The American College of Greece is honored to once more welcome AHI Founder Gene Rossides – this time for the presentation of his book Kissinger & Cyprus: A Study in Lawlessness on October 15.
Gene Rossides is widely known as the “Golden Greek”, thanks to his golden touch in everything from trying his hand at college football as a starting quarterback for Columbia’s Lions team back in the late forties, to practicing law, to his work in politics and political activism.
Having served as Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury in the first term of the Nixon Administration (until 1973), Gene Rossides recounts in Kissinger & Cyprus his first-hand knowledge of events and discusses the effects of Henry Kissinger’s policies – who was serving as National Security Adviser during that period.
Gene Rossides, who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Law from ACG in 2005, will present his book Kissinger & Cyprus: A Study in Lawlessness on Wednesday, October 15, 19:00 at the John S. Bailey Library – Upper Level at DEREE.
Reception to follow
For more information about the event, please visit our Events page here.
Gene Rossides
Gene Rossides received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws during ACG’s 2005 Commencement Ceremony for serving as “an inspiration to younger generations of Americans and Hellenes and for all people of good faith and good intentions.”
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek-American parents, Gene Rossides pursued his studies at Columbia University, in New York City, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia College in 1949 and then, in 1952, a Juris Doctor degree at the internationally renowned Columbia Law School.
During his studies, he served for four years as a starting quarterback of the Columbia Lions famous team, achieving feats that endure and have become part of American football lore.
After graduation, he practiced trade and tariff law at the renowned firm of Rogers & Wells, one of the most prestigious in the world, and became an expert in this specialty. He served justice in the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York, and in 1969, the President of the United States appointed him, and the United States Senate approved his appointment, to the position of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, where he served until 1973.
By becoming the first Greek-American presidential appointee ever to be confirmed by the United States Senate, he became a symbol and an inspiration for the large Greek Diaspora community and beyond.
As Assistant Secretary for Enforcement, Trade and Operations, he oversaw critical operations especially in combating narcotics and international narcotics trafficking, and supervised the workings of the US Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the United States Customs Service.
His love of justice and of Greece made him take a leading role in the long and hard effort to achieve a just resolution to the invasion and continuing occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey.
Immediately following the invasion of 1974, he formed the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), a Washington-based US Hellenic interest group which initiates congressional legislation, issues policy statements and serves as a watchdog on issues affecting US relations with Greece. Key issues AHI focuses on include ending the occupation of Cyprus, pushing for fair treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, ending aggression in the Aegean Sea, while it also concerns itself with the US’s stance on the dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the latter’s name.
Since its founding, the American Hellenic Institute has expanded its activities, to become a focal point for cultural, social, intellectual, and public policy activity for thousands of Greek Americans across the US.