THE NATIONAL COORDINATED EFFORT OF HELLENES (CEH)

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2009 – Over 50 key U.S. policymakers, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, participated in the 25th Annual Cyprus and Hellenic Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. May 20-22, 2009. This conference once again – unlike any other in our community and like select few of all ethnic communities in the U.S. – engages large numbers of Senators, Members of Congress and Administration officials who actually formulate U.S. policy toward Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. PSEKA and CEH, who sponsored this conference, brought together over 120 Greek-American leaders from across the country with 37 key Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 9 key U.S. Senators and numerous key Administration officials from the White House and State Department. Some of the key policymakers with whom Greek-American leaders met at this conference included: From the U.S. House of Representatives:
• The Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee;
• The Chairman of the House Europe Subcommittee;
• 1/3 of the members of the House Europe Subcommittee;
• 4 of the 7 Chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittees;
• A total of 15 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee;
• The Chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee’s State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee;
• Three members of House Democratic and Republican Leaderships;
• All seven of the “Greek-American” Members of Congress; • The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues;
• A total of 37 of the top advocates for Hellenic and Orthodox issues in the House; From the U.S. Senate:
• The new Chair of the Senate European Affairs Subcommittee; • Just under 1/3 of the members of the Senate European Affairs Subcommittee;
• The new Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to participate, but a last-minute series of votes prevented him from attending;
• Over 1/4 of the members of the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee;
• Two members of the Senate Democratic Leadership, including the Assistant Majority Leader;
• Members of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee’s State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee;
• Just under 1/10 of all United States Senators;
• A total of 9 of the top advocates for Hellenic and Orthodox issues in the Senate.
Numerous White House and State Department officials participated in this conference, the most senior of which was U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton met at the State Department on May 22 with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes (CEH) Cyprus Conference leaders including: Philip Christopher, Andrew A. Athens, Andy Manatos, Peter Papanicolaou, Nikos Mouyiaris, George J. Tsunis, Mike Manatos, Tasos D. Zambas, Zenon Christodoulou, and Michael Galanakis. CEH Board Member Endy Zemenides, who attended the first two days of the conference and brought with him a delegation of over 10 young leaders from the Chicago area, had to depart Washington, D.C. before this meeting with Secretary Clinton. CEH leaders also invited to the meeting with Secretary Clinton and to the conference, Nick Karacostas, Supreme Vice President of AHEPA. Long-time advocate and close friend of numerous CEH leaders, Vice President Joe Biden, and his senior foreign policy staff, were out of the country while conference participants were in Washington, D.C. Those honored at this conference included: In the U.S. Senate, Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) [who was the 2009 recipient of the Paraskevaides Award, received last year by then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden], leading advocate for Hellenic issues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and member of the Senate Leadership Bob Menendez (D-NJ); fellow advocate for Hellenic issues on the Foreign Relations Committee, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and long-time advocate for Hellenic issues and member of the key Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Arlen Specter (D-PA). In the U.S. House of Representative, conference participants honored House Foreign Affairs Committee Members Ed Royce (R-CA) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO), who both just returned from separate Congressional Delegation visits to Cyprus. At the conference banquet, participants honored George and Cathy Sakellaris [as the 2009 recipients of the Livanos Award] and Illinois State Treasurer and likely candidate for the U.S. Senate, Alexi Giannoulias. On the closing day, conference participants honored U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a ceremony at the State Department (to see a video of this presentation on the State Department web site please visit: http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=24018643001).
Also honored on that day were New York State Assemblyman Mike Gianaris and Greece’s outgoing Ambassador to the U.S. Alexandros Mallias [who was the 2009 recipient of the Conalis-Kontou Award]. Both the husband, Lefteris, and daughter, Christianna, of Marialena Conalis-Kontou, after whom this award is named, flew in to attend this ceremony. On the opening day, conference participants honored the following dignitaries who came from Cyprus to attend this important conference: the Mayor of occupied Famagusta, Cyprus, Alexis Galanos; the Mayor of occupied Lefkoniko, Cyprus, Michalis Pilikos; the Mayor of occupied Akanthou, Cyprus, Savvas Savvides; and Deputy Mayor of Morphou, Cyprus, Charalambos Charalambous. As well, Cyprus Government Director of Overseas Cypriots, Ambassador Charalambos Ioannides was honored that evening. Other officials from Greece and Cyprus who participated in this conference included Cyprus Government Spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou as well as the Ambassador of Cyprus to the U.S., Andreas Kakouris; Chairman of the Hellenic Parliament’s Permanent Inter-Party Committee on Greeks Abroad, Nikolaos Tsiartsionis; three other members of the Hellenic Parliament Grigoris Niotis, Spyridon Georgiadis and Eva Kaili; as well as Canada’s Minister of Industry, Tony Clement and Member of the Canadian Parliament, James Karygiannis. CEH leaders included in their conference the heads of several other major Greek-American organizations including: AHEPA Supreme Vice President Nick Karacostas; AHI Executive Director Nick Larigakis; SAE Coordinator of for the U.S. Ted Spyropoulos; and Pan-Macedonian Association President Nina Gatzoulis, among others.