Jacques Fomerand

Jacques was born on February 12, 1943 in Marseille, France to Gilbert and Josephine (Julio) Fomerand. He spent his childhood in (then) French Algeria (Algiers and Oran) where his father had been transferred to a branch of Barclays Bank. The family had to return to France in 1959 due to political conditions at the time and attended high school in Paris. Jacques developed tuberculosis and spent a year and a half at a sanatorium, where he first discovered his love for cinema and played drums for a jazz band. Subsequently, he enrolled at the highly selective Sciences Po University in Paris to study political science. His love of cinema (he watched four films per day on a regular basis) left little time for studying. After one year he transferred to Aix en Provence, a city dear to his heart for his entire life, where he finished his studies. Jacques moved to the United States in 1967, where he completed his PhD in Political Science at the City University of New York (CUNY) and began teaching at Queens College upon graduation. Jacques launched his prestigious 25 year career at the United Nations in 1977, growing into positions of increasing seniority in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), achieving the title of Chief of Inter-organizational Cooperation of DESA. Following reassignment to the United Nations University in 1992, he held the distinguished position of Director of the United Nations University North York Office and led a think tank producing research on UN priority areas before his retirement in 2003. Over the following years, Jacques continued teaching as adjunct faculty at institutions including Columbia University, NYU, CUNY, Adelphi University, and Seton Hall University, among others, maintaining close ties with the UN throughout. For over 20 years he served as faculty and as Assistant Director of Occidental College’s elite Oxy at the UN Program. At CUNY’s John Jay college, he served as the advisor to the National Model UN program and guided his teams to national championships several times. Jacques loved teaching. He often said that it gave him energy and kept his brain sharp. Universally regarded as a brilliant and caring educator, Jacques was honored with various best teacher of the year awards from CCNY, NYU, and the entire CUNY system. Jacques’ greatest joys came through his interactions with his students. As a nurturing mentor to generations of students, he maintained close bonds with many long after their graduation. He was particularly proud of his work with his immigrant students at CUNY, many of whom have since gained entrance to esteemed graduate programs and built successful careers of their own. In addition to teaching, Jacques was a prolific writer. He wrote seminal annotated dictionaries on the United Nations and on Human Rights and contributed dozens of articles on international relations to academic publications. Beyond his academic work, Jacques had several personal passions. Classical cinema continued to give him great joy as did listening to French baroque music. He was a long-term philatelist and built an extensive stamp collection. An avid photographer, he had a library of over 40,000 photos. Jacques’ deep academic intellect was more than matched by his deep humanistic values and unparalleled kindness. He married his first wife Raissa in 1967, with whom he raised sons Thierry and Ross in Larchmont, NY. Following his divorce, he met his partner Marianthi in 2004, sharing a deep love and commitment to each other, a passion for the sea - the Mediterranean in particular - and for exploring the world together. He is survived by his partner Marianthi, sons Thierry and Ross, daughter-in-law Taryn, grandson Phoenix, Marianthi’s sons Minos and Aris, and ex-wife Raissa. He is also survived by his brother Gerard Fomerand, and his children Veronique, Isabelle, and Guillaume.

Jacques Fomerand

November 4, 2024