A new charitable organization has launched in Chicago, Illinois, with a mission to educate, preserve and promote the research and study of Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, the late eight-time prime minister who remains widely regarded as the “creator” of modern Greece.

The Venizelos Foundation USA will create various initiatives to promote Venizelos’ life and work, as well as his impact on modern Greek history and international affairs

Such initiatives will include educational programs; periodicals; audiovisual material; collaborations with American universities; compilation and publication of Venizelos’ works; awarding prizes and grants and organizing conferences, exhibitions and lectures.

The Venizelos Foundation USA will operate in sync with and seek to broaden the work of its Greek sister organization, the National Research Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos,” based in the city of Hania, Crete, the birthplace of Venizelos.

Since March 2000, the Greece-based foundation has collected and organized archives; conducted conferences; published books and periodicals; cooperated with Greek and foreign educational institutions and operated the Eleftherios Venizelos Residence Museum outside Hania.

The Venizelos Foundation USA, Inc., has a pending application for IRS approval as a 501(c)3 charitable public foundation. The organization is comprised of a volunteer board sharing a passion for the life and work of Venizelos.

Venizelos, also known as the “ethnarhis” or “national leader,” served as prime minister of Greece from 1910-1920 and 1928-1933. He was a prominent leader of the country’s national liberation movement and proponent of liberal-democratic policies.

The statesman achieved international fame during his lifetime; over a six-year span from 1915-1921, five English-language biographies and numerous newspaper profiles were published about him.

For more information about the Venizelos Foundation USA, please contact President John Manos via email.