Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia Officially Established in Chicago

CHICAGO—Chicago-area Armenians, members of the city’s consular corps, and countless associates celebrated the establishment of the city’s first Honorary Consulate of The Republic of Armenia on the evening of March 22. The Consulate will serve the States of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

A scene from the opening of the consulate (Photo: Honorary Consulate of the Republic of
Armenia, Chicago)

Following the earlier consecration of the Consular Office at 120 West Kinzie Street, nearly 500 guests gathered at the Union League Club of Chicago for the official proclamation of Oscar S. Tatosian as the Republic of Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago addresses the crowd at the opening (Photo: Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia, Chicago)

The evening’s program included the invocation and remarks by His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, Diocese of the Armenian Church in America; remarks by the Hon. Grigor Hovhannissian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States; and a formal welcome by Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago.

A scene from the official opening (Photo: Honorary Consulate of the Republic of
Armenia, Chicago)

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern U.S. was represented by Central Committee member Greg Bedian.

(L to R) Maral Abrahamian, Armenian National Committee of Illinois Chair; Honorary Consul Tatosian; and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.-8)

Also in attendance were Berj Apkarian and Adroushan Armenian, respective Honorary Consuls from the other two U.S. Armenian consular offices in Fresno, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev.

Halle M. Butvin, Director of Special Projects for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., inspired those assembled with details on the upcoming Armenian Folklife Festival, which run for 10 days this summer on the National Mall.

The Honorary Consulate will focus on matters of interest to the Republic of Armenia primarily in trade in the areas of technology, agriculture/wine, and tourism, and other areas such as education.

2 Comments

  1. Congratulations to Honorary Consul Oscar Tatosian. Mr. Tatosian is well known and highly respected for his many philanthropic activities reguarding both Armenian and American causes. He has served the Chicago community proudly and unselfishly for many years, and I am pleased to see that he has been given this great responsibility of being the first Honorary Consul of the newly established Honorary Counsulate of the Republic of Armenia in Chicago, which will represent several Midwestern states. Oscar, we of the Chicagoland community know that you will have a productive and fulfilling tenure as you begin this new phase of your life.

  2. I live in Granite City, Illinois about 7 miles from downtown St. Louis. We are in the process of honoring our heritage which includes Armenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia and Mexico who migrated to Granite for work at the steel mills and supporting factories.

    I’m developing a master plan, and would like to get from you a contact name, email and phone number as we move along.

    I have Armenian friends in Glendale, California and they are helping me as well.

    A simple matter is that the fire hydrants in the historic section known as “Lincoln Place” will be painted the colors representing each Country. I sent the Pantone color numbers to my friend Mikael and agreed with those numbers and asked that it be painted in the order that’s on the flag.

    I also asked him about a “Sister City” relationship and wondered if it should be Yerevan or Glendale CA. Mikael was born in Yerevan and is a Hollywood costume designer who has helped us with the upcoming film “Men of Granite” a story about ethnic boys from these Countries who won the Illinois High School Basketball Championship in 1940.

    …..Mikael Sharafyan just texted me and suggested Gavar as a potential Sister City, since Yerevan is already one with Glendale.

    So, there’s an update, would just like a contact in your office to run my plans by you to suggest, correct, etc. There’s much more I would like to do, like having our school children be proud of our Steel town, and learn a little about these countries.

    Thank you so much.

    Brett Champion
    6 Frontenac Lane
    Granite City, IL 62040
    bchampiong@gmail.com
    (618) 823-7676 cell
    age 63, Caucasian,
    family heritage from Dover, Tennessee where my grandparents came from to work at the Steel Mill
    Facebook: Brett Champion
    Instagram @brettgc

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