Gabriel (Kapriel) Efendi Noradunkyan ( hy, Գաբրիել Նորատունկեան, tr, Gabriyel Noradunkyan Efendi; 6 November 1852
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
- 1936
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
) was an
Ottoman Armenian
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (or Ottoman Armenians) mostly belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church or the Armenian Catholic Church. They were part of the Armenian millet until the Tanzimat reforms in the nineteenth century equa ...
statesman and bureaucrat. He served as the Minister of Trade in 1908 and
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
from July 22, 1912 to January 23, 1913 during the reign of
Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...
and the prime ministership of
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha ( ota, احمد مختار پاشا; 1 November 1839 – 21 January 1919) was a prominent Ottoman field marshal and Grand Vizier, who served in the Crimean and Russo-Turkish wars. Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed as ...
and
Kâmil Pasha
Mehmed Kâmil Pasha ( ota, محمد كامل پاشا مصري زاده; tr, Kıbrıslı Mehmet Kâmil Paşa, "Mehmed Kamil Pasha the Cypriot"), also spelled as Kiamil Pasha (1833 – 14 November 1913), was an Ottoman statesman and liberal poli ...
.
Life and career
Gabriel Noradunkyan was born in the
Selamsız
Selamsız is a quarter in Üsküdar district on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It corresponds more or less to the current officially recognized neighborhoods of Selamiali and Muratreis. These neighborhoods are bounded on the north by Sultan ...
neighborhood of the
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
district of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
on 6 November 1852. He was the son of Krikor Noradunkyan, a local bread maker to the Imperial Palace.
His family originated from the village of Agn (today
Kemaliye
Kemaliye (formerly Eğin) ( hy, Ակն, Romanized Old Armenian: ''Akn'', meaning "spring") is both a town in and one of the nine districts of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey.
The town is known for its historic architect ...
) near
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...
.
Having received his elementary education at home,
Gabriel Noradunkyan attended the local
St. Joseph's French High School in the
Kadıköy
Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea of ...
district where he graduated from in 1869.
In 1870, after graduating from
Saint Joseph University, Noradunkyan continued his education in Law and Political Science at
Sorbonne University
Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...
in Paris.
While in Paris, Noradunkyan also studied at the
Collège de France
The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...
and furthered his studies in Political Science at the
Ecole des Sciences Politiques. He returned to Istanbul in 1875 and became a professor of law at the ''Mekteb-i Hukuk-ı Şahane''.
He was then appointed by
Mahmud Nedim Pasha
Mahmud Nedim Pasha ( 1818 – 14 May 1883) was an Ottoman conservative statesman of ethnic Georgian background,Buṭrus Abū Mannah (2001), ''Studies on Islam and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, 1826-1876'', p. 163. Isis Press, wh ...
to be secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1877, he served as a negotiator within the commissions established by the Ottoman and Russian governments during and after the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
.
In 1883, Noradunkyan became a legal consultant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He would remain in this post for twenty-nine years.
An active member of the Armenian community, he became the chairman of the
Armenian National Assembly
Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian millet in the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρα ...
in 1894.
Noradunkyan published the ''Recueil d'actes internationaux de l'empire Ottoman'', a four volume compilation of Ottoman treaties with neighboring European countries translated into French.
After the
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...
in August 1908, Noradunkyan was appointed at the Minister of Trade. Meanwhile, in December of that year, he was elected as a member of the newly formed
Senate of the Ottoman Empire
The Senate of the Ottoman Empire ( ota, مجلس أعيان, or ; tr, Ayan Meclisi; lit. "Assembly of Notables"; french: Chambre des Seigneurs/Sénat (, with 'old')
* el, γερουσία (, from , 'old man')
, group=note) was the upper hous ...
. Noradunkyan served his post as Minister of Trade until January 1910.
Nordaunkyan then became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ottoman Empire from July 22, 1912 to January 23, 1913 during the reign of
Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...
and the prime ministership of
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha ( ota, احمد مختار پاشا; 1 November 1839 – 21 January 1919) was a prominent Ottoman field marshal and Grand Vizier, who served in the Crimean and Russo-Turkish wars. Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed as ...
and
Kâmil Pasha
Mehmed Kâmil Pasha ( ota, محمد كامل پاشا مصري زاده; tr, Kıbrıslı Mehmet Kâmil Paşa, "Mehmed Kamil Pasha the Cypriot"), also spelled as Kiamil Pasha (1833 – 14 November 1913), was an Ottoman statesman and liberal poli ...
.
He moved to Europe in 1915 and he was the head of the Armenian National Committee representing the Armenians in Lausanne. After moving to Europe, Gabriel Noradunkyan's properties in Istanbul were
confiscated
Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...
.
Noradunkyan was an ardent supporter of the establishment of an independent Armenian state in Anatolia. After the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...
was signed, he moved to Paris, France where he was the head of a variety of Armenian aid organizations. He became the vice-president of the
Armenian General Benevolent Union
The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...
.
Noradunkyan died in Paris in 1936. Prior to his death, he dictated his biography, but only fragments of it has survived.
He knew Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Italian, French, and English.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noradunkyan, Gabriel
1852 births
1936 deaths
Politicians from Istanbul
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman Empire
Civil servants from the Ottoman Empire
Politicians of the Ottoman Empire
Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire
Armenian politicians
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire
19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
20th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
University of Paris alumni
Sciences Po alumni
People from Üsküdar
Saint Joseph University alumni
St. Joseph High School Istanbul alumni