Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis honored six prominent Greek Americans during his annual meeting with the diaspora in New York, held on the sidelines of the 81st U.N. General Assembly.
The honorees, recognized for contributions spanning higher education, politics, finance, medicine, education and diplomacy, were University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis; Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada, an active voice on Greek American relations and Greek and Cypriot diaspora issues; John Koudounis, president and CEO of Calamos Investments; Dr. George Dangas, a cardiologist and professor of medicine and surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Athena Kromidas, longtime principal of the William Spyropoulos Greek-American Day School at St. Nicholas in Flushing, New York; and Patrick Theros, a former U.S. ambassador to Qatar.
Representatives of 27 Greek American organizations and The Hellenic Initiative attended the event.
Mitsotakis said the gathering had, in a sense, become an institution, and praised Greek Americans for their enduring role in strengthening ties between Greece and the United States. He said the goal was to build strong and resilient bridges with Greeks living in the U.S.
He urged eligible diaspora voters to take part in Greece’s next national election, expected in 2027, noting that the registration platform for voting abroad was already open and that recent reforms had made participation easier. He told the audience that their views mattered to his government, and signaled he would seek a new mandate to continue his reform agenda.
Mitsotakis said Greece’s relationship with its diaspora now extended beyond family and cultural ties to technology, investment and professional networks, citing his two-day visit to California, where he met with major tech companies and Greek and Greek American professionals in Silicon Valley.
He also highlighted deepening Greek-U.S. cooperation in energy, technology and security, including Greece’s role in supplying natural gas to the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Turning to Turkey, he said Athens sought peaceful and productive relations with Ankara but would stand firm against threats, stressing that Greece threatened no one and would not accept being threatened by anyone.
