[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO LADY CLIO CRAWFORD

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, Lady Clio Crawford was a personal friend 
of mine. I recall many great conversations with her when I was a 
student at Oxford. I remember in particular a wonderful dinner at 
Elizabeth's Restaurant, at which we discussed all of Africa and the 
problems of the emerging states of the continent. Having spent much of 
her life there, she was an expert on Africa. Later, when I was a 
lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, serving in the Mekong Delta, 
she sent me some audio tapes on which she spoke to me, expressed 
concern about my safety, and wished me well. Her son, Tony, was a good 
friend of mine at Oxford University.
  Lady Clio Crawford passed away in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 25, 
1995, after a short illness.
  Lady Clio Crawford was born Clio Colocotronis on February 2, 1925. 
Her mother came from the island of Crete and her father from the 
Peloponnese. Her family were direct descendants of Gen. Theodore 
Colocotronis, who was instrumental in liberating Greece from Turkish 
occupation 150 years ago, and whose statue and name adorn present-day 
Athens. At the age of 17, Clio Colocotronis, whose family were living 
in Alexandria, Egypt at the time (her father was a banker), was courted 
by and married Vassos Georgiadis, who was a highly successful Greek 
industrialist in East Africa and some 20 years her senior. Clio 
Georgiadis bore two sons in Kampala, Alexander and Antony, but she 
became a widow at the tender age of 27 in 1952.
  With all the energy, courage and determination which were hallmarks 
of this remarkable lady, she took over responsibility of her late 
husband's multi-faceted business empire: This included the East Africa 
Tobacco Co. which was one of Africa's dominant corporations. She 
learned the complexities of the businesses, expanded them, and even 
diversified in Europe to become a major shipowner. But what she 
considered her major achievement was bringing up her two sons on her 
own, ensuring they had the best education at Oxford and U.S. business 
schools, watching with pride as they succeeded in life.
  In 1961, she married Sir Frederick Crawford, who was then British 
Governor and Commander-in-Chief in Uganda. After he handed Uganda over 
to majority rule in 1961, he moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he 
became the head of the British South Africa Co. and was on the boards 
of many Anglo-American companies in southern Africa. Sir Frederick 
Crawford sadly died in 1978.
  Lady Clio Crawford resided in Geneva since that time. She travelled 
extensively throughout her life. She was one of the most energetic, 
charming, imposing and kind-hearted persons I have ever met. From her 
early days and throughout her life, she was also very actively involved 
in all sorts of charities. She became the honorary consul for Greece in 
Uganda, which was the first time a woman held this post. She was head 
of the Red Cross, and was instrumental in establishing the Greek 
Orthodox Church in Uganda. In Switzerland, she and her sister were very 
much the pillars of the Greek community. Lady Crawford had a close 
connection with Oxford University in that her husband, Sir Fredrick, 
was a graduate of Balliol College. Her sons and stepsons all attended 
St. Edmund Hall (one of Oxford's oldest colleges), with which she 
maintained a close association over the years. She and her family were 
generous sponsors of many college developments and an area of St. 
Edmund Hall bears her name. She left behind two sons, Alec and Tony 
Georgiadis, who have charming wives--Ann and Elita--and six 
grandchildren, three from Tony and Elita (Clio, Vassos John and 
Ileana), and three from Alec (Vassos, Nicholas and Philip).
  In tribute to this grand lady, I quote the comments sent to her 
family by a former vice chancellor of Oxford University:

       ``I remember her as one of the most cheerful, energetic, 
     independent and altogether delightful women I have every met. 
     I always found her confident good humour and marvellous `joie 
     de vivre' infectious. . . . She never seemed to lack the 
     vigour and vitality and warm understanding which were her 
     hallmark. She was a wonderful, gracious lady who enriched the 
     life of a friend like myself. The thought that I shall not 
     see her again is a sad wrench. May she rest in peace--no one 
     better deserves to do so.

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