Benon Sevan’s funeral to be held in Nicosia on October 12

Nicosia, Cyprus. Benon Sevan, the diplomat and former UN assistant secretary-general who died on Monday aged 88, will be laid to rest on Monday, October 12. His funeral will be held at the Armenian church in Nicosia at noon.

AGBU pays tribute

Sevan dedicated his life to promoting Armenian heritage and served as a representative of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

In a tribute on Monday, AGBU described him as a beacon of guidance, a mentor, a tireless defender of Armenian cultural heritage and a “family” for many generations of Armenians in Cyprus.

“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 UN career

Born in Nicosia, Sevan graduated from the capital’s AGBU Melkonian Educational Institute. 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.

He joined the UN secretariat in 1965. His roles 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 Fund of the UN for the Development of West Irian.

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

On July 20, 1992, UN 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. Sevan later headed the UN’s Oil-for-Food programme in Iraq between 1995 and 2003.