Lilliam Kechichian: The Armenian Voice in Uruguay’s Government

Lilliam Kechichian is a politician who has made history in Uruguay. She is the first person of Armenian descent to become a minister in the South American country and one of the most prominent advocates for the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Kechichian was born in Montevideo in 1952, in a family that had fled the atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people during World War I. She grew up with a strong sense of her cultural identity and heritage and became involved in the Armenian community and its causes.

She joined the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), a progressive coalition of left-wing parties, in 1971, and participated in the resistance against the military dictatorship that ruled Uruguay from 1973 to 1985. She was elected as a city councilor in Montevideo in 1990, and later as a deputy in the national parliament in 2004.

In 2006, she was appointed as the deputy minister of tourism and sports, and in 2012, she became the minister of tourism, a position she held until 2020. During her tenure, she promoted the development of the sector, especially in rural areas, and supported the country’s cultural diversity and social inclusion.

She also used her platform to raise awareness about the Armenian genocide, the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1923. She launched a signature campaign in 2007, calling the European Union to deny membership to Turkey unless it recognized and apologized for the genocide. She also supported the resolution passed by the Uruguayan parliament in 2015, declaring April 24 as the “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide”.

In 2019, she was elected a senator and continues to be a voice for the Armenian cause in Uruguay and the region. She has also received several awards and honors for her work, such as the Legion of the Book from the Uruguayan Chamber of Books in 2014, and the Mkhitar Gosh Medal from the president of Armenia in 2017.

Kechichian is an example of a politician who has combined her personal and professional passions and has contributed to the development and recognition of both her countries: Uruguay and Armenia.

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