Gerard Cafesjian

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Gerard Cafesjian at the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan in November 2009

Gerard Leon Cafesjian ( Armenian Ջերարդ Գաֆեսճյան , Dscherard Gafestschjan ; born April 26, 1925 in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn ; † September 15, 2013 ) was an American lawyer and patron .

Life

Cafesjian's parents immigrated to the United States before the Armenian genocide in 1915 . After an ambitious apprenticeship, Cafesjian served as a sailor on JP Morgan's yacht (built in 1895) during World War II , which was used as the USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) in 1943 and 1944 for reconnaissance in Guadalcanal and the rest of the Solomon Islands . In 1944 and 1945 he served on the destroyer USS Andres (DE-45) , which escorted convoys from the USA to North Africa . When he returned after the war, he married the nurse Cleo Thomas in 1947, whom he had met during the war.

Cafesjian studied economics at Hunter College and law at St. John's University Law School for 5½ years , which earned him a PhD . He then worked as a legal editor at West Publishing . He was then appointed to headquarters in Saint Paul, Minnesota , and was promoted to executive vice president . He designed and founded the West Legal Directory . He became well known with the Art and the Law program , which has received many awards. When West Publishing was sold to Thompson Publishing in 1996 , Cafesjian retired.

Cafesjian now devoted himself to the independent Armenia . He founded the 1995 Cafesjian Family Foundation with more than 128 million US dollars for projects in Armenia. He founded Armenia TV and ArmNews TV , the Cascade financial services group , a real estate company and a renewable energy company , which were all eventually sold. All profits were reinvested in Armenia for further development.

In the United States, Cafesjian supported the restoration of the historic carousel for Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota, and founded the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona . He donated to the Armenia Fund USA , the Armenian Assembly of America , the Armenian General Charitable Union , the Armenian National Committee of America, and others. He was also the owner of the English-language weekly newspaper The Armenian Reporter , which had been published since 1967. It was the America-Armenians' oldest independent publication and ceased publication in 2014. From 2000 to 2003, Cafesjian purchased properties in Washington, DC near the White House to build an Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial. However, legal disputes over the demolition of the existing buildings have prevented the realization until now. Cafesjian won the basic lawsuit and was granted ownership, but another appeal has not yet been decided.

In Yerevan , Cafesjian restored the Kaskade , a large ensemble from Soviet times . There he set up the Cafesjian Center for the Arts , which opened in 2009. This includes a sculpture garden with works by Fernando Botero , Lynn Chadwick , Barry Flanagan , François-Xavier Lalanne and his wife Claude, Jaume Plensa and others. In 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech in front of Chandschjan's triptych at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts .

Cafesjian died a few months after his wife, Cleo, and had three children.

Honors

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Cafesjian Center for the Arts: Gerard L. Cafesjian (accessed May 4, 2017).
  2. ↑ a b Cafesjian Family Foundation (accessed May 4, 2017).
  3. ^ Cafesjian's Carousel (accessed May 4, 2017).
  4. ↑ Armenia Fund USA (accessed May 4, 2017).
  5. ↑ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA, INC. et al., Plaintiffs / Counter-Defendants, Civil Action Nos. 07-1259, 08-255, 08-1254 (CKK) v. GERARD L. CAFESJIAN et al., Defendants / Counter-Plaintiffs. (accessed on May 7, 2017).
  6. ↑ Washington Business Journal: DC buildings linked to Armenian Genocide Museum to be razed (accessed May 7, 2017).
  7. ↑ Hillary Clinton (accessed May 3, 2017).
  8. ^ COAF Children of Armenia Fund (accessed May 4, 2017).
  9. ↑ Emil Samanyan (the armenian reporter): Cafesjian honored with COAF Save a Generation award (accessed on May 4, 2017).
personal data
SURNAME Cafesjian, Gerard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cafesjian, Gerard Leon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and patron
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Bensonhurst
DATE OF DEATH 15th September 2013