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The Lebanese flag flies near the Sursock Museum on August 8, 2020, after the Beirut port explosion. Reuters / Aziz Taher.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Yvonne Sursock Cockeren, the patron of Lebanese artistic, cultural and architectural heritage, has died at the age of 98 after being injured in the Beirut port explosion last month.
A statement from the Sursock Museum, which she helped to create with great sadness, mourned her, referring to her great effort to protect the country’s architectural heritage throughout her life.
Yvonne died on Monday, on the eve of the centenary of the founding of the State of Lebanon, and was a pioneer in raising awareness of Lebanese architectural and cultural heritage.
She is the only child of Alfred Bey Sursock, one of Lebanon’s notables and his Italian wife, Donna Maria Teresa, and she founded the Association for the Protection of Natural Sites and Ancient Buildings in Lebanon and served as president from 1960 to 2002.
In Burt’s explosion, 190 people were killed, about 6,000 injured, and entire neighborhoods, including many of his family’s houses, were destroyed.
Yvonne headed the Sursock Museum committee from 1960 to 1966 and played a vital role in its development in its early years.
The explosion severely damaged his palace, which is one of the city’s architectural landmarks.
Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) indicate severe damage to 640 historic buildings as a result of the explosion, of which 60 buildings are at risk of collapse.
Prepared by Lubna Sabry for the Arabic Bulletin, edited by Amal Abu Al-Saud
