Vahan Papazian

Vahan Papazian (Armenian: Վահան Փափազյան; 1876–1973),^[1] also known by his pseudonym Goms (Կոմս) was an Armenian medical doctor, politician, political activist who was one of the leaders of the Armenian national liberation movement. He was the younger brother of Vrtanes Papazian.

Vahan Papazian
Վահան Փափազյան
Born	1876 Tabriz, Sublime State of Persia (now Iran)
Died	1973 Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Armenian
Political party	Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Movement	Armenian national liberation movement
Relatives	Vrtanes Papazian (brother)

He was born in Tabriz to parents from Van. Papazian became a leading Armenian figure in the Van region in 1903 and in 1908 was elected to the Ottoman parliament from the Van Vilayet.^[2] During the Armenian genocide, he managed to escape to the Caucasus.^[3]

From 1942 to 1945, he was a member of the Armenian National Council, established in Berlin with the support of Alfred Rosenberg.^[4]

Papazian was fielded by the ARF candidate for the Armenian Orthodox seat in the Metn constituency in the 1951 Lebanese general election. He was included in the pro-government Constitutional List. He obtained 10,186 votes (out of 22,904 votes cast in the constituency), and was defeated by Dikran Tosbath.^[5]

He died in Beirut.^[3]

References

1. Mahari, Gurgen (2007). Burning Orchards. Cambridge, England: Black Apollo Press. p. 524. ISBN 9781900355575.
2. Schaller, Dominik J. (2009). Late Ottoman Genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies. London: Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 0415480124.
3. Kévorkian, Raymond H. (2011). The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. London: I. B. Tauris. p. 827. ISBN 9781848855618.
4. Christopher J. Walker, Armenia. The Survival of a Nation, London-New York: Routledge, 1990, p. 357: "A year later, on 15 December 1942, an 'Armenian National Council' was granted official recognition by Alfred Rosenberg, the German minister of the occupied areas. The 'Council''s president was Professor Ardashes Abeghian, its vice-president Abraham Giulkhandanian, and it numbered among its members Nzhdeh and Vahan Papazian."
5. Messerlian, Zaven. Armenian Participation in the Lebanese Legislative Elections 1934-2009. Beirut: Haigazian University Press, 2014. pp. 114-117