Eleni Lianidou, Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, talking to Neos Kosmos this week, confirmed that she is leaving the city at the end of December, as her term of office comes to an end.
Ms Lianidou will be replaced by Ms Christina Simantiraki, who is expected to arrive in Melbourne at the end of this month.
Ms Lianidou, a graduate from the faculty of Law at the University of Athens and member of the Hellenic Diplomatic Service since 1991, was appointed as Consul General for Greece in Melbourne in 2011.
The Greek community of Melbourne embraced Ms Lianidou, who was engaged in diverse activities trying to advance the interests of Greece and of the Greek Australian community.
Talking to 3XY Radio Hellas before her departure, she stated that the number of staff serving the needs of the Greek community in Melbourne has been reduced from 12 to six during her term of office, making it extremely difficult for the Consulate to meet the needs of the large community. In the same interview she was also critical of the fact that the number of teachers sent to Melbourne from Greece has been reduced from 75 to less than 20 over the past three years.
Eleni Lianidou has represented Greece as a Consul General in Pretoria, South Africa; Vancouver, Canada; and Brussels, Belgium. She also served as a RELEX counsellor of Greece to the EU.
* In the printed version of this story in Neos Kosmos on Saturday 14 December 2013 it was wrongly stated that a farewll party was to take place at the Greek Consulate in Melbourne. A private farewell function was to take place at another location and those invited should adhere to the instructions on their invitation.