Former UN deputy secretary general Benon Sevan dies

Nicosia, Cyprus. Benon Sevan, a diplomat and former deputy UN secretary general who devoted his life to promoting Armenian heritage, died on Monday. He also served as a representative of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

AGBU pays tribute

AGBU remembered Sevan as a guiding figure, mentor and tireless defender of Armenian cultural heritage, describing him as “family” to generations of Armenians in Cyprus.

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“His warm personality, keen intellect, passion and selfless generosity earned him the love and respect of all those who had the blessing of knowing him,” AGBU said.

Education and early UN service

Born in Nicosia, Sevan graduated from the AGBU Melkonian Educational Institute in Cyprus. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Philosophy at Columbia College in New York and a graduate degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Sevan joined the UN secretariat in 1965. His assignments included serving as a UN observer with the secretary-general’s special representative for the Act of Free Choice in West Irian, Indonesia, and as assistant resident representative with the UN Fund for the Development of West Irian.

He also served as the senior secretariat official on the mission investigating the situation of prisoners of war during the Iran-Iraq conflict.

Economic and political assignments

From 1982 to March 1988, Sevan served as secretary of the Economic and Social Council. He was also secretary of several intergovernmental bodies and special UN conferences.

In April 1988, he was appointed director and senior political adviser to the secretary-general’s representative on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan.

In January 1990, Sevan was additionally asked to serve as the secretary-general’s representative for the implementation of the Geneva Agreements on Afghanistan.

In January 1991, secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar assigned him responsibility for the overall administration of the Office for the Coordination of UN Humanitarian and Economic Assistance Programmes Relating to Afghanistan.

On July 20, 1992, secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali announced Sevan’s appointment as assistant secretary-general in the department of political affairs at UN Headquarters in New York.