Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos Announces Creation of the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program

"So many of our challenges don't require financial capital, they require leadership capital."

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative in New York, Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos announced the creation of the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program.

"In the business community, we often talk about the estimated $2 trillion in capital that's sitting on the sidelines unused.  But that's not the only capital lying untapped.  When democratically elected leaders leave office after their terms expire, the result is that the world often loses their intellectual and ideological capital. And, in many ways, that capital is more precious than money," said Angelopoulos.  

Angelopoulos continued, "Elected officials need outlets through which they can continue serving the public by working on the global economic and political challenges with which they are already familiar."

The Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program will include several separate components:

• As one initiative, at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Ambassador Angelopoulos is creating the Angelopoulos Fund to provide opportunities for high profile leaders who have transitioned from public office or other leadership positions to spend time in residence at Harvard engaged in sharing expertise and lessons learned, undertaking research, refreshing skills, and planning for the next phase of their public service.
• A second initiative, with the Club of Madrid, will identify public leaders who transition from one kind of public leadership to another and support them as they develop sustainable solutions and action plans to address societal issues from new platforms.
• As an integral part of the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program, leaders will have the opportunity to link into the CGI network and in turn, make their own CGI commitments. This ensures that the program will have a multiplier effect, as alumni lead by example and inspire others to join them in addressing global challenges.

"This commitment will allow those elected officials, whose terms of office have expired, to continue making contributions to the world, and to the issues about which they are passionate," said President Bill Clinton.  "In making this commitment, Ambassador Angelopoulos will enable leaders to leave office without losing their ability to do service to the world."

Dean David T. Ellwood of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government added, "The mission of the Harvard Kennedy School is to train leaders for the world's future.  With this commitment, Ambassador Angelopoulos allows us to bring distinguished leaders who are in transition to Harvard to share their lessons with the next generation."

In the words of former Canadian Prime Minister and founding member of the Club of Madrid, Kim Campbell, "The re-engagement of retired political leaders in the challenges of democratic transition is nothing more, and nothing less, than leading after leaving. This CGI commitment will allow us to identify, highlight and promote the work of public leaders once they leave office so that they may continue to leading and servicing the world."

ABOUT AMBASSADOR ANGELOPOULOS

Gianna Angelopoulos is an Olympic Organizer, Ambassador of the Greek State, lawyer and former Member of Parliament.  

In 1986, Ambassador Angelopoulos-Daskalaki won a seat on the Athens Municipal Council.  In the 1989 elections, as a candidate for the New Democracy Party, she was elected Member of Parliament of the Greek Republic from the Athens' First District Constituency, and won re-election the following year.

In 1990, Ambassador Angelopoulos-Daskalaki married Theodore Angelopoulos and resigned her seat in the Parliament to become involved in her family's international shipping business.

In 1994, she was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Dean's Council of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.  There, in 1996, she helped lead a Kennedy School Symposium titled "The Greek Paradox," which examined ways in which her country could close the gap between its promise and its performance in the political, economic and foreign policy fields. Also in 1996, she accepted the Prime Minister's proposal to lead Greece's campaign to host the 2004 Olympic Games.  After leading the bid to success, Ambassador Angelopoulos-Daskalaki returned to the shipping business.  For her service, the Republic of Greece appointed her Ambassador-at-Large in 1998.

In 2000, when slow progress and gridlocked bureaucracy put Athens in danger of losing the Olympic Games, she was asked to assume the presidency of the ATHENS 2004 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.  

Under her leadership, Athens made up for lost time and gave the world what IOC President Jacques Rogge called: "an unforgettable, dream Games."

Today, Ambassador Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a Convening Sponsor of the Clinton Global Initiative. She continues to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Dean's Council for Harvard's John. F. Kennedy School of Government.  

ABOUT THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together nearly 150 current and former heads of state, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made more than 2,000 commitments, which have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued in excess of $63 billion. The 2011 Annual Meeting will take place Sept. 20-22 in New York City.

This year, CGI also convened CGI America, a meeting focused on developing ideas for driving economic growth in the United States. The CGI community also includes CGI U, which hosts an annual meeting for undergraduate and graduate students, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young CGI members for leadership development and collective commitment-making. For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org

ABOUT HARVARD'S JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

Harvard Kennedy School maintains an abiding commitment to advancing the public interest by training skilled, enlightened leaders and solving public problems through world-class scholarship and active engagement with practitioners and decision makers. The School offers the depth, reflection, insight, and excellence of ideas and teaching that can shape future leaders, affect public policies, and make an impact on people and their daily lives.  For more information, visit www.hks.harvard.edu

ABOUT THE CLUB OF MADRID

The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of 80 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 different countries, constituting the world's largest forum of former Heads of State and Government, who have come together to respond to a growing demand for support among leaders in two key areas: democratic leadership and governance; and  response  to crisis and post-crisis situations. Both lines of work share the common goal of addressing the challenge of democratic governance and political conflict as well as that of building functional and inclusive societies, where the leadership experience of Club de Madrid's Members is most valuable. For more information, visit http://www.clubmadrid.org/  

SOURCE Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos