ΑΞΙΟΙ ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΕΣ ΠΟΥ ΤΙΜΟΥΝ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

Ο λογος για τον αγαπητο μας πρωην Γενικο Προξενο της Ελλαδας στην Αλεξανδρεια (αιγυπτου) κ. Θεοχαρη Λαλακο τον οποιον παντα θυμομαστε σαν εξαιρετο οικογενειαρχη και χαρισματικο διπλωματη, ο οποιος μετα απο μια ευδοκιμη υπηρεσια στην Αλεξανδρεια, μετετεθη παντα αναβαθμιζομενος ως Πρεσβης της Ελλαδας στην Τουρκια και τον Ιουνιο του 2016 διοριστηκε ως Πρεσβης της Ελλαδας στις Η.Π.Α οπου ως γνωστον διοριζονται μονο Αξιοι διπλωματες μας

Ακολουθει συνεντευξη του κ.Θεοχαρη Λαλακου στο https://medium.com με τιτλο

From Athens to Washington 

Q&A with Haris Lalacos, Ambassador of Greece

Haris Lalacos | Age: 59 | Hometown: Athens, Greece
Ambassador to the U.S. since: June 27, 2016

Tell us a little bit about your background — did you have any international exposure or influences growing up? 
I was born in Athens and spent most of my life through the end of high school in Athens, with a few years in Crete in between. My father was an engineer, and there was no professional diplomat in my family, extended family, or among our family friends. As far as international exposure goes, I didn’t have a lot when I was growing up other than through books and the news. Ever since I was very, very young I liked geography. Even before I started elementary school, I could recognize all the flags of the different nations (although there were a lot fewer back then than now). Now I can’t say that I recognize most of the flags, but I rate myself above average in this respect. I started traveling when I was in my teens, first in Europe, then to the United States as a student.

What inspired you to study in the United States?
I attended a Greek-American high school in Athens, so in a sense, I had a head start. We had guidance if we wanted to pursue college studies in the United States. We knew what we had to do well in advance and how to apply. I was very fortunate to receive a very generous scholarship from Amherst College, for which I’m grateful. Why did I choose the U.S.? Because I thought it would be nice to move away from home during my university years and to see if I could do it on my own. Also, because in the U.S. you have the liberal arts college system, which gives you the freedom to decide what you want to do while you study. You don’t have to commit yourself to a certain faculty or department, as is the case in Europe. By the time I finished high school, I was not certain what I really wanted to do professionally. At the beginning of my college years at Amherst I was concentrating more on chemistry, then ecology, and after the end of my second year there, I decided that I really wanted to study history. What I liked most was the social history of Mediterranean European countries in the 19th century. It sounds a bit esoteric, I know, but this is when Greece was formed as a modern state. What fascinated me were the similarities and differences between the nation-building experience of Greece and some of the other European countries in the 19th century. It proved to be a very useful tool in my profession, but it was not planned at the time.

What led you to pursue a career in the Foreign Service?
My original goal was to pursue a PhD in history. But for practical reasons I decided to do a two-year Master’s program in international relations first at SAIS Johns Hopkins, with the idea that this would be a two-year interim period, and then I would return to graduate school for history. After my first year, I took a year off to work to finance my studies. Following that gap year in Athens, I came back to Washington, DC, for the second and final year of the program.

After finishing up at SAIS, I went back to Greece to complete my military service. I served in the Greek Navy for 25 months — a fairly lengthy period. During this time, I decided that, instead of going back to graduate school to get my PhD, it would be a good idea to start working. I began thinking about possible fields of work for myself. That’s when a former high school classmate, whom I hadn’t seen for several years, told me that he had just started working for the Greek Foreign Service and thought that my degree in international relations and background in history would qualify me to take the entrance examination. I had time to prepare for the exam during my off-hours from military service…and that’s how it happened.

You’ve been posted all around the world, from Australia to Egypt — what would you say is the most difficult challenge you’ve faced in your career?
It’s very hard to say, but I think the most important challenge one faces in a diplomatic career is a constant need to adapt to your new posting.

I love the fact that this is a career where you don’t have time to get bored with what you’re doing, because every few years you move on and do something different, or something similar, but in a new environment — a new city, a new country.

