Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan, also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician who served as the first President of Armenia from 1991 to 1998. Ter-Petrosyan was born on 9 January 1945 in Aleppo, Syria to an Armenian family descended from a long line of priests living near Musa Dagh in the region of Hatay (now located in the south of Turkey). His family took part in the Musa Dagh Resistance during the Armenian Genocide before fleeing to Syria. His father, Hakob Ter-Petrosyan, was first a member of the Hunchakian Party and later a founding member of the Syrian Communist Party. His family emigrated to Soviet Armenia in 1946. In 1968, he graduated from the Oriental Studies Department of Yerevan State University. In 1972, he completed his postgraduate studies at Leningrad State University. In 1987, he received his doctoral degree from the same university. From 1972 to 1978, Ter-Petrosyan worked as junior researcher at the Manouk Abeghian Literature Institute of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. From 1978 to 1985, he held the post of science secretary at Matenadaran named after Saint Mesrob Mashdots. Since 1985, he has worked at Matenadaran as a senior researcher.