CSUN Armenian Studies and Haigazian University Jointly Present Roupen Avsharian’s Book on Armenian Deputies in the Lebanese Parliaments

NORTHRIDGE, CA.—The Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and Haigazian University, Beirut, have jointly organized a book presentation of Roupen Avsharian’s, Esq., On the Record: Armenian Deputies in the Lebanese Parliaments, Vol I, 1922-1972, Vol. II, 1972-2017 (Beirut: Haigazian University Press, 2017), 1,332 pages. The event will take place under the high patronage of Her Excellency, Ms. Mirna Khawly, Consul General of the Republic of Lebanon in Los Angeles, on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. at the Glendale Downtown Central Public Library, 222 E. Harvard Street, Glendale, CA, 91205.

On the Record is the culmination of extensive research and analysis of the Official Minutes of the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies and the Official Gazette of the Lebanese Republic. It contains detailed information extracted from the general proceedings of more than 2,400 ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the parliament, and provides the reader with more than 215 tables with comprehensive data and references covering the different aspects of the involvement of the Lebanese-Armenian deputies in Lebanese legislative life from 1922 until 2017.

According to Dr. Vahram Shemmassian, Professor and Director of the Armenian Studies Program at CSUN, “the book sheds new light on the contribution of Armenians to the political landscape of Lebanon, on the one hand, and the role Armenian deputies in successive parliaments have played in promoting understanding and harmony among the various components of Lebanese society, on the other.”

Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of Haigazian University, has added the following observation: The Armenian legislatures “were always mindful of the tragic past of their Armenian roots and the need to formally and informally recognize the Genocide and its consequences.”

Roupen Avsharian is the General Counsel of Investment Dar Company, a Kuwaiti conglomerate with investments in Kuwait, London, Dubai, and Bahrain. He was also a partner of Tribonian Law Advisors with offices in Beirut, Dubai, and Riyadh. His practice focuses on multi-jurisdictional restructurings, corporate re-organizations and providing general counsel services to regulated and unregulated entities.

The author has a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies with emphasis on the Middle East from AMU at Charlestown, West Virginia (2004), and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Western State University College of Law at Fullerton, California (1996).

Besides the book, Mr. Avsharian has authored two important book chapters, both published by Haigazian University Press: “Armenian MPs throughout the Lebanese Parliaments: An Assessment from within,” in Antranig Dakessian, ed., Armenias of Lebanon (II) (2017), and “Lebanese-Armenians and the Ta’ef Accord,” Aida Boudjikanian, ed., Armenians of Lebanon: From Past Princesses and Refugees to Present-Day Community (2009).

The public is cordially invited. There will be book signing and a reception at the end of the program. Prof. Hasmig Baran, Chair of Haigazian University Board of Trustees and Armenian Studies lecturer at CSUN, has stated that the “proceeds from the sale of books shall be allocated to Haigazian University students as scholarships.” For further information about the event, you may contact Prof. Shemmassian at (818) 677-3456 or vahram.shemmassian@csun.edu, or Prof. Baran at hasmig.baran@csun.edu.