Although I like this work, it’s not always easy in practical terms and with family considerations in mind. In retrospect, it worked fine in my case, although there were some difficult moments. Overall, I’m happy with the path that I chose. If I had to do it again, I’d probably say yes.

Do you have any specific examples from your career where you learned an important lesson or had an experience that shaped the rest of your career?
I think it’s more of an evolutionary path that one follows when one embarks on a career in the Foreign Service of any country. It’s a never-ending learning process. When you’re young, you feel that you already know a lot, that you are ready to move to higher positions and assume more and more responsibility. But in hindsight, I think that the experience that you accumulate and acquire gradually by working in different positions, ranks, countries, and in different types of work — be it political, consular, in international organizations or bilateral — is essential for a professional, especially as one reaches the higher echelons and the ambassadorial ranks.

Accumulated experience is something that you cannot acquire in a different way. You just have to go through it. It’s long, and sometimes it may be painful, but it’s the only way to get it.

Do you have a favorite posting? 
I was very lucky to be posted in places where I was professionally very happy and daily life was very pleasant. Everybody remembers fondly their first posting. In my case, it was Sydney, Australia, a beautiful city where both our children were born. My wife and I have very fond memories of this period of our lives. We got married just weeks before I was supposed to show up in Sydney and assume my post. We remember our four years in Sydney as an extended honeymoon. Every posting and place proved to be very good for us. Every time we left a place, we also left behind very good friends and retained very good memories.

What do you enjoy most about being in DC?
I like the pace of life here. It’s not frenetic, but it’s by no means boring. DC offers a lot more pleasant things than one has time to do. I don’t think there is any room for boredom in DC — it’s quite the opposite. I like the fact that all this is taking place in a city that has a lot of free areas — parks, grass, the river. It’s not cramped, it’s open. I like Washington as a city, and I like working in Washington. Being able to come back in a different position is very important for me. Because I have spent a lot of time in the United States, as a student and as a professional, and because I retain many American friends from my student years, I feel that I can work better in this capital city than I would be able to in a different environment. I’m also happy to be here at a time when relations between Greece and the U.S. are going through a very good phase. We have upward mobility in our bilateral relations and very good prospects for further enhancing this relationship.

Ambassador Lalacos and his wife Anna at a 4th of July reception in Washington, D.C.

What are your hobbies or things you like to do for fun?
Until recently, my number one hobby was traveling. It still is, but I don’t have a lot of free time for this now. I enjoy taking long strolls around the Tidal Basin and the monument area — it’s very relaxing and visually beautiful. I like the beautiful hiking trails within the city, such as the trail along the C&O canal and the locks.

During the weekends, my wife and I like to explore Washington’s dining options. I’m not a person who sticks to one restaurant; I like to try new ones all the time. We especially enjoy ethnic restaurants including Southeast Asian, or Central American. In Greece you find Chinese and Japanese cuisine, and you may have only one or two Tex-Mex restaurants. Here, you have real Mexican food, Tex-Mex, Salvadorian, Honduran, Dominican — it’s endless.

What do you think is the most important characteristic or trait that a diplomat needs to be successful?

If I had to pick one, it would be to develop the ability to see your country through the eyes of the people of the host country.

We know how we usually view the host country. We come prepared, and we learn more during our posting in each different country. But, to be useful to your authorities back in your capital, you must also make them understand how the people in the host country view Greece and their relations with Greece. I’m not saying that we must adopt their views as our own, but it’s essential to know how others think about you.

Looking back on your career, what advice would you give to your younger self, say when you were first starting your post in Sydney as a young diplomat?
Looking back at three decades of a professional career, one thing that I would have tried to do earlier would be to have more exposure to EU affairs. I had some, but not as much as I would have liked. Perhaps I would have benefited by having a posting in Brussels working on EU matters from the inside. Other than that, I feel that I have a rather balanced career in many different continents and doing different things, mostly political work, along with two consular postings. I’ve also served in neighboring countries, and ones that are very distant from Greece.

