Norayr Harutyuni Elsayan, previously known as Sargsyan, born on August 23, 1934, in Arak, Iran, and passed away on March 30, 2021, in Yerevan.
Norayr Elsayan was born on August 23, 1934 in Arad, Iran.
Because Armenian schools in Iran were blockaded, he completed his elementary and secondary schooling at the public schools in his hometown, and pursued his higher education in the history department at Tehran's Pedagogical University.
The primary focus of his career was in education. Initially, he spent two years working at an Armenian elementary school in Arak before relocating to Tehran, where he took on roles as both vice-principal and a teacher of Armenian language and history at the "Rostom" national school for two academic years. In 1960, he accepted a position as the director of the "Tunyan" National School, dedicating 22 years to the institution. Following this, he served as the director at the "Abraham Soghomonyan" secondary school and later taught at the "Nor Ani" schools.
He established and led the four-year Armenian Studies program under the Armenian Diocese of Tehran. Over a span of 15 years, he imparted knowledge as a lecturer in Armenian history at this very institution.
Upon being invited by the educational council of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran, he took on the role of overseeing Armenian schools.։
He contributed to the creation of Armenian textbooks used in Iranian Armenian schools as one of the co-authors.
From an early age, he actively engaged in various Armenian societies, initially in Arak and later in Tehran, including the Armenian Cultural [[ Union (now an organization) and the H. M. "Rostom" Union, and subsequently in the Armenian Cultural "Sipan" Union. Notably, Norayr Elsayan played a pivotal role in founding the "Rostom" and "Sipan" unions, serving multiple terms on their boards and holding the position of president. Additionally, he contributed to the endeavours of the Union of Armenian Teachers within the Armenian schools of Tehran.
He actively engaged in Tehran's national public affairs.
From his youth, he became a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation party and subsequently became involved in and actively contributed to various party initiatives. Between 1984 and 1993, he held the role of editor-in-chief at Tehran's "Alik" daily newspaper.
In June 2000, Norayr Elsayan was awarded the Mesrop Mashtots Order by the Catholics of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I in recognition of his years of dedicated activity in the educational, social and press spheres.
In 1964, he married Emma Karamyan, who works in the field of pedagogy.
In 2013, he was awarded the "Ambassador of the Motherland" medal of the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia.
Passed away on March 30, 2021. [[Category:Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians]] [[Category:Armenian editors]]