Career
He was first elected as President on 19 July 2007 and on 19 July 2012 he was re-elected for a second five-year term, receiving around two-third of the votes. Sahakyan replaced Arkadi Ghukasyan, who had held the presidential post for two five-year terms. Sahakyan was born in Stepanakert, NKAO, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1960.
After serving in the Soviet army, he worked for nine years in a Stepanakert factory.
In 1990, he joined the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, of which he became a deputy commander. In 1999, he was named interior minister of Nagorno-Karabakh.
He also led the Nagorno-Karabakh security service from 2001 to June 2007, when he resigned in order to run in the 2007 Nagorno-Karabakh Presidential elections. Voters mainly turned to Sahakyan because of his record in the security services.
He has pledged to seek full independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, using the example that international recognition of Kosovo as an independent state would pave the way for acceptance of Nagorno-Karabakh"s sovereignty.
Bako Sahakyan is married and has two children. Sahakyan visited the village of Vank (Martakert region) to participate in an opening ceremony of a new building of a local hospital built with financial assistance of philanthropist Levon Hayrapetyan.