Paul Sarbanes

US Congressman John Sarbanes was presented with the Leader award in Washington, DC on Monday, granted each year to an outstanding member of the Greek-American diaspora.

The United States Congress, the Greek-American community, as well as Greece and Cyprus, will miss the leadership, ethical presence and sense of purpose of John Sarbanes, who, a few days ago, announced his intention not to seek re-election in 2024.

The rural town of Salisbury, Maryland is an unlikely place from which a young man imbued with the high ideals and values of Hellenism would make his way to the world stage. It is in this small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore that on February 3, 1933, Panagiotis Spyros Sarbanes was born, who would in time grow into the legendary Senator Paul S. Sarbanes.

Hellenism recently lost one of its most important representatives in the United States, Paul Sarbanes, who died at 87. The iconic politician left behind more than an extremely important body of work in American politics and a great contribution to the Greek-American community.

US Senator Paul Sarbanes, who passed away at the age of 87 on December 6, is a major reason we Hellenes are held in such high regard in the United States. The powerfully positive impression he made for decades on hundreds of influential American policymakers and opinion leaders is unsurpassed.

Paul Sarbanes was one of the most prominent figures of the Greek diaspora. If you didn't know him in person, you might get the impression that he was an all-too-quiet, perhaps even indifferent man. Big mistake. Sarbanes had what one might call stealth power.

Congressman John Sarbanes hailed the legacy of his late father, Senator Paul Sarbanes, noting his pride in his Greek-American heritage during a tribute at the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.

I had the honor and good fortune to work closely with Paul Sarbanes, the late Greek-American US congressman for the state of Maryland. Our acquaintance began soon after I assumed the post of ambassador in Washington and continued with weekly meetings throughout my four-year tenure.

US Senator Bob Menendez, a ranking member of the upper house's Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement on Monday expressing his "great sadness" at the death of former senator Paul Sarbanes, and saying that his life and work was a "testament to what is possible."

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America said he mourns the death of Paul Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat who served in the US Congress for more than three decades, calling him "a true giant of the omogeneia (diaspora) and the nation."