Dear ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë Friends,
It is with great sadness that the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë family heard recently that our dear friend and former ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë International President Michael Odysseos had passed away.
The ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë always played an enormous role in Michael’s life.
On the international stage, Michael was elected as Internal Auditor, before serving two terms as International Vice President from 1994 onwards. His ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë career thereafter continued with his election as International President, an office he held for 12 years, and for which he was honoured with the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë Bronze Medal in 1986, the Silver Medal in 1993 and the Gold Medal in 2012 at the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë World Congress in Israel, where he voluntarily stood down from his office. His final international task saw him in the role of Advisor to the IEC and the International Board until 2013.
Michael fulfilled the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë motto, Servo per Amikeco, throughout his long and active life, and was a driving force in ensuring his home section of ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë Cyprus always played a vital role within the association. As such, he took great pride in the organisation of the XXI ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë World Congress in 2015 in his home country.
The ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë was at the heart of Michael's life, and Michael's heart beat for the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë. Michael was one of the greatest ambassadors of our association on a global level for many years. A close friend and confidant of our founder, he took over the leadership of the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë in 2000, before Arthur Troop passed away in the same year. It was the handing over of the baton between two great men, a guarantee that the work of our founder would remain in trustworthy hands, with the assurance that the values and principles of the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë would continue. This was the case, for Michael led our great family with enormous self-sacrifice, dedication and will. As President, one could always admire Michael’s seriousness when conducting business, his friendliness towards everyone, his sense of service, diplomacy and his dexterity in problem solving and politics.
Michael honoured the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë motto through the excellence of his commitment, and the countless messages received in recent days from all over the world attest to the degree of friendship that he carried and demonstrated. He had the soul of a knight, a heart full of generosity and the spirit of a conqueror.
All those of us on the IEB and throughout the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë world who had the privilege of spending precious time with Michael, can count themselves lucky to have benefitted from his example and advice, and we are grateful for the friendship he shared with us. On behalf of the entire ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë family, our deepest condolences go to Michael’s family, as well as to our friends in ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë Cyprus.
Servo per Amikeco,
Pierre-Martin Moulin, ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë President