Albina du Boisrouvray

Last updated

Countess
Albina du Boisrouvray
Born (1939-07-02) 2 July 1939 (age 85)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Education University of Sorbonne
Organization FXB International
Spouse(s)Bruno Bagnoud (divorced)
Georges Casati
​
(div. 1982)​
ChildrenFrançois-Xavier Bagnoud (1961-1986)
Parent(s)Countess Luz Mila Patiño Rodríguez
Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray [1]
Relatives

Countess Albina du Boisrouvray (born 2 July 1939 [2] ) is a former journalist and film producer who has become a global philanthropist and social entrepreneur working with AIDS victims and impoverished communities around the world. [3] She is the founder of FXB International, a non-governmental organization established in memory of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud. [4]

Contents

Du Boisrouvray is a grandchild of the Bolivian King of Tin, Simón Patiño. She is a second cousin of Prince Rainier of Monaco and godmother to Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco. [5]

Early life and education

She is the daughter of Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray (1903-1980) and Luz Mila Patiño Rodríguez (1909-1958) (her name is also reported as Luzmila). Her paternal grandmother was born countess Joséphine Marie Louise de Polignac, sister of Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, the maternal grandfather of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Her maternal grandfather was Simón Patiño, one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time of her birth. [6] [7]

Her father was part of the Free French movement and her family left the country while she was an infant. Du Boisrouvray grew up in New York City and lived at the Plaza Hotel. Her family later moved to Argentina, and du Boisrouvray lived alone in Switzerland, Morocco, England and back to France. [8]

Du Boisrouvray attended University of Sorbonne in Paris where she studied psychology and philosophy. [9]

Career

Du Boisrouvray began her career as a journalist. [5] She worked as a freelance journalist for Le Nouvel Observateur , covering international stories such as the death of Che Guevara. [6] She later co-founded the literary magazine Libre with Juan Goytisolo. [10]

In 1978, du Boisrouvray ran as a candidate for the Friends of the Earth party in parliamentary elections. [11]

She founded a film production company, Albina Productions, in 1969 and is credited with producing 22 films over a period of 17 years. These films include Pascal Thomas' first film, Les Zozos (1972), L'important c'est d'aimer and Une Femme a sa fenêtre , both of which starred Romy Schneider, and Fort Saganne (1984), directed by Alain Corneau and starring Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve and Sophie Marceau. [12] [10] [13] Police Python 357 (1976) notably was one of the few films which starred Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, a well-known couple, in the same film. [14] Du Boisrouvray began serving as the chairperson of SEGH, her family's real estate and hotel management group, in 1980. [9]

FXB International

Following the death of her only child, du Boisrouvray sold three-quarters of her assets including a jewelry collection auctioned by Sotheby's in New York for $31.2 million, an art collection of $20 million, and a substantial part of her family real-estate business which garnered $50 million. [15] The Sotheby's auction was the largest jewelry sale since the Duchess of Windsor's auction. The sale included pre-Columbian gold, jade and other notable pieces accumulated by the noble French family. [16] Du Boisrouvray allocated part of the profits to the FXB Foundation to create programs, including an at home palliative care program for the terminally ill in Switzerland and France, a rescue helicopter control centre in the Swiss Alps, and a professorship at the University of Michigan (her son's alma mater). The rest of the funds were used to found FXB International in memory of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, a search-and-rescue pilot who died while serving as a transport pilot in Mali during the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986. [17]

Du Boisrouvray founded FXB International is to fight poverty and AIDS, and support orphans and vulnerable children left in the wake of the AIDS pandemic. FXB International offers comprehensive support to the families and communities that care for these children, and advocates for their fundamental rights. [18] The organization has helped over 17 million people [10] from programs in more than 100 countries, with a staff of over 450. [19] Du Boisrouvray broadened its work from supporting children impacted by AIDS to also include all families needing support to emerge from extreme poverty and become self-sufficient through the FXBVillage methodology. [20] In 1991, she developed the FXBVillage Methodology, a community-based, sustainable approach to overcoming the AIDS orphans crisis and extreme poverty. Each FXBVillage supports 80-100 families, comprising approximately 500 individuals, mostly children. Over a three-year period, FXB provides communities with the resources and training needed to become physically, financially and socially independent. [17] According to FXB, the FXBVillage program has graduated over 69,500 participants from eight countries and has over 12,500 current participants. [19]

In 1993, du Boisrouvray founded the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, the first academic center to focus exclusively on health and human rights. [10]

Awards and recognition

Du Boisrouvray was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1985. [21] In 1993, the University of Michigan conferred upon her a "Doctor of Humane Letters Degree," [22] and she was made a "John Harvard Fellow" by Harvard University in 1996.

She received a Special Recognition Award for "Responding to the HIV/AIDS Orphan crisis" at the second conference on Global Strategies for the prevention of HIV transmission from mothers to infants in Montreal, in September 1999. In 2001, Harvard students presented her with the "Harvard Project for International Health and Development Award". [12]

Her philanthropy and humanitarian efforts earned her a knighthood of the Légion d'Honneur in 2001 for her pioneering work in home palliative care projects. [10] Also in 2001, because of the innovative cost-effective projects that she formulated and directed within FXB, she was selected as a member of the Social Entrepreneurs Group of the Schwab Foundation. This recognition enables the 54 social entrepreneurs of the group to participate in the Davos World Economic Forum and to present and to share their expertise with world business leaders in the civil and public sectors. [9]

She was awarded the 2002 North-South Prize by the Council of Europe. In November 2003, du Boisrouvray received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 4th International Conference on AIDS in India, in recognition for the projects that she initiated in the 35 States and Territories of India. In 2007, the French Fédération nationale des Clubs Convergences gave her an award for her activities on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children affected by AIDS in the world.

In 2004, Albina received the Thai Komol Keemthong Foundation Award for Outstanding Personality for the year 2004. The award was given in appreciation of her contributions to Thailand and Burma in the fields of protecting children and women's rights, education, vocational training and support of HIV/AIDS-affected children and their families. [23]

In April 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented du Boisrouvray with the insignia of Officer in l'Ordre National du Mérite. The President honoured Albina and her work, saying "Your NGO is a model throughout the world. You are a woman involved. Your solidarity is exemplary and that is why the Republic will distinguish you." She is the first film producer to be awarded L'Ordre National du Mérite. [21] In June 2009, du Boisrouvray received the BNP Paribas Jury's Special Prize.

In 2013, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) awarded du Boisrouvray their KISS Humanitarian Award which recognizes individuals with exceptionally high contribution to society and who have distinguished themselves as humanitarians. [24]

Personal life

Du Boisrouvray was married twice, first to Swiss aviator Bruno Bagnoud and second to French film producer Georges Casati, whom she divorced in 1982. [25] She met Bagnoud while living in Valais. They were married for four years and had one son together, François-Xavier Bagnoud, born in 1961. [8] [12]

She lives in Portugal, near Lisbon, part of the year and has homes in Paris, New York and Switzerland. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Judd</span> American actress (born 1968)

Ashley Judd is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna Judd. Her acting career has spanned more than three decades, and she has become heavily involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism. Judd made her television debut in 1991 with a guest role on Star Trek: The Next Generation and her film debut in 1992's Kuffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Casiraghi</span> Eldest daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco

Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi is a Monégasque model, socialite, equestrian, and humanitarian. She is the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist. She is eleventh in line to the throne of Monaco. Her maternal grandparents were Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is named after her maternal great-grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulnara Karimova</span> Uzbek diplomat and businesswoman (born 1972)

Gulnara Islamovna Karimova is the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan from 1991 to his death in 2016. She wielded considerable influence in Uzbekistan owing to her business dealings and family connections. From 2013, due to a conflict with her father, she began to rapidly lose influence.

