Nazar was born in Aleppo in 1925. He received an Armenian education at Beirut’s Armenian Evangelical School, and then went to College de la Salle. He received his secondary education at Beirut’s International College, and then went to the American University in the same city, which he graduated in 1951 with a degree in pharmacology.
He later moved to the US and settled in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and became a successful businessman. Like his brother Nubar before him, he became the American supplier for the family company, Levon G. Nazarian and Sons, which was established in Lebanon. He would send large quantities of various materials necessary for textile manufacturing. He quickly expanded his business and opened new markets in various countries of Africa, South America, the Middle East and Europe.
He followed the honorable example of his father Levon and brothers Garbis and Nubar, and became active in Armenian community affairs, holding positions like vice president or treasurer of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU)’s Central Board for many years. He became very close to the great AGBU philanthropist Alex Manoogian. He served for a period on the AGBU’s US Central Committee.
Nazar Nazarian has been very involved in the Armenian Church. In 1983, Nazar Nazarian went to Jerusalem as a member of an investigatory committee sent by Catholicos of All Armenians Vasken I. In 1986, Nazarian received the St. Vartan Award from then-Primate Torkom Manoogian of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America for his service to the Church of Armenia.
Nazarian and his wife Artemis have been fervent supporters over many years of Tenafly’s St. Thomas Armenian Church, and donated one hundred thousand dollars for the construction of a church hall. Artemis was born in Watertown and learned much about Armenian traditions through her parents. She would frequent the local ADLP chapter, where she learned the Armenian language. Her maternal uncle, Garabed (Charlie) H. Sulahian, was an important leader of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (ADLP), serving as chairman of the District Committee of the US and Canada for many years.
Nazar and Artemis Nazarian have supported many cultural activities, including the republication of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s memoirs about the Armenian Genocide.
