The €2 Gulbenkian coin honors Calouste Gulbenkian, one of the most remarkable figures in Portuguese culture and arts. The national design features, in the center, a carriage pulled by four horses, the symbol of the Foundation, surrounded by the inscriptions "CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION" and "ART, CHARITY, SCIENCE, EDUCATION".
Calouste Gulbenkian
Calouste Gulbenkian was born in 1869 in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) and distinguished himself as a businessman in the oil sector, an art collector, and a patron.
He settled in Lisbon in 1942, where he lived until his death in 1955.
He left behind in Portugal an extraordinary art collection and a large part of his fortune, giving rise to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, one of the most important cultural institutions in the country.