Margarita Papandreou
- Also remove the SHOUTING from the headings
Margarita Papandreou, former First Lady of Greece, has long been active in international women’s and peace issues. She currently serves as the Global Network Coordinator of Women for Mutual Security, an international network of women’s peace organizations. She was president and is now the Honorary President of a peace organization founded in 1987 called Center for Research and Action on Peace. She is also co-coordinator with Zeynep Oral of a Greek-Turkish peace initiative called WINPEACE.
WOMEN’S UNION OF GREECE[edit]
Ms. Papandreou helped found the Women’s Union of Greece, a nationwide, independent feminist organization, in 1976. She served as President from 1981-1989. She was influential for pressing for numerous reforms enhancing the legal and social status of women in Greek society. Reforms include legalizing abortion, abolishing the dowry system, introducing civil marriage, mandating equal pay for women, enabling women to keep their own name after marriage and acquire equal rights over the children in case of divorce, getting pensions for farm women.
Ms. Papandreou helped establish in 1981 in the “Council on Equality between the Sexes”, to coordinate research and legislative action on all matters relating to equal rights for women in Greece. In 1985 the government, with Margarita’s and the Union’s urging, raised its status by making it the “Secretariat of Equality”.
She has promoted equality in many other ways, such as pressuring for the adoption of elementary school text books which do not perpetuate sexual stereotypes, signing on behalf of the Greek government of the United Nations Declaration Against All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, encouraging the establishment of family planning centers, and training women for political action and public positions.
All through her work as president she kept the organization active on issues of peace, declaring the highest cause women can work for.
WOMEN FOR MUTUAL SECURITY[edit]
In her role as network coordinator for WMS she has organized many peace activities. An International assembly was held in Athens in 1986 to set the strategy and foundation of the network. As result of that strategy, meetings were organized with decision makers on nuclear arms and defense policies. Along with the Belgian organization “Women for Peace” and the “Oxford Research Group”, a meeting was held in Brussels between women from NATO countries and the permanent representatives, and the Secretary General Lord Carrington; a meeting was held in Sofia, Bulgaria between women from NATO and Warsaw Treaty Foreign Ministers, including Soviet Minister Shevardnadze; a similar meeting was arranged between women from Warsaw Pact countries and the NATO Foreign Ministers at the Headquarters in Brussels (a “first” as Eastern European and Soviet women peace activists walked through the security check!); a Women’s summit has held on the “Aegean Peace Boat” between Soviet and American women, as well as representatives from Third World and other countries, to develop a blueprint for the decisions WMS believed should be made at the Moscow Summit meeting Gorbachev and Reagan.
This blueprint was presented to the American and Soviet delegations on June 1, 1998. In this way women’s voices were heard in the “corridors of power” and played a significant role in opening up channels between the two military blocks. WMS also organized an international conference in Athens in April 1989, to develop a women’s platform on environment and International Security, which was presented to the leaders of the two super-powers, along with a call for an urgent “green” summit meeting to deal with the ecological threat to life.
In 1990, a NATO Defense Dialogue was held in Brussels (May 21-23) with women from 13 NATO countries and 6 Warsaw Pact countries to discuss the developing problems of a Post-Cold War Europe, and to set the agenda for women’s work on peace in the new international situation.
Ms. Papandreou organized in 1991, a group of women representing international organizations in all parts of the world, and took them to Baghdad (January 7-11) to work out a peace plan with the Federation of Iraqi Women in an attempt to avert war. A second Women’s International Gulf Peace Initiative (May 16-24, 1991) brought a team of five women to Iraq after the war to study the effects of the war and to mobilize humanitarian aid.
Other activities include a campaign for a Woman Secretary General of the United Nations, a Palestinian-Israeli Women’s Negotiation Seminar in Athens, the coordination of the First International Minoan Celebration of Partnership in Crete (October 1992), and the Organization of “Refugee and Displaced Women in Times of Conflict,” a conference in September 1994. WMS conducted two workshops at the Fourth International UN Conference on Women in Beijing, September 1995. The workshops were “Women and the Mass Media” and “Refugee Women”.
She has been active in the struggle for liberation of Cyprus from its Turkish occupiers, and in the campaign to remove the UN sanctions on the Iraqi people. She has also collaborated on humanitarian actions for the people of Yugoslavia. She spoke at the conference in Zagreb “Women and the Politics of Peace”. (Oct. 25, 1996). She also presented an analysis of the Yugoslav situation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in February 1997.
During the year 1997 after a near clash between Greece and Turkey, she began contact with Turkish women’s organizations that culminated in a meeting of Turkish and Greek women on the island of Kos and in the town of Bodrum in Turkey. After four days of discussion, the groups set up a network called WINPEACE (Turkish-Greek) Women’s Initiative for Peace, which has begun working on joint projects as part of a program of confidence-building measures. The women meet twice a year to set up joint projects such as youth camps in conflict resolution, translation of women’s books into the other language, agro-tourism ventures and discuss not only their common needs but the areas where conflict exists between the two countries. A conflict resolution seminar with professional trainers took place in May 1999.
