By Stavros Nikolaou, Deputy High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus
It was an afternoon full of stories—many untold—poetry, dragons, and a single fairy unfolds as the present meets the past to discuss the future. Mr. Prokopis Vanezis, the second Cypriot to serve as High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, is a significant figure in Cypriot diplomacy.
On Jim Socrates and his wife’s initiative in arranging this meeting, they found my full agreement.
As I conclude my duties as Deputy High Commissioner of Cyprus in Australia, reflecting with one of the early trailblazers seems ideal for a comprehensive review.
As we look back on his varied life with a rather positive outlook—positive, because a career in significant posts in the Cyprus Diplomatic Service cannot be entirely rosy—it feels like riding a train through Cyprus’ modern history. Now residing in Australia, this might be his last station, akin to Seferis’ poem where ‘an irony of thought’ arises, and you ‘hurry to open your heart lest foreignness catch up with you and change it.’
A passionate patriot, Mr. Vanezis discusses his crucial decision to move to Australia, a country he loved almost as much as Cyprus.
“I wanted to end my career in an English-speaking country and then return with my wife to Cyprus, but I ended up staying here for the rest of my life. I have no regrets,” he adds.
We talk about his introduction to Archbishop Makarios III, the first President of the Republic of Cyprus, about whom he has written perhaps the most detailed trilogy. He reveals unknown aspects of Makarios’ personality—the jokes, the wit, and the layers beneath his public role, which made up his impressive persona. The occasion for these books, he says, was the frequent question from foreign diplomats, “How can a modern state have a Father as its head?” To avoid lengthy explanations, he decided to share his writings, which impressed everyone.
We discussed his diplomatic career, his role as the auditor of the Foreign Ministry (now the Internal Audit Unit), the missteps he identified, the pressures he faced, and the challenges when he acted against the norm. Dragons in a fairy tale with a sweet aftertaste, though in reality, the dragons never truly touched him.
At 96 years old, with a memory sharper than a sword, he emphasises, “The most important quality a diplomat should have been honesty.”
A man of integrity, he never indulged in small talk or pettiness. His compass was education, believing that an educated person finds their way through conversation, while the uneducated remain stuck in the past—a lesson he passed on to his children. His son Andrew, present that afternoon, confirms this perfectly.
We also discussed major international issues. He is deeply concerned about current affairs and has clear views on each significant issue. Age, bringing unlimited wisdom, is treated as an asset. He knows the great Kavadi lyrics by heart and seems to have understood them through his experiences. He comprehended what Ithacas mean, as the Alexandrian poet would say.
Our conversation inevitably turns to Sydney’s Cypriot community.
“It is the first thing I ask when meet community members,” he says. “I am always concerned about the future of the Cypriot presence in Australia.”
Recent developments have justified these concerns. The current President, Michael Peters Kyriacou, who recently took office, joined us. He faces the challenging task of transitioning the community into a new era. Mr. Vanezis, with a smile, says, “I don’t know whether to offer congratulations or condolences.”
He advises that youth and investment in them should guide the community’s future plans, it’s all about renewal, change, engaging with the younger adults the youth, less so about personalities and property.
“Only by effectively embracing the youth will you achieve your goals,” he tells Michael.
Mr. Vanezis was told of the upcoming Community members meeting to decide on the Stanmore property future, and he reiterated that the Community is a lot more than just real estate it’s about the future presence of Cypriots in Australia.
Mr Vanezi was pleased to learn that younger Cypriots have now taken on leadership roles in the Community and there is a clear plan, to renew the Community by engaging the youth and resolving the future of the Stanmore property with a clear vision to safeguard the legacy of the Cypriots and the future of the Community.
Many developments lie ahead, and the power is in the hands of the many, to whom the leadership must explain its vision. With vision, only good things can happen. After nearly a century of life, he feels his strength waning but does not give up. His mind remains sharper than ever. He aims to finish one last book, and I believe he will. Despite mobility problems and poor eyesight, he persists.
“What saddens me about my vision problem is that I can no longer read as much as I want and that I can’t see her,” he says, pointing to his beloved wife, Lula, who blushes like a young girl. The fairy I mentioned earlier—she is the one.
Even if Seferis did not write the last station about love, isn’t that how everything ends? “In the dark we go, in the dark we go. The heroes go to the dark…”
