Paul Yacoubian

PAUL YACOUBIAN

The Chairman of the Compatriotic Union of Hadjin Paul Yacoubian was born in 1955 in Beirut (Lebanon). He was a graduate of the Armenian Evangelical Gertmenian School and the Armenian Evangelical College. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Haigazian College (now Haigazian University) in 1982 and a Master’s Degree from the Lebanese American University (1982-1985). From 1979, he taught English at the Sahag Mesrobian and Roupinian & Central High Schools and Geography, History, and Philosophy at the Armenian Evangelical Central High School – Ashrafieh. Starting from a young age, Paul Yacoubian held various leading roles in numerous organizations, namely, the Brotherhood Church Youth Committee, the Youth Committee of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Ashrafieh “TCHANITS,” the Hunchagian Dekhrouni Student & Youth Association (Beirut – Bourj Hammoud – Jounieh) later having advanced to the Chairman of the Association. Some other leading roles that he had assumed were memberships with the AEBU Committee, the Armenian Evangelical Church of Ashrafieh, and the Armenian Evangelical Cemetery Committee. In the years of the Civil War in Lebanon, he participated in the defense of Nor Hadjin Quarter of Beirut. With some intervals since 1982, Yacoubian has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Social Democrat Hunchagian Party. Since 2010, he has been the Chairman of the Hadjin Compatriotic Union of Lebanon and due to his initiations, the Union has implemented numerous projects. Apart from the annual Remembrance Days commemorating the tragic events in historical Hadjin with jidabour as a ceremonial dish cooked in the community, the Union, in cooperation with Haigazian University, organized a scientific conference dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Hadjin self-defense in 2015. He contributed to the editing and production of the books of Hagop Boghossian- “General History of Hadjin,” Alice Keep Clarke’s “Letters from Cilicia,” and “The AGBU Hadjin Orphanage” (Haigazian University Press). Numerous students have been granted academic scholarships. On the 100th anniversary of the Hadjin self-defense, under the auspices of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, a Repose of Souls Service was offered. In addition, the Union issues annual calendars and distributes them for free. Paul Yacoubian is deeply passionate about art, particularly theater. Throughout his school and university years, he actively participated in theatrical productions. He has acted in various plays, including “For the Sake of Honor” by Shirvanzadeh and “The Cost of Being Polite” by Paronian, both produced by the “New Serount” Cultural Association. Paul Yacoubian’s wife, Maral Sultanian, is an active member of the Hadjin Women’s Union as well as is in charge of the organizational issues related to the Remembrance Days. They have three children- Talar, Nareg, and Lori, and two grandchildren- Aren and Alik.