Youth camps with Greek/Turkish high school students and a second one with university students for a one week summer training in conflict resolution techniques have been organized since 1999. In July 2002, for the first time representatives of all sides of the Cyprus conflict took part: Greeks, Turks, Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot. These have proved to be a most successful method for peace education and for building toward a world culture of peace.
Under the auspices of KEDE (Center for Research and Action on Peace) many programs, mostly international, were started: “Trafficking in Women”, ”Balkan Health Promotion Initiative,” and “Empowerment of Muslim Women of Thrace.”
The Andreas Papandreou Foundation named her the Project Manager for the Oral History Archives program. This involves interviews of people who have lived the history of Andreas Papandreou during the many phases of his life.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES[edit]
In the summer of 1985, Ms Papandreou headed the Greek delegation to the UN Conference for the Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya. In her address, she proposed that the UN subsidize meetings for women from both sides of each international conflict to meet together, without government or diplomatic advisers, and make recommendations for resolution of the conflict.
In July 1986, she met in Syria with President Hafez Al-Assad to seek his help in freeing the hostages being held in Lebanon, as a humanitarian gesture.
In July 1987, Ms. Papandreou was one of seven people from around the world to address the plenary session of the World Congress of Women in the U.S.S.R. At the time, she also met with Raisa Gorbachev to discuss the role of women in efforts for nuclear disarmament.
Also, in 1987, she addressed the United Nations on the anniversary of the “World’s Solidarity Day for Women Under Apartheid”. And again in 1989 spoke at the Convention on the Rights of Children. In England at the 6th International Congress for “European Nuclear Disarmament”, addressed a UNICEF meeting of Non-Governmental Organizations to the U.S. Special Olympics, and addressed several international forums on peace and nuclear disarmament in Brazil, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia and Greece.
Ms. Papandreou was the keynote speaker at the American Women in Radio and Television’s 35th annual convention in Dallas, Texas and the 20th Anniversary conference of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in Denver, Colorado in 1986.
Ms. Papandreou has addressed numerous other forums including the International year of Peace 1986 NGO Conference “Together for Peace” in Geneva, the World Affairs Council – Los Angeles, Women’s National Democratic Club – Washington, D.C., American Association of University Women, Commonwealth Club – San Francisco, Women’s Economic Club – Detroit, Foreign Affairs Council – Portland, and the Joint House of Michigan Legislature.
TEACHING / WRITING[edit]
Ms. Papandreou has lectured at Harvard University, Yale, Princeton, Wellesley College, University of Minnesota, Michigan University and York University in Toronto.
In February 1989, Ms. Papandreou held the Chair of Carlton and Wilberta Savage Visiting Professorship, lecturing in the Peace Studies program at the University of Oregon. In April 1990, she held the 1990 Hommedieu Chair at Rutgers University, lecturing in the Women’s Studies program.
She is the author of numerous articles, two children’s books and Nightmare in Athens, which describes life under the Greek dictatorship and critiques American foreign policy vis-à-vis Greece. In 1990, she published an anthology of her speeches and articles called “Because We Are Women”. Her children’s books, which are in Greek, have been published in other languages. Her new book, “A Simple Citizen”, is ready for publication.
Margarita has also appeared on major American television programs, including CBS’s Morning News, the Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King.
PERSONAL / FAMILY HISTORY[edit]
Margarita Chant Papandreou’s political involvement began at the age of 12 when she participated in the campaign of her grandfather who was running for the Illinois State Legislature on the Socialist Party ticket. While a student at the University of Minnesota, where she received her B.A. in Journalism (1946), and her M.A. in Public Health (1956), she worked actively on Hubert Humphrey’s campaign for Mayor of Minneapolis and was a founding member of the Aldai Stevenson Forum.
Margarita was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1923. She married Andreas Papandreou in 1951. They divorced in 1989. They have one daughter and three sons.
The oldest, George, held the post of Minister of Education in the PASOK government for 1988-1989 and from 1999-2004 was Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 6 October 2009, George Papandreou became the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece. He was the third member of the Papandreou family to serve as the country's prime minister, following his father Andreas and his grandfather Georgios Papandreou.
Sophia has her Bachelor’s degree from York University in Economics and Fine Arts and her Master’s Degree in Economics from Sussex, England. She was resident of the board of the State School of Dance in Athens and now has her own school of classical ballet “Sophia” in Maroussi. She also heads the George Papandreou Foundation. At this moment she is studying for a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from York University in Canada.
Nicholas has his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton and worked for two years for the World Bank in the late 80’s. He quit the job to turn to writing. His first work of fiction called “Father Dancing” held the top of the best seller list in Greece under the title “Ten Myths and One Story” for nine months. It is published in English by Penguin of London in the UK and in the U.S. by publisher Pikador under the title “A Crowded Heart”.
Andreas finished his Ph.D. in Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University under the tutelage of Armatya Sen, 1997, Nobelist in Economics. He taught for two years at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, became a research economist at the International Environmental Institute in Stockholm, taught at the University of London, and is presently teaching at the University of Athens. His book “Externality and Institutions” (Oxford University Press) is now out in paperback.
References[edit]
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