“Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki for two terms, believed in “city diplomacy” and made it internationally recognisable,” PtD wrote, among other things, about his work in its Facebook post.
She sent her own condolence message the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropouloufor him death of Yannis Boutarisat the age of 82.
“Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki for two terms, believed in the “diplomacy of cities” and envisioned Thessaloniki as a center for university studies and the provision of medical services. Seeking to pull the city out of folding in on itself and give it back something of its old cosmopolitan character, he made it internationally recognizable,” he wrote, among other things, about his work in his Facebook post.
The entire post of the President of the Republic
Versatile, restless, unconventional. Business genius, bold, tireless. Politically active, progressive, deeply democratic. One of the most groundbreaking mayors in the history of local government. And above all, a person in constant conversation with himself, capable of evaluating him objectively or even harshly at times, without being afraid to face his mistakes, weaknesses, shortcomings, fears, without blinding himself, without self-delusion . He was the winemaker who saw the winemaking process, the journey from the vine to the wine, as a metaphor for his life, as an example of living. A man of profound self-awareness who radiated self-respect and self-confidence, which is why he exerted such a positive influence, if not charm, on those around him.
Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki for two terms, believed in the “diplomacy of cities” and envisioned a Thessaloniki center of university studies and provision of medical services. Seeking to wrest the city from folding in on itself and give it back something of its old cosmopolitan character, he made it internationally recognizable. With his initiative to create a Memorial Park in Eleftheria Square as the end of a commemorative axis that will connect it with the Holocaust Museum under construction, he wanted to highlight the uniqueness of the city’s Jewish history, to “turn silence into speech”. And at the same time recall the rich multicultural past of this once bustling port, which was the center of the Balkans, a European metropolis, a place of synthesis and not separation.
Such a Mayor was bound to be challenged, but also to inspire. I say goodbye to him with deep emotion and sadness as a tireless active citizen, a courageous man, a very dear friend.
Source: Skai
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