The Presidents of the AGBU, 1906-2006
Zareh Nubar (1932-1940)
Paul Cololian (1940-1942)
Dr. Paul Cololian, who was born in Constantinope in 1870 and died in Paris in 1955, may be regarded as the AGBU’s fourth president, even if his election to the post was a product of unusual circumstances. Cololian went to Paris in 1888 in order to study medicine, later becoming a renowned neurologist and psychiatrist. He was the co-author, with Paul Garnier, of a manual on mental illness that was long a standard work on the subject. A founder of the Armenian Medical Association and president of the Armenian Red Cross, he was instrumental in creating several Red Cross clinics where Armenian refugees who had settled in France could receive treatment. It was in this capacity–since these clinics were subsidized by the AGBU–that he came into close contact with the Union. He became a member of its Central Board in the 1930s. Read all
Zareh Nubar, Boghos Nubar’s youngest son, was born in Egypt in 1883 and died in Geneva in 1963. In 1933, he was elected the AGBU’s third president. He remained in the post until the 1940 decision to transfer the Union’s assets to New York.
After Calouste Gulbenkian resigned, finding a successor became the overriding concern of the AGBU’s Central Board. It was no easy matter to follow someone as charismatic as Gulbenkian at the head of the organization. Moreover, the founding members of the Union still sitting on its Central Board were all well along in years. These factors dictated the decision to turn to one of the sons of the AGBU’s founder. As often happens, Zareh Nubar never quite managed to come out from under the shadow of ... Read all