How has it been so far working with the other EU Member State Ambassadors and the EU Delegation?
EU cooperation in third countries is a precious gift for all the EU embassies and certainly for the embassies of Greece. It gives us opportunities that we simply would not be able to have by ourselves. It’s not a coincidence that usually wherever I go to a new posting, the first courtesy call that I do is to the local EU Delegation. My two most recent postings were in candidate countries: in Turkey and in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The EU cooperation and Ambassadors in Turkey and FYROM had more frequent and intensive cooperation than we have here. But this is precisely because these are candidate countries and many of their policies, even domestic policies, reflect their pre-accession course. The EU for them is something very central to everyday life. Here in Washington, the cooperation between the EU Ambassadors and the EU embassies is perhaps not so intensive, but it’s more extensive. You find different levels and areas of cooperation here, working groups, ambassadors, deputies, political counselors, press and information counselors, economic and commercial, cultural, administrative, everything. Whereas in other countries, you only have a fraction of these. This shows precisely how expanded the EU cooperation has become in third countries, which is something that my country and I personally very much welcome.

What do you hope to see the EU accomplish during your time here as Ambassador? 
I would like to see the EU continue to adjust successfully to a shifting world environment. Contrary to EU bashing, which seems to be a favorite pastime of people inside and outside the EU, I look at the EU course over the last three decades — my professional span — as a definite evolution for the better, despite the difficulties and shortcomings that we’re all aware of. I think that the number and the intensity of the global challenges that we’re facing today make it essential for the EU to address these issues in close cooperation with the United States, but — and this is a very important but — without losing its distinct identity.

I believe that an EU with a strong identity will serve global stability and security a lot better than a weak EU which will not have so much of a focus, or its own views and imprint on developments. That’s what I would like to see the EU doing.

The island of Lesbos in Greece has been a focal point of the refugee crisis this past year. Do you have anything you’d like to share about that? 
Because of its geographic position, Greece is perhaps the central country when it comes to the last big wave of migration from the Middle East to Europe. Although most, if not all of these refugees and migrants viewed Greece only as a transit country, in recent months, more than 60,000 have remained in Greece, and more are coming, although in smaller numbers than last year. What the American government and the American people appreciate most about the role of Greece in this migration crisis is the generally positive reception of refugees by the Greek people.

In many other countries around the world, refugees are not always welcomed. Especially in countries where the economy is not doing very well, they’re usually blamed for loss of jobs or loss of income.

Greece faced this tremendous inflow of refugees at a time when the population was going through a 5th year of economic recession during a period of historically high unemployment. It would have been very easy for people to point the finger at the refugees, blame them, and act in xenophobic ways.

But by and large, despite the fact that Greece bears most of the burden among the EU countries, the reception of refugees continues to be positive. And this is something that you see both among the educated elites and people who work or live on the islands or near the sea. The first thing that they do is to rescue people, together with the Greek Coast Guard, which has rescued close to 100,000 people during the period of heightened migratory flows last year and in the first months of 2016. Despite the burden, despite the economic and social complications at a time when these refugees can no longer use Greece as a transit country because the land borders are sealed, the great majority of the Greek people continue to be very generous and hospitable. Of course, exceptions exist. But I think that compared to many other countries which have not received nearly the number of people that we have received, the response of the population is commendable. And we are very happy that the U.S. government and the U.S. public recognize this and share this belief.

We do receive aid from the EU and from the U.S. for refugee relief. It’s never enough, but we recognize that we have received assistance and we continue to receive assistance. The big challenge is that Greece cannot continue indefinitely to be the only EU country that receives new migrants when previous agreements are either not implemented or are implemented very slowly. I’m talking specifically about relocation of eligible refugees from the Greek camps and hot spots to other places in the European Union. The relocation phase is still very, very slow, which makes it increasingly difficult for Greece to do its part, which we feel is becoming more and more dispoportionate

What do you think sets the people of Greece apart and makes them especially receptive to refugees?
The Greek people have generally been a very hospitable people. The major trait of the Greek national character is hospitality. In addition to that, many Greeks are descendants of refugees. Many Greeks are third- and second-generation refugees from other neighboring countries — the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean — where a tumultuous history has led to shifts and exchanges in population. We’ve experienced these migratory flows for decades. The numbers were considerable but nothing compared to last year. Close to 1 million people were documented — this is not an estimate, these are actual figures — coming to Greece from Turkey on their way to somewhere else in Europe.

When you see people at sea, in small, shaky inflatable boats, which usually accommodate ten persons and you see fifty, including young, old, handicapped, and they’re drowning or they’re about to drown and you’re there, you just have to rescue them — you cannot turn your eyes away from them.

