The World and European Champion, ex-Minister of Sport Yuri Vardanyan was appointed Armenian ambassador to Georgia, with the decree signed by President Serzh Sargsyan on June 24, presidential press service reported.

Vardanyan won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the world's first weightlifter to achieve a 400 kilogram total in the 82.5 kg weight category. During his career he set several world records. He earned the title of the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1985. In 1994 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Vardanyan became a presidential adviser and was appointed Minister of Sport in May 2013.