent
analysis and has been living in Armenia for the past several years.
For nine years, Giragosian served as a Professional Staff Member of
the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. He is a regular
contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) publications
and is a contributing analyst for the London-based Jane’s Information
Group, covering political, economic and security issues in the South
Caucasus, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In addition,
Giragosian was appointed twice as a State Commissioner on the Virginia
Governor’s Commission on Armenian Affairs and has also served as an
honorary member of the National Steering Committees of both the
Clinton and Gore presidential campaigns.
Giragosian has contributed to publications of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS), the Bertelsmann Foundation, the
International Security Network (ISN), the Swiss Peace Foundation, and
has written for Jane’s Defence Weekly, the China and Eurasia Forum
Quarterly, Jane’s Intelligence Digest, the Hong Kong-based Asia Times
Online, Demokratizatsiya, Jane’s Foreign Report, the Journal of Slavic
Military Studies, Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, the Turkish Daily
News, the Turkish Policy Quarterly, and the Harvard International
Review, among others. He is also a guest columnist for the
Turkish-language international edition of Newsweek and is an Editorial
Consultant for the Turkish Policy Quarterly, an English-language
journal based in Istanbul, Turkey.
ACNIS founder Raffi K. Hovannisian welcomed the new appointment and
stressed that Giragosian will only strengthen the Center’s dynamic
15-year record of public policy research and analysis. Hovannisian
added that "Richard Giragosian represents the very ideals of objective
scholarship that ACNIS has long held dear and his personal
contribution to the development of Armenia only matches the Center’s
goals for a more democratic Armenia."
As one of the leading "think tanks" in Armenia, the Center conducts a
wide range of strategic research and analysis covering the most
significant public policy issues in Armenia. ACNIS strategic research
and analysis covers five main program areas: public policy, economics,
international and regional studies, national security studies, and
global and regional trends.
Reflecting its unique position as a leading research institution in
Armenia, the Center actively contributes toward the strengthening of
the Armenian nation and its state institutions and offers balanced
policy recommendations to all segments of Armenian society and the
Armenian Diaspora.
One of the core longer-term goals of the Center is to enhance its role
as a catalyst for creative, strategic and innovative analysis, based
on strict standards of intellectual integrity and professional
objectivity.
In addition, ACNIS also produces a number of publications and reports
and regularly holds conferences, seminars and roundtable meetings
aimed at raising public awareness of pressing policy issues. In this
way, the center strives to raise the level of debate and broaden the
scope of political discourse in Armenia by providing comprehensive
critical analysis.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; email root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am;
or visit