Introducing Ms. Sophianou, Philip Christopher, President of PSEKA, recalled that he met and welcomed all her predecessors in the years following the Turkish invasion, and he offered a briefing on the efforts under way on behalf of the Cypriot American community in bringing an end to the illegal occupation and continuous suffering. Christopher’s parents, refugees from the city of Keryneia, died in the US without being able to return to their home in the occupied Cyprus.

Peter Papanicolaou, on behalf of the Cyprus Federation of America, in his welcoming remarks pointed out how important the position of the Consul General in New York is in relation with the Cypriot American community and its various organizations. He also pledged his unconditional support to any effort or initiative that will help the cause’s advancement and the people of Cypriot descent in the US.

Consul General of Greece in New York, Aghi Balta, said that although she met Ms. Sophianou only recently, her good fame preceded her arrival, promising a very fruitful tenure.

Representatives of various Cypriot and Greek American organizations in general, introduced themselves and offered their good wishes.

Consul General Sophianou was impressed by the gathering, and visibly moved, recalled that as refugees from the occupied city of Famagusta, her family had received assistance from Cypriot American organizations! She promised to go beyond her means to advance the efforts for a just solution of the Cyprus problem and to make it easier for Cypriot Americans when dealing with Cyprus through the consulate. She concluded with the wish in her next post to represent a reunited Cyprus.

Ms Sophianou studied at Purdue University in Indiana where she received both her bachelor’s (she was a recipient of a CASP-Cyprus America Scholarship Program-scholarship) and master of arts degrees with honors. During her graduate years she worked as an instructor of Spanish at the Foreign Language Department of Purdue’s Liberal Arts School. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus in 1998. She served at the Protocol and Consular Affairs and the Political Affairs (International Organizations-Multilateral Affairs) Divisions of the Ministry respectively until the summer of 2000 when she was posted to the Embassy in Athens. She held the post of Consul from 2000-2002 and later she dealt with Political Affairs until September 2003 when she was posted to Cyprus’s Permanent Representation of the European Union.

Ms Sophianou was responsible for the relations between Cyprus and the European Parliament. During her term in Brussels she worked closely with Cypriot, Greek and foreign MEPS to promote issues of Cypriot interest, including issues that dealt with the different aspects of the Cyprus Problem (missing persons, enslaved, illegal settlers, usurpation of properties, etc.). She returned to the Ministry in September 2007 where she worked at the Cyprus Question and Turkey Division until November 2009 when she assumed her current post.

Ms Sophianou is fluent in Greek, English and Spanish, has a good knowledge of French and passive knowledge of Italian.