page_title: Ministers of Social Protection of the Armenian SSR
section_title: Drastamat Asqanaz Ter-Simonyan (1895-1937)
hierarchical_section_title: Ministers of Social Protection of the Armenian SSR / Ministers / Drastamat Asqanaz Ter-Simonyan (1895-1937)
caption_attribution_description: Ænglisc: Drastamat Ter-Simonyan(1895-1937)
context_page_description: The Minister of Social Protection of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was a government and state position in the Ministry of Social Protection of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic or Armenian SSR, the position was formed 1920, when Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. It became important state institution for citizens in the Soviet region.
context_section_description: Drastamat Ter-Simonyan, born in the village of Hamamlu (now Spitak), Armenia in the family of social democrats (Hunchakian Party), was a party man, a state figure, a journalist and a publicist.
  Ter-Simonyan has been a member of RSDRP since 1913. In 1912, he finished Nersisian school in Tbilisi, entered the Department of Economics at the Institute of Commerce in Kiev. 
  During World War I, he carried out organizational activities among soldiers on the Western Front as well as among reserve soldiers of Siberia. After the October Revolution, he worked in the RSFSR People’s Commissariat of National Affairs, and in the Supply Area of Red Army starting from September, 1918.
  In 1913, Drastamat worked for the Students’ social-democratic organization (Bolshevik Faction). In the same year Drastamat Ter-Simonyan was arrested and beaten for having taken part in the demonstration and strike on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko. 
  In 1914, during the Russo-Turkish War he used to make declarations at student meetings against Armenian Volunteer Movements. 
  In 1915, he entered the Subalterns’ College via students’ recruitment, then was sent to the Reserve Regiment, later on to the Front.
  In late 1919, Drastamat Ter-Simonyan moved to Tbilisi, and only after having participated in the editing and publishing works of such newspapers as “Pahak”, “Nor Ughi”,  he came to Armenia. 
  In December 1920, Ter-Simonyan was appointed the ArmSSR People’s Commissar for Social Security, then People’s Commissar of Enlightenment.
  In summer 1921, Drastamat Ter-Simonyan occupied the position of the Extraordinary Commissar of Zangezour. He held very many positions: Secretary of the Yerevan Committee of Armenian Communist Party, a member of the Presidium, Editor of Parisian newspaper called “Yerevan” (1928), the first Chairman of the Writers’ Union, Editor of the newspaper “Nor Ughi”, Head of the Yerevan City Council and so on.
  In 1932, Drastamat Ter-Simonyan was appointed the Chief Editor of the Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. In the academic years 1934 to 1935 and 1935 to 1936, he headed the Chair of Leninism and the Party, as well as read lectures there. 
  On August 10, 1936 he was expelled from the Communist Party by the majority votes of the Central Committee members.
  Drastamat Ter-Simonyan was falsely imprisoned, yet posthumously acquitted.
caption: Drastamat Ter-Simonyan(1895-1937)
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