Abraham Gyulkhandanyan

Abraham Gyulkhandanyan[lower-alpha 1] (Armenian: Աբրահամ Գիւլխանդանեան; 1875 - 1 January 1946) was an Armenian revolutionary, politician and historian who served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior and Minister of Finance of First Republic of Armenia. He was member or Armenian Revolutionary Federation.[1][2]

Abraham Gyulkhandanyan
Minister of Interior
of the First Republic of Armenia
In office
10 August 1919 – May 1920
Prime MinisterAlexander Khatisyan
Preceded bySargis Manasyan
Succeeded byRuben Ter-Minasian
Minister of Justice
of the First Republic of Armenia
In office
10 August 1919 – 10 September 1920
Prime MinisterAlexander Khatisyan
Preceded bySamson Harutyunyan
Succeeded byArtashes Chilingaryan
Personal details
Born1875
Vagharshapat, Russian Empire
Died1 January 1946
Paris, France
NationalityArmenian
Alma materGevorgian Seminary
Signature

After the fall of the First Republic of Armenia, Gyulkhandanyan went into exile, eventually settling in Paris in 1933. During World War II, he became vice-president of the Armenisches Nationales Gremium (ANG/Armenian National Committee), which collaborated with Nazi German authorities against the Soviet Union.[3]

Biography

Gyulkhandanyan was born in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin) to a moderately prosperous Armenian family, and received his education at Etchmiadzin's Gevorgian Seminary. He joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation at the age of 19 and moved to Baku, where he engaged in revolutionary activities.[3] In 1906, he was appointed editor of the ARF's Baku newspaper titled Groh ("Mob"). He used a number of pseudonyms, including Abro, Abramovich, Ruben and Sevian. He was arrested by the Imperial Russian authorities in 1910 and released two years later.[3] Gyulkhandanyan was considered one of ARF's more socialist members, and was praised by other ARF leaders for his prowess as a revolutionary activist.[3]

After his release from prison in 1912, Gyulkhandanyan studied law․ Two years later he graduated and married his wife Haykanush, with whom he had a son, Ruben. Along with ARF founder Stepan Zorian, he organized the defense of Baku against the Turkish offensive in 1918.[3] After the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia in May 1918, Gyulkhandanyan became a member of parliament and the ARF-led government, where he occupied the posts of Minister of Internal Affairs, Justice, and Finance.[3] In December 1920, as the First Republic faced a double assault by Turkish and Soviet troops, Gyulkhandyan was one of the delegates who signed the Treaty of Alexandropol with Turkey, which was never ratified but essentially realized a year later through the Treaty of Kars, albeit with less harsh territorial losses for Armenia.[3]

After the Sovietization of Armenia, Gyulkhandanyan moved to Tiflis, then Istanbul, then Bucharest before finally settling in Paris in 1933.[3] While in exile, he wrote his memoirs and began to organize the ARF archives. During the Nazi occupation of Paris, he became the vice-president of the pro-German Armenian National Committee and editor of its organ titled Azat Hayastan ("Free Armenia"). He was arrested by French authorities after the liberation of France and was imprisoned for eleven months (October 1944 – September 1945) before being released for health reasons. He died of heart failure on 1 January 1946, a few months after his release.[3]

Works
  • Ազգային շարժումների դրդապատճառները ԺԹ.դարում [Causes of national movements in the 19th century]. Paris: Imp. Araxes. 1939.
  • Հայ-թաթարական ընդհարումները: Հատոր առաջին. Բագուի առաջին ընդհարումները [Armenian-Tatar clashes: Vol. I, Baku’s first clashes]. Paris: Impr. franco-caucasienne. 1933.
  • Բագուի դերը մեր ազատագրական շարժման մէջ [Baku’s role in our liberation movement]. Tehran: Alik. 1981.
  • Կովկաս երկիրը, ժողովուրդը, պատմութիւնը: Քարտէզ եւ բազմաթիւ վիճակագրական տւեալներ [Caucasus: the country, the people, the history – Map and numerous statistical figures]. Paris: Librairie Universitaire J. Gamber.
  • Հ. Յ. Դաշնակացութեան առաջին ծրագիրը եւ նրա հեղինակները [First program of the H. H. Dashnaktsutiun and its authors]. Athens: H. H. Dashnaktsutiun Publishing House. 1987.

References
  1. Reformed orthography: Աբրահամ Գյուլխանդանյան. Also transliterated as Giulkhandanian, Gulkhandanian and Kiulkhandanian.
  1. "Abraham Gyulkhandanyan - Encyclopaedia Orientica". August 21, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016.
  2. "Ministry of Finance". August 24, 2016. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.
  3. Berberian, Houri (2020). "From Nationalist-Socialist to National Socialist? The Shifting Politics of Abraham Giulkhandanian". In Der Matossian, Bedross (ed.). The First Republic of Armenia(1918-1920) on Its Centenary: Politics, Gender, and Diplomacy. Fresno: The Press at California State University, Fresno. p. 53-88.
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