Lily Safra was a Brazilian-Monegasque billionaire and socialite who amassed considerable wealth through her four marriages. She had a significant art collection and owned the historic Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera. Her net worth was estimated at $1.3 billion. She became strongly engaged with philanthropy when she married the banker Edmond Safra, and this continued through their foundation after his death in 1999.

Simón Iturri Patiño was a Bolivian industrialist who was among the world's wealthiest people at the time of his death. With a fortune built from ownership of a majority of the tin industry in Bolivia, Patiño was nicknamed "The Andean Rockefeller". During World War II, Patiño was believed to be one of the five wealthiest men in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noerine Kaleeba</span> Ugandan activist

Noerine Kaleeba is a Ugandan physiotherapist, educator and AIDS activist. She is the co-founder of the AIDS activism group "The AIDS Support Organization" (TASO). She is currently a program development adviser for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). She is also the Patron of TASO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inaara Aga Khan</span> German philanthropist

Inaara Aga Khan, formerly Begum Inaara Aga Khan, also previously known as Princess Inaara Aga Khan, was the second wife of the Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Nizari branch of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims; from May 1998 to March 2014, she held the title Begum Aga Khan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gao Yaojie</span> Chinese gynecologist, academic and AIDS activist (1927–2023)

Gao Yaojie was a Chinese gynecologist, academic, and AIDS activist based in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. Gao was honoured for her work by the United Nations and Western organizations whilst spending time under house arrest. Her split with the Chinese authorities on the transmission and the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic in the People's Republic of China hindered her further activities, and she left for the United States in 2009, where she settled in Manhattan, New York.

FXB International, also known as Association François-Xavier Bagnoud, is an international development organization aimed at providing support for communities affected by AIDS and poverty. The organization was founded in 1989 by Albina du Boisrouvray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Aronson</span> American physician

Jane Aronson, D.O. is an osteopathic physician, with expertise in pediatric infectious diseases and adoption medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeannette Kagame</span> First Lady of Rwanda

Jeannette Nyiramongi Kagame is the wife of Paul Kagame. She became the First Lady of Rwanda when her husband took office as President in 2000. Kagame is the founder and chairman of Imbuto Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the development of a healthy, educated and prosperous society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasha de Vasconcelos</span> Mozambican-born Portuguese-Canadian model, actress and humanitarian ambassador

Tasha Sandra Mota e Cunha de Vasconcelos is a Mozambican-born Portuguese-Canadian model, actress and humanitarian ambassador. She is also the ambassador for the Institut Pasteur. She has just been appointed as a UN Women Global champion for Planet 50-50 by 2030.

Prostitution in Burundi is illegal but is commonplace and on the rise. Prostitution is prevalent in all areas of the country, and especially in the largest city, Bujumbura, and prior to the security crisis in 2015, the tourist areas around Lake Tanganyika. UNAIDS estimate there are 51,000 prostitutes in Burundi. Many women have turned to prostitution due to poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Ying Yang Chan</span> Public health academic in Hong Kong

Emily Ying Yang Chan, MH, is a clinical humanitarian doctor and global academic expert in public health and humanitarian medicine based in Hong Kong. She was appointed CEO of the GX Foundation in 2019. She is concurrently Assistant Dean and Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, Professor at the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Director at the Centre for Global Health (CGH), Director of the Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC), Director of the Centre of Excellence (ICoE-CCOUC) of Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), Visiting Professor of Public Health Medicine at the Oxford University Nuffield Department of Medicine, Fellow at Harvard University FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Honorary Professor at University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and Fellow at Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.

Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response was established jointly by Oxford University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as a non-profit research centre to carry out research, training and community knowledge transfer in the area of disaster and medical humanitarian response in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific Region. It is housed in the CUHK Faculty of Medicine and its director is Emily Ying Yang Chan as of 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Leaning</span> American health scholar

Jennifer Leaning is an American health scholar currently the François-Xavier Bagnoud Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former Editor-in-Chief of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War's Medicine & Global Survival. She is also Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Natalia Linos is an American social epidemiologist and politician who was a candidate for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district in the 2020 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Picasso</span> French humanitarian and granddaughter of Pablo Picasso

Marina Picasso is the granddaughter of Pablo Picasso. She inherited a fifth of her grandfather's estate and has used much of the inheritance to fund humanitarian efforts for children in need. She has five children and lives in Geneva, Switzerland and Cannes, France.

James M. Oleske is an American pediatrician and HIV/AIDs researcher who is the emeritus François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Professor of Pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. He is best known for his pioneering work in identifying HIV/AIDS as a pediatric disease, and treating and researching it beginning in the 1980s. He published one of the first articles identifying HIV/AIDS in children in JAMA in 1983 and was a co-author of one of the articles by Robert Gallo and others identifying the virus in Science in 1984.

Mary Goretti Boland, MSN, RN, FAAN is a Pediatric Nurse and Doctor of Public Health, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is nationally known for her work developing innovative healthcare programs for underserved children with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases. In 1978, Boland staffed an innovative mobile health screening van for the Ironbound Community Health Project in Newark, New Jersey. She became director of the AIDS program at Children's Hospital of New Jersey and served as the coordinator for the Children's AIDS program (CHAP) at United Hospitals Medical Center in Newark. She served on the AIDS Advisory Committee in New Jersey and the National AIDS Advisory Committee. The United States Department of Health and Human Services gave her an award for her work in pediatric AIDS/HIV treatment.

References

  1. ↑ Muchnic, Suzanne (25 October 1989). "Du Boisrouvray Collection on Block Thursday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Du Boisrouvray, Albina (2022). Le courage de vivre. Paris: Flammarion. ISBN   978-2-08-025131-2.
  3. ↑ Honigsbaum, Mark (17 March 2015). "How a determined French countess helps Burma's Aids orphans". The Guardian.
  4. ↑ Skari, Tala (20 April 2003). "One Woman's Wealth of Care". Time. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 Maule, Alicia (9 December 2014). "Countess du Boisrouvray: We can rely on women to change the world". MSNBC. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Blackhurst, Chris (17 August 2014). "Countess Albina Du Boisrouvray: 'We're dealing with people who have absolutely nothing'" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Goldberg, Mark Leon (4 May 2015). "Episode 63: Albina du Boisrouvray". UN Dispatch. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 Magnier, Mark (7 April 2013). "French countess is key advocate for AIDS patients in Myanmar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Dain, Rebecca (2005). "Interview with Ms. Albina du Boisrouvray" (PDF). The UN Women's Newsletter. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Tobin, Anna (25 July 2014). "The tragedy that led a countess to spend $100m fighting poverty". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  11. ↑ She's adopted the world's AIDS orphans as her cause. Helena Smith. 9 April 2007. Boston Globe. 30 December 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 "Countess Albina du Boisrouvray". Harvard University School of Public Health. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Filmography, IMDb
  14. ↑ Downs, Cécile Mouette (10 January 2012). "Top Five Legendary Film Couples". France Today. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  15. ↑ A one-woman crusade, July 2000 [ dead link ]
  16. ↑ Reif, Rita (20 October 1989). "Auctions". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 Bahree, Megha (29 May 2009). "It Takes a Business". Forbes.
  18. ↑ DeCapua, Joe (29 April 2010). "Rebuilding Lives after War and Rape in the DRC". VOA News.
  19. 1 2 "About FXB International: The NGO". FXB International.
  20. ↑ Lisa Anderson (11 December 2014). "End poverty? Sometimes it really may take a village". Reuters. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  21. 1 2 Sng, Jeffery (13 August 2006). "The countess of concern". Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "The Michigan Alumnus". 3. University of Michigan. August 1993: 16. Retrieved 26 October 2015.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ↑ A life dedicated to noble causes [ permanent dead link ]. Jeffery Sng. 20 August 2006. The Nation. 30 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Albina du Boisrouvray gets KISS Humanitarian Award". Breaking News. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  25. ↑ Rosen, Marjorie (17 January 1994). "Lady Bountiful". People. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.