Harut Sassounian ( hy, Յարութ Սասունեան, born 1950,

Aleppo, Syria )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

) is an

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenians, Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after A ...

writer, public activist and publisher of ''

The California Courier ''The California Courier'' is an English-language Armenian weekly newspaper published since 1958 in the United States. Its publisher is Harut Sassounian. History In 1958, ''The California Courier'' was founded in Fresno, California by George J. ...

'' which is known for Sassounian's weekly opinion column. He served for 10 years as a non-governmental delegate on human rights at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Biography

Sassounian has an MA in International Affairs from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

. From 1978 to 1982 he worked at

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

, as an international marketing executive. He was the President of the United Armenian Fund which has provided $720 million of humanitarian assistance to Armenia, and former Vice Chairman of

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beve ...

's Lincy Foundation which has funded $242 million infrastructure projects in Armenia. He publishes

, an English-language Armenian weekly newspaper in Glendale, California, since 1983. Sassounian called for

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...

and

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (19 ...

to resign from the new "Genocide Prevention Task Force" (and labelled them genocide deniers) because Albright (along with eight other former Secretaries of State) and Cohen opposed the congressional resolution on the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. In 2009 Sassounian was awarded the 'Legacy Award' by the Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region, in 2016 Sassounian was awarded by Armenia's Union of Journalists the prestigious Golden Pen award, the highest prize given to the top Armenian journalist once every three years.Harut Sassounian was awarded Golden Pen Prize by Armenia's Union of Journalists
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Books

*“The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915-2015, Documents and Declarations,” 2015

References

External links

Sassounian at Armeniapedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassounian, Harut People from Aleppo Syrian people of Armenian descent American writers of Armenian descent American publishers (people) Syrian emigrants to the United States School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Pepperdine University alumni Living people 1950 births American male writers