For US politician and academic John Brademas, leadership and ego are the keys to success
ACHIEVING something positive which otherwise would not have happened is what has fuelled former US Congressman John Brademas’ long career in politics and academia.
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Brademas is the son of a “Kalamatianos” as he puts it.
His father was a Greek immigrant and Brademas, now 81, describes himself as an “Ellin stin psichi” (Greek in the soul).
He was in Cyprus at the invitation of the University of Cyprus to deliver the Fifth Annual Dinos Leventis memorial lecture, and the Sunday Mail caught up with him at the hotel he was staying at in Nicosia.
His links to Cyprus pre-date both the Turkish invasion and his first visit to the island in 1977 to attend Archbishop Makarios’ funeral.
In his lecture he reflected on the lessons learned from his long years as a politician and academic.
“Leadership is needed in both careers I’ve been in. What I experienced and learned as a legislator I was able to employ at the academy. I felt at home in both,” he said. “One reason is because I had to wrestle with massive egos both times,” he added smiling.
From his earliest years, education loomed large.
“I grew up in a family where education was central. The richest legacy my father wanted to bestow upon his children was a first class education,” he said.
His record in Congress is both long and impressive.
“In my 22 years in Congress I’ve served with six presidents: three Republicans and three Democrats.”
The ‘Education for all Handicapped Children Act’ and the ‘Environmental Education Act’ are just two pieces of legislation he was instrumental in getting enacted into law.
“This is why you go into public life: to make something positive happen, which otherwise would not have happened,” he said.
He explained that it was the way the US political system functioned – the separation of the office of the President, Congress and the judiciary – that enabled Congress “to write the laws of the land”.
“I’d have had a hard time being an MP in the UK’s House of Commons,” he said.
Brademas also authored the law that preserved the papers of the President Richard Nixon (the only US president to resign his post following the Watergate scandal of July 1974).
“It was very gratifying,” he said. “Nixon had strayed away from the laws of the land.”
After he was voted out of Congress, Brademas served as President of New York University (NYU) and is particularly proud of his achievements there.
Upon his arrival at the university in 1981 he saw that students who were studying there hailed from adjacent states and he wanted expand the university’s horizons.
“I emphasised international education and studying the cultures of other countries. I think we’ve had success in this and have made NYU a global university.”
For Brademas, knowledge of other cultures has consequences for US foreign policy: “I think that one of the reasons the US has failed in Iraq and other foreign policy expeditions is because of an ignorance of the cultures of those countries.”
Examples of international studies at NYU include the King Juan Carlos of Spain Centre (where Brademas’ office is now located) and an Islamic Centre, while the university hosts projects abroad in countries such as Argentina and Ghana.
He has long emphasised the significance of philanthropy in education, a view he reiterated at a recent speech he gave at his old college, Brasenose College, Oxford University.
“Universities rely on tuition fees, government assistance and philanthropic contributions for income. Before I came NYU had an income of $23 million in contributions. Now it has a one million dollar income per day in private contributions.”
Naturally, his presence at NYU did not go unnoticed by ambitious Greeks and Greek Americans.
“I get letters from Greeks and Greek Americans who want my help to get their kids in NYU,” he said.
The Greek connection has long extended to Cyprus and its political woes.
“In 1974 I led a handful of congressmen to call on Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Turkey had used US arms for aggression. However, the terms of sale stated that arms supplied by the US to other countries could only be used for defences. I then voted