It’s the rule of the sea. At sea, if you see another vessel at risk, no matter how pressed for time you are, regardless of whether you’re a merchant, marine, navy, or other vessel, you stop what you’re doing and help the rescue. This is done not only by fishing boats, it’s done by everybody. It’s done even by people who are on the shore — they see somebody approaching and they try to help. It’s the only humane response. Anything else would be very cruel and very regrettable.

People in Greece deserve recognition that they are doing the right thing at a time when voices around the world are turning against migrants, against refugees, and against foreigners.

It’s reassuring to see that this is not a general trend, and that there are exceptions to that. There are still people who are going to do the right thing. I’m not talking about what is your duty under international law — although it is your duty. I’m talking about what is your duty toward yourself, your conscience, the way you grew up, the things you learned you have to do in life. If you see someone in danger you help, you don’t keep going.

Monastiraki Square, City of Athens and Acropolis, Greece. The clustered homes on the hill is known as Plaka. Photo © iStock.com/Antonio D’Albore

If you could only pick one thing to share with Americans about Greece, what would it be?
One thing I would like Americans to experience more would be to share the pastime of spending a lot of time outdoors. Of course, the climate in Greece is favorable for this kind of activity. My favorite part of being outdoors is being by the seaside. In Greece we are blessed with a very extensive coastline. It may make us vulnerable when it comes to migration, but it provides many advantages as well, like unwinding in the evening after work near the seaside with some food and drink. This is a very healthy aspect of life that everybody appreciates when they come to Greece for holidays. Outdoor living is catching up in the United States, in the sense that more and more restaurants and cafes have outdoor tables, and people sit outside to have a snack or meal or a long chat with friends.

Are there any lesser-known beaches in Greece that you would recommend?
What I usually like to do in the summer is to go to a different island each time. I still haven’t seen most of them, because we have so many. In every island, you have all sorts of beaches. Some are more touristy, some are inaccessible by car or foot and you have to take a boat to get there. There is everything — secluded, semi-secluded, crowded, loud music, soft music, or no music at all. We have lots of choices. My advice for people going to Greece for a seaside holiday — it’s not the only holiday you can have in Greece, but if you go there for the seaside to swim and visit the beaches — would be to go to at least two different places. A more frequented island that is well-known to all, and then a small secluded island. You’ll experience a different pace of life there — a very relaxed atmosphere, with excellent facilities, like small but good restaurants. The sea water in Greece is warm and very safe — you don’t have ocean currents or sharks. And it’s clean. The water is transparent and in fact, the water quality is very high in most areas around Greece. This is also according to the EU, which awards many blue flags every summer for the high water quality.

Navagio or Shipwreck Beach, on the north-west shore of Zakynthos (Zante), in the Municipality of Elation. The area is defined by its sheer limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, and clear blue water. The strip of beach is accessed only by boat. Photo © iStock.com/MuYeeTing

What are you most proud of?
Overall, it would be that I managed to combine a very rewarding career with a happy family life. A diplomatic career is one that usually puts a lot of strain on family. Actually some of my colleagues never had the time to have a family because our profession and moving from one place to another doesn’t always give you the time to establish relationships. In my case, this came at a price, and the price was that my wife had to abandon her professional career at a very early stage. It was her choice to follow me around the world and take care of our two children, but she’s happy she did it. And I think all of us in the family are happy the way things developed for us.

What advice would you give to young people today?

Since you’re in an era of globalization, I think it’s essential for young people to broaden their horizons as much as they can with exposure to different cultures and with foreign travel if they can afford it.

There are many ways they can do it. We’re lucky to have the internet and to have access to other countries and other cultures without being there physically. At the same time, I think it’s essential for the younger generations to learn to love their country, respect their country for what it is, for what it has offered them, and to try to strike the correct balance between the ability to survive in a globalized economy and world with the need to preserve a particular identity. It may not be easy for everyone, but I think it’s a requirement of modern life. Doing only one or the other may lead to unwanted outcomes. So you have to have the ability to combine the two, to blend the two.

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This story is part of the @EUintheUS “Ambassador Spotlight Series,” featuring in-depth, personal interviews with ambassadors from the European Union’s 28 member states.