[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19891-19892]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO HER EXCELLENCY ERATO KOZAKOU-MARCOULLIS, THE AMBASSADOR OF 
                      CYPRUS TO THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 2003

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the 
most distinguished members of the diplomatic corps here in Washington, 
Her Excellency Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, the Ambassador of Cyprus to 
the United States. Sometime next month, Ambassador Marcoullis will be 
leaving Washington, after nearly five years of service to her country 
in our nation's capital. The Ambassador will be assuming a major, high-
level post in the Foreign Ministry in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia.
  It is with mixed feelings that I come to the floor today to make this 
statement. In my capacity as co-chair of the Hellenic Issues Caucus, I 
have had the great honor and privilege of working with Ambassador 
Marcoullis. I have come to regard her not only as a determined, 
effective and articulate advocate for her country, but also as a 
friend. As the former co-chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus, I 
have always felt a particular bond with Ambassador Marcoullis, who is 
one of what is still unfortunately only a handful of women ambassadors 
here in Washington. So, for these reasons, I am sad to see the 
Ambassador go.
  Still, I am extremely encouraged to report that the Ambassador has 
received an important diplomatic promotion. When she heads back to 
Nicosia, Ambassador Marcoullis will be in charge of the Division at the 
Foreign Ministry that has responsibility for what is generally known as 
the Cyprus Problem--the tragic division of Cyprus that began 29 years 
ago with the Turkish invasion of that Mediterranean island nation. 
Indeed, in commemoration of the anniversary of the Turkish invasion, 
which took place July 20, 1974, a number of my colleagues in this House 
have joined me in making statements of remembrance, as we do every year 
around this time.
  During her five years here in Washington, there have been many 
important achievements for Cyprus, and in U.S.-Cypriot relations. Last 
year, after years of hard work, the Ambassador signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the State Department regarding the protection of 
antiquities from Cyprus. Last year also witnessed the signing of the 
U.S.-Cyprus Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, bringing into force the 
reciprocal law enforcement treaty between the two nations. After the 9/
11 terrorist attacks, Cyprus was among the first nations to express its 
solidarity with the U.S. Since then, Cyprus has taken many substantive 
steps to target the perpetrators and collaborators of terrorism, in 
close cooperation with the U.S.
  In April of this year, Cyprus signed the Treaty of Accession to the 
European Union, one of the most important achievements in the modern 
history of Cyprus. Cyprus will become a full member of the EU next May. 
It was during the tenure of Ambassador Marcoullis that U.S. foreign 
policy on Cyprus began to move in the direction of helping drive 
Cyprus' admission into the EU, particularly during the Clinton 
Administration through the work of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, with 
whom Ambassador Marcoullis worked very closely. I am pleased that the 
Bush Administration has continued to support this policy. Indeed, 
Ambassador Marcoullis has worked very closely with top officials of the 
current Administration to keep relations on track in a wide variety of 
areas.
  Of course, the one area where we have not witnessed significant 
progress is in ending the ongoing Turkish military occupation of 
Cyprus. This is certainly not for lack of effort by the Ambassador or 
her fine staff at the Embassy in Washington. Nor is it the fault of the 
Government of the Republic of Cyprus, which has continued to negotiate 
in good faith to end the division of Cyprus. The fault lies with Turkey 
and with the occupation regime. I again urge my colleagues in Congress 
to continue working with me and many of our colleagues, on a bipartisan 
basis, to help convince Turkey to end its illegal occupation of one-
third of Cypriot territory.
  One of Ambassador Marcoullis' greatest achievements has been simply 
to sustain and enhance up the visibility of the Cyprus issue. Cyprus is 
a relatively small country, but it is at the center of a region of 
great importance to the U.S. and the Western Alliance. Ambassador 
Marcoullis has been tireless in her efforts to elevate the awareness of 
these issues. Owing in large measure to her efforts, it is now an issue 
that is regularly addressed by the White House, the State Department 
and Congress.
  Ambassador Marcoullis presented her credentials to President Bill 
Clinton on September

[[Page 19892]]

10, 1998. In addition to her many responsibilities here in Washington, 
she is also accredited as High Commissioner to Canada, Guyana and 
Jamaica and Ambassador to Brazil. Throughout her distinguished 
diplomatic career, she has served as Ambassador to a number of European 
countries, as a Member of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United 
Nations, as Consul of Cyprus in New York, and at the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs at the First Political Division, dealing with the 
Cyprus Problem and as Director of the Office of the Permanent Secretary 
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Marcoullis has devoted 
particular attention to political, human rights and women's issues.
  A native of Limassol, Cyprus, she is a graduate of Law and of 
Political Science/Public Law (University of Athens, Greece) and holds a 
Ph.D. in Sociology and Political Science (University of Helsinki, 
Finland). She is married to Dr. George Marcoullis, an Associate 
Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College, specializing in 
Oncology/Hematology. Their son Panos is a graduate of the University of 
Michigan.
  Earlier this week, The Washington Times newspaper, in its ``Embassy 
Row'' column, reported on a dinner in honor of Ambassador Marcoullis 
hosted by Ambassador Arlette Conzemius of Luxembourg, who presented her 
credentials to President Clinton in 1998 on the same day as Mrs. 
Kozakou Marcoullis. They began an immediate friendship and helped 
organize the female ambassadors' caucus. Ambassador Conzemius 
congratulated Ambassador Marcoullis for maintaining Cyprus' high 
profile in Washington, saying ``What you did for your country, the 
progress, the success. It's great to see what has been accomplished.'' 
Those words would be echoed by many here on Capitol Hill, where 
Ambassador Marcoullis was well known and well respected.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, we will miss Ambassador Marcoullis. But it 
is encouraging to know that she is going back to Cyprus to take a 
leading role in facing the Cyprus problem. This is a woman who's going 
to make a difference. I'll miss her, but I have complete confidence in 
her ability to manage this problem; I congratulate her on this 
diplomatic promotion; and I look forward to working with her for the 
peaceful reunification of Cyprus.

                          ____________________