THE KING of Sweden yesterday bestowed Nicos Shacolas with the country’s oldest and most distinguished decoration, the Order of the Polar Star, in recognition of his services to Sweden.
At a special ceremony in Nicosia, also attended by President Tassos Papadopoulos, the Swedish Ambassador to Cyprus, Ingemar Lindahl, described Shacolas as the creator of Cyprus’ largest trade corporation, as its greatest private employer and its most visionary entrepreneur, demonstrated by the international airports venture, the
Limni resort project and the newly inaugurated Mall of Cyprus.
As the Financial Mirror puts it: “The resum? of Mr Shacolas, the undisputed business champion of Cyprus, testifies to the strength of his enterprises as well as to the capability of one man to revolutionise the business climate of his country.”
According to the Ambassador, “less known is his long association with Sweden. He has told me that his first real business trip abroad was to Sweden more than fifty years ago. This was the start of a relationship, which became almost a romance. He introduced Swedish household machines in Cyprus and became the agent for Saab, Scania and Volvo. He was also an associate of the Wallenberg family and a close friend of Mr Bengt Lindwall, the founder of the Gulf Agency Group and a pioneer of Swedish tourism in Cyprus. The business relationship between Mr Shacolas and Sweden was crowned this year by the opening of IKEA at the Mall of Cyprus in September.
“Moreover, Mr Shacolas last spring co-sponsored the first exhibition of the Swedish Cyprus collection at the Museum of Archaeology in Nicosia, which was inaugurated by First Lady, Mrs Fotini Papadopoulou and Princess Desir?e of Sweden.
“Dear Nicos, in recognition of your services to Sweden, the King has decided to confer on you the Order of the Polar Star. It is my honour and pleasure to execute His decision here today.”
Accepting the honour, Shacolas said: “I would like very much to express my gratitude, deep appreciation, respect and thanks to His Majesty Carl Gustaf, King of Sweden, a noble nation, for this great honour and decoration of the Royal Order of the Polar Star.”
He added that the decoration is, “a great honour for me, my family, my colleagues, the Shacolas Group of Companies and in general the island’s business society.
“Our two countries have old and close ties starting with the Swedish Cyprus
expedition for archaeological excavations in the early 20th century, followed many years later by the United Nations Swedish peacekeeping forces, which helped Cyprus after the Turkish invasion in 1974.”
The businessman looked back on his many years of co-operation with the Swedes, adding: “We continue doing business with many Swedish organisations with excellent performance and I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am very proud to be associated with all them.”
