After being appointed to the post of the new Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Alen Simonyan appealed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and asked for his military rank to be increased.
Modern.az reports that, according to the Armenian media, Simonyan asked for the military rank of "lieutenant colonel" to be given to him out of turn, "for services to the Motherland".
It is noted that Simonyan currently only has the rank of sergeant, which he received during his fixed-term active military service. He is said to have served in the Armenian Armed Forces in 2000-2002.
Simonyan was the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament in 2021-2026. In August 2026, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council by the decision of Nikol Pashinyan.
Thus, it is reported that Simonyan, who received the rank of sergeant during his military service, applied for promotion to the rank of "lieutenant colonel" after moving to a high state position.
