Diana Abgar

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Diana Abgar in old age

Diana Abgar , also Diana Abkar ( Armenian Դիանա Աբգար Diana Apgar ; born October 12, 1859 in Rangoon , Burma , † July 8, 1937 in Yokohama , Japan ), was an Armenian writer and diplomat . From 1920 she was honorary consul in Japan for the short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia . She was the first Armenian diplomat and probably also one of the first female diplomats.

Life

Diana Anahid Aghabekyan was born in Rangoon (now Myanmar ) in 1859 . Her father was an Indo-Iranian and emigrated to Southeast Asia from Julfa, Iran . Abgar's mother Avet came from the Shiraz region in Persia. Abgar was the youngest of seven children in the family. She grew up in Calcutta and attended a convent school. At the age of 26 she married Michael Abgar, whose family came from her father's homeland. The couple had five children, but only three survived.

The Abgar family had grown rich in Southeast Asia trading rice and shellac . In 1891 Diana Abgar moved with her husband to Japan, where he wanted to set up a branch of the family business. After the sudden death of her husband in 1906, Diana Abgar had to continue the family business. After her son took over the company, Abgar had more time. She began to write for numerous newspapers and magazines, focusing primarily on the subject of "oppression". She wrote a lot about the plight of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in order to raise awareness for the Armenians. By 1920 she had written nine books on the Armenian genocide . She also wrote numerous articles on international relations and the effects of imperialism on world affairs and global peace. Abgar repeatedly helped Armenian refugees who had fled the Ottoman Empire to travel to the USA via Siberia.

When the first Republic of Armenia became independent on May 28, 1918, the new country was not recognized by any state. Through Abgar's efforts, Japan was one of the first countries in 1920 to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. During these efforts, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Hamo Ohandschanjan , appointed her honorary consul in Japan. After the political upheaval in the country and the establishment of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic , however, her position was soon abolished.

As she got older, Diana Abgar began to have health problems. She died on the morning of July 8, 1937 of complications from her illness and was buried next to her husband in the cemetery for foreigners.

Works

  • Susan . Kelly and Walsh Limited, Yokohama 1892
  • Home Stories of the War . The Kaneko Printing Works, Kobe 1905
  • The Truth about the Armenian Massacres . Japan Gazette, Yokohama
  • Betrayed Armenia . Japan Gazette Press, Yokohama 1910
  • In His Name ... Japan Gazette, Yokohama 1911
  • Peace and No Peace . Japan Gazette Press, Yokohama 1912
  • The Peace Problem . Japan Gazette Press, Yokohama 1912
  • The Great Evil . Japan Gazette Press, Yokohama 1914
  • On the Cross of Europe's Imperialism: Armenia Crucified . Yokohama 1918

literature

  • Diana Agabeg Apcar: From the Book of One Thousand Tales: Stories of Armenia and Its People, 1892-1922 . AuthorHouse, Bloomington 2004

Web links

Commons : Diana Abgar  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sarah Soghomonian: Lucille Apcar Introduces New Book Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Hay Sharzhoom . 26, No. # 2 (88), December 2004. Retrieved May 16, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / armenianstudies.csufresno.edu
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Diana Apcar: The First Woman Diplomat. Armenian Cultural Foundation, accessed May 16, 2016 .
  3. ^ Shifting the Armenian National Narrative on Women , The Armenian Weekly, March 19, 2015
  4. ↑ Armenian Woman: Diana Abgar , Women's Resource Center of Armenia
personal data
SURNAME Abgar, Diana
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Apgar, Diana; Abkar, Diana; Դիանա Աբգար (HyS)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Armenian writer and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Rangoon , Burma
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1937
Place of death Yokohama , Japan