Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis (daughter of
Angelo Tsakopoulos) and her husband,
Markos Kounalakis

The Tsakopoulos family of Sacramento has donated $2 million to Stanford University in California to create a professorship in honor of former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis. Mr. Mitsotakis served in the Greek Parliament, held several key positions in the government during the 1950s and 1960s and was the Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 until 1993. His daughter, Dora Bakoyannis, is mayor of Athens, and his grandson, Kyriakos Mitstotakis, serves in the Greek Parliament.

"Constantine Mitsotakis is one of the most important political figures in modern Greek history. It truly is an honor for my family to be able to create this professorship in his name at one of the world's greatest universities," said Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who along with her husband, Markos Kounalakis, spear-headed the family's efforts to create the chair. The chair will be known as the Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Professorship in Honor of Constantine Mitsotakis.

In making the gift, the couple said it was their intent that the course work stemming from the chair include an examination of Greek ideas embedded in the American culture, and of ancient Greek innovations in the modern world.

They said the course of study should introduce students to the broad array of fields in which ancient Greek thought has had an impact on modem living, including but not limited to city planning, biology, music, politics mathematics and religion.

"Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his family have set a high standard of public service, excellence and dedication to community that is noted throughout the world," said Kyriakos Tsakopoulos. "This chair at one of the world's premier universities is intended to highlight the ideals of service, excellence and community which Greeks, ancient and modem, have espoused."

Professor Richard P. Martin, chairman of the Stanford Department of Classics and chief architect in the design of the chair, said, "For the contemporary West, the Greeks have been more influential than any other culture in history. What they first discovered, in terms of abstract thought and also practical applications, continues in hundreds of ways to shape our daily lives.

"Today's students, unfortunately, have never had the chance to learn in detail about their absolutely fundamental contributions" he said. "Through the generosity of the Tsakopoulos family, Stanford will now be able to lead the way nationally in offering a sequence of intensive courses to give our students, throughout the university, a thorough grounding in the Greek roots of politics, economics, philosophy, the arts, medicine, law, and much more. We're hoping for nothing less than a renaissance of interest in Classics, sparked by this wonderful endowment."

Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis noted the wide-reaching relevance of the Stanford programs supported by the new Mitsotakis chair. "We wanted to get to the broadest possible spectrum of students, from engineering to religion, biology to literature, and to show them how Greek thought is a key to all the fields in which they might spend their lives," she said. "Beyond that, these courses are relevant for anyone living in our democracy. Greek culture is alive today, and American civilization is its most recent expression. We hope this endowment will help educate the generations to come in the Greek heritage that we cherish."

A search is under way for a distin-guished professor to serve as the inau-gural professor in the chair.

Mr. Mitsotakis was first elected to Parliament after World War II. He went on to serve as Vice-Minister of Economics, Minister of Transport and Public Works, and Minister of Economics and Coordination as a representative of the moderate Center parties during the 1950s and 1960s. Mr. Mitsotakis was arrested when the military junta over-threw the Greek government in 1967,but escaped and spent seven years in exile in Paris. He returned to Greece in 1974, was imprisoned again but was released when a democratic government was restored.

Mr. Mitsotakis was elected to Parliament in 1977 and later joined the Nea Deraocratia party, for which he held the positions of Minister of Coordination and Minister of Foreign Affairs. IN 1984 he was elected president of the party, In 1990, the party obtained an absolute majority and formed the government.

As prime minister, Mr. Mitsotakis instituted a series of reforms, and was a driving force behind resuming the European integration process, which led to creation of the European Union.

Additionally, during his tenure as Prime Minister, Mr. Mitsotakis recognized the state of Israel, led Greece's participation in the Gulf War, and reinvigorated the Greek economy by pursuing a policy of entrepreneurial expansion in the Balkan and Black Sea regions. In January 2004, Mr. Mitsotakis announced that he would not seek reelection to Parliament.

The Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis family has supported a number of educational programs and institutions in California and around the country. Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who is president of AKT Development Corporation, is a member of the Policy Advisory Board for the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 2005 became a member of the College Board of Advisors for Georgetown University in Washington, D,C.

Markos Kounalakis, President and Publisher of the respected The Washington Monthly magazine, is a print and network broadcast journalist and author who has covered a variety of stories and issues, both here and abroad. He has written two books, "Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton" and "Beyond Spin: The Power of Strategic Corporate Journalism."

Mr. Kounalakis is a member of the College Board of Advisors at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and serves on the Advisory Board for the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California's Armenberg School for Communication. Markos Kounalakis also serves on the Board of Advisors at Columbia University.

Kyriakos Tsakopoulos is the President of KT Communities Corporation, a diversified land development company and is active in national and international civic and policy affairs, He also sits as a Trustee and Board Member of several organizations, including the California State University System, the Columbia College Board of Visitors, the University of California at Davis MIND Institute, and the Crocker Art Museum. In 2004, Mr. Tsakopoulos was proud to donate $1 million to Columbia University for the creation of the Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Chair on Aristotle and the Moderns.

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