AZG Armenian Daily #162, 26/08/2006
Europe
PORTUGAL PROFITS BY GULBENKIAN INHERITANCE
Daniel Silva, correspondent of Agence France-Presse, writes from
Lisbon that though Portugal does not produce oil it nevertheless
profits by oil riches in the last 50 years. Those riches played a
big role in development of diverse spheres of the country.
The article that The Armenian Mirror Spectator published in its August
12 issue touches upon the Galust Gyulbekian Foundation. The Foundation
established in 1956 has brought the country a profit of 2 billion
euros by financing a number of rehabilitation centers, the country’s
philharmonic orchestra, libraries and educational establishments.
"The Foundation was a wonderful luck in the history of our country,"
sociologist Antonio Berton who is writing a book about the influence of
the Foundation on the country said last month during the celebrations
of the Foundation’s 50th anniversary.
Fleeing the Nazi occupied France at the age of 73, Gyulbenkian spent
the last 13 years of his life in a hotel in Lisbon and as an expression
of his gratefulness he handed down his fortune and the huge collection
of art works to the country with a hope that a charity foundation will
be founded. Thanks to correct handling assets initially estimated at 14
million euro rose to 3 billion that totals to 2 percent of Portugal’s
GDP and makes the Foundation the 6th biggest charity organization in
Europe. Among its holdings is Partex oil company that produces 13.5
million barrel of oil annually and exports it to Abu Dhabi, Angola,
Algeria, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Oman. 80 percent of revenue is spent
in Portugal, 20 percent in African colonies.
One of the first initiatives of the Foundation was creation of a
network of "mobile libraries" that provided Portuguese regions with
literature during the right-wing dictatorship in the country. The
second important task was providing scholarships to students. To date,
65.000 students, including Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva,
benefited from the scholarship.
"I think we can never be sufficiently grateful to him for his
generosity," Rui Vilar, president of the Foundation, said in an
interview with JL literary journal.
By Hakob Tsulikian