Yakov Zarobyan

Hakob (Yakov) Zarobian (Armenian: Յակով Ն. Զարոբյան; 25 September 1908 – 11 April 1980) was the 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1960 to 1966.

Zarobyan was born in Artvin, then in the Russian Empire, now in Turkey in 1908. Together with his family, he moved further into Russia during the First World War. From 1925-1941 he worked in Kharkov as a factory worker. In 1932 he joined the Communist party and became the Party's committee secretary of the main Kharkov factory in 1939. In 1949 he became the head of the department of the Central Committee of the Communist party.

Then Secretary of the Yerevan city committee of the Armenian Communist Party in July 1950. Deputy minister of security, Armenian SSR, in April 1952. First deputy premier of Armenia, June 1953 – July 1958. First secretary of the Armenian Communist party 1960–66. He was dismissed in February 1966 partly as a result of the huge demonstrations in Yerevan in April 1965, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He was succeeded by Anton Kochinyan in 1966.

He died in Moscow in 1980.