Meet The 19 AUB Graduates Who Helped Establish The United Nations

AUB/Library Archives

The Charter of the United Nations was signed 75 years ago on June 26th, 1945. It involved representatives from 50 nations, including 19 delegates from one of Lebanon’s most prestigious educational institutions, the American University of Beirut (AUB).

In fact, according to the AUB’s media relations officer, Maha Al-Azar, “there were more graduates of the American University of Beirut at the establishment of the United Nations than from any other institution.”

Of the 19 AUB alumni who attended, five of them even proudly signed the UN Charter.

Not all the delegates from the AUB were Lebanese, but they were all graduates from that prestigious university in Beirut. Among the Lebanese nationals, there were citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.

Charles H. Malik

From Lebanon, revered AUB philosophy professor Charles Malik was among the five AUB delegates to sign the charter. He was Lebanon’s first Ambassador to the United States. He also co-authored the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Angela Jurdak Khoury

As possibly the first Lebanese woman diplomat in the Middle-East, Angela Jurdak Khoury was the only woman among the AUB delegates to attend the UN conference.

Sobhi Mahmassani

Sobhi Mahmassani was a Lebanese legal scholar, lawyer, and political figure. After the UN conference, he also participated in the founding conference of the UNESCO in Beirut in 1948.

Abdul Jabbar Chalabi

Born in 1906, Chalabi was the Assistant Director-General of Education in Iraq.

Abdul Majid Abbas

He was a professor of International Law at Law College in Baghdad.

Darwish Al Haidari

He was the Director of the Experimental Station at the Department of Agriculture in Baghdad.

Mohammad Fadhel Jamali

Politician Fadhel Al-Jamali signed the Charter in 1945 as the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs. He later became the Prime Minister of Iraq in 1953.

Hashim Jawad

He was the secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq and later became the Iraqi Foreign Minister in 1958. He was a permanent representative of Iraq to the United Nations.

Majid Kaddouri

He was the professor at the Higher Teachers College in Baghdad.

Mohammad Ibrahim Adham

Adham was the Private Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq.

Salih Mahdi Haidar

He was an Iraqi official in the Ministry of Supply who apparently served as the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq for a short period in 1949.

Fares Al-Khouri

Fares Al-Khouri was one of the first Syrian statemen to visit the United States to represent his country. He was the Prime Minister of Syria and known to be eloquent. He signed the UN Charter and served as the first representative of Syria to the United Nations.

Farid Zeinneddine

Farid Zeinneddine was a Syrian diplomat born in Mount Lebanon in 1907. He succeeded Fares El Khouri as the representative of Syria to the United Nations.

Naim Al-Antaki

He was the Syrian Minister of Finance who studied law at AUB. He was appointed by Prime Minister Khouri to attend the UN conference. he later became the Deputy Prime Minister to Khouri. Here he is signing the Charter.

Nazem Al-Koudsi

He was appointed as Syria’s first ambassador to the United States and later became the president of Syria in 1961. He was one of the five AUB alumni to sign the UN Charter.

Raja F. Hawrani

Raja Howrani was the secretary to Syrian Prime Minister Khoury.

Toufik Hunedi

He was one of four secretaries to the Syria delegation.

Ghassem Ghani

He was an Iranian physician, professor, author, and politician, and was the former Minister of Education at the time.

Ahmad Abdul Jabbar

Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Jabbar of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was a politician in the Royal Court in Riyadh.

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