Brothers:
Hellenism with the falling asleep in the Lord of Brother Gene T. Rossides lost historically one of its most important modern champions and advocates, and our prayers and thoughts go out to his family during this difficult time. Inducted into the Order of AHEPA in 1956 he was a Life Member of the AHEPA Delphi Chapter #25, the recipient of the AHEPA - Archbishop Iakovos Humanitarian Award (2000) and the AHEPA - Stamos Family Lifetime Achievement Award (2014), and was inducted into the AHEPA Athletic Hall of Fame. He was raised in Brooklyn near Prospect Park to a father from Cyprus and a mother from Mani in Sparta and lost his father Telemachus, one of the first Hellenic American doctors in New York, to cancer when he was one month old. His mother raised him and his brother on a waitress’s salary.
A graduate of Erasmus High School and a star football player of its City Championship team he was offered a full scholarship to Columbia and upon graduation was drafted by the New York Giants but chose instead the offer to attend Columbia Law School on a scholarship. He went on to a brilliant career in law, foreign policy and government service and was the first Hellenic American to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to an Executive Branch office and served as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Treasury in the Nixon administration. With the Turkish invasion of Cyprus he single handedly founded the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) in 1974, and the American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) in 1975, as the first Hellenic American “think tank” to uphold the rule of law in matters of U.S. foreign policy, particularly related to our nation’s dealings with Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey. In its founding he also wanted to involve Hellenic Americans in foreign policy issues which he found lacking.
He was instrumental in one of the most important U.S. bipartisan foreign policy victories for the rule of law in Cyprus with the embargo on transfers of U.S. arms to Turkey which remained in effect to 1978. To this day, and following Brother Gene’s ideals, the American Hellenic Institute is a leading platform and forum for addressing important foreign issues affecting America’s relationship with Greece, Cyprus, Southeastern Europe and the East Mediterranean.
Brother Rossides extraordinary contributions and leadership to America and the Hellenic diaspora on a number of issues have made him the recipient of many honors, awards and accolades from governments, numerous Hellenic diaspora organizations, educational institutions, and the Orthodox Church. He was the publisher of the daily Hellenic American newspaper the National Herald from 1976-1979, and in the 1980s worked on the election campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. His written works include “Kissinger and Cyprus: A Study in Lawlessness” , “The Truman Doctrine of Aid to Greece and Cyprus United States Import Trade Law”, “The United States, Cyprus, and the Rule Of Law, 1974-1994: Twenty Years of Turkish Aggression and Occupation”, “ U.S. Import Trade Regulation“, and “U.S. Customs, Tariffs, and Trade”. Below find some articles and videos on this great AHEPAN and American which further outline his brilliant career and life. May his memory be eternal.
Fraternally yours,
Brother Lou Katsos
AHEPA District 6 Governor
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