Khatchig Babikian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khatchig Babikian (1924-1999) was a philanthropist, attorney, former member of the Lebanese Parliament (1957-1999) an Lebanese politician of Armenian origin.
[edit] Biography
Born in Larnaca, in the island of Cyprus, he studied in France, in Lebanon and in Italy. Perfect polyglot, he spoke Arabic, Italian, French, and Armenian, Turkish, English and Latin. He was imprisoned in 1940 in a concentration camp in Italy, whereas he finished his baccalaureate, where he later obtains his diploma of right from the Saint-Joseph University of Beirut.
He became one of the most brilliant lawyers and most eloquent of his generation, always supported by the Tashnag party Dashnak (Tachnag) in Lebanon.
Babikian was elected and appointed Armenian orthodox of Beirut in 1957 and remained a member of the Parliament in an uninterrupted way until the date of his death in 1999. He was replaced by André Tabourian. He was a minister of State to the administrative Reform (1960-1961), of Health (1969), of Tourism , of Information (1972-1973, government Saëb Salam), of the Plan and the Foreign Affairs (1973, government Hafez Amine) and of Justice (1980-1982, government Chafic Wazzan and 1990-1992,).
[edit] Khatchig Babikian Fund
The Khatchig Babikian Fund was created on January 2007 by the five daughters of the late Khatchig Babikian (1925-1999). The fund honors the memory of Mr. Babikian, a philanthropist, attorney, former member of the Lebanese Parliament (1957-1999), cabinet minister successively of Administrative Reform, Health, Tourism, Information, and Justice in the Lebanon government, and former chairman of the executive council of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia — Antelias, Lebanon.[1]
The fund’s is to contribute to the welfare of Lebanese Armenians in particular, and Armenians in general. It was the will of Babikian to establish such a charitable fund to benefit Armenians in humanitarian, educational and cultural projects.
