He was the first child of Der Hovhannesian family. He attended an Armenian school in Beirut and completed his secondary education in Melkonian Educational institution in Cyprus. After having the GCE A-level certificates, worked in this same school as a mathematics teacher. He was accepted to Oxford university in London. But, because of financial problems, he was unable to attend the university. He studied at the Haigazian College. He was a teacher of mathematics since 1964.Two third of his life was spent in schools.