THE LAST PHASE OF THE RESETTLEMENT PLAN: THE CONTRIBUTION OF CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN, PRESIDENT OF THE AGBU, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARESHEN AND GULLABASHEN
With the death of Boghos Nubar on 25 June 1930, the AGBU lost its founder. Nubar had left his mark on the history of the organization thanks to his strong personality, financial skills, and international experience. In the months following his death, first Gabriel Noradungian and then Dikran Khan Kelegian temporarily occupied the president’s chair, although neither had the intention of remaining at the head of the AGBU for long. After Nubar’s disappearance, the Union had, in fact, begun the search for a competent successor. A candidate was finally approached in October 1930. The AGBU’s choice had alighted on Calouste Gulbenkian, who, the board of directors felt, had the qualities required for the job: “To provide a worthy successor to its illustrious founder and president, and to lead the AGBU toward a still more illustrious future, no-one is better qualified than Calouste Gulbenkian, a man who has been universally acclaimed for his profound intelligence, strong personality, and fecund activity.”106
The fact that Gulbenkian accepted the post owed much to the untiring efforts of Aghaton Bey, the soul of the AGBU ever since its foundation, and to the savoir-faire of Léon Guerdan,107 who convinced the oil magnate and his close collaborators that it was imperative for him to take on this mission.108 After briefly hesitating, Calouste ... Read all
The Building of Armenian Neighborhoods in Syria and Lebanon
Saint Gregory's Church and the Sahagian School in Aleppo's Meydan district in 1936. Right to left: Armen Mazlumian, president of the Aleppo branch; Janig Tchaker, vice-president of the Egyptian AGBU; the secretary of the Aleppo branch; Mihran Magarian, mayor of Meydan (Coll. Archives Bibl. Nubar/Paris).