SINGER CHARLES AZNAVOUR GRANTED ARMENIAN CITIZENSHIP
Agence France Presse
Dec 26 2008
France
YEREVAN (AFP) — The renowned French singer of Armenian origin Charles
Aznavour has been granted Armenian citizenship by presidential decree,
the presidency of the ex-Soviet republic said Friday.
"Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has signed a decree granting
Armenian citizenship to the prominent singer and public figure, a
hero of the Armenian people, Charles Aznavour," the presidency said
in a statement.
Born Shahnur Aznavourian, the 84-year-old singer is among the
best-known figures of France’s 400,000-strong Armenian diaspora. He
was born in Paris to Armenian parents.
After the 1988 earthquake in Armenia which killed 25,000 people,
Aznavour set up a foundation and organised a series of charity concerts
to help quake victims.
He also serves as Armenia’s permanent delegate to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The author of over 1,000 songs, Aznavour is one of France’s most
popular singers and is the first French performer to have a recording
that went platinum in Europe. He sold over over 100 million records
worldwide.
In 1998 he was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and Time Online.