Prime Minister Andranik Markarian died suddenly in March 2007. He was replaced by Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan.
Sarkisyan won almost 53% of the vote and former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan took 21.5% in February 2008 presidential elections. Ter-Petrosyan, who was Armenia's first president after it gained independence in 1991, claimed the vote was rigged.
Tens of thousands of his supporters took to the streets in Yerevan to protest the election. A 20-day state of emergency was declared on March 1 when the protests turned violent and eight people were killed. On March 22, the state of emergency ended and troops left the capital.
On April 9, 2008, Serzh Sarkisyan was sworn in as president and named Tigran Sarkisyan (no relation) as prime minister.
After nearly 100 years of hostility between Turkey and Armenia over the murder of between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I, the two countries agreed in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the border between them. Both parliaments must approve the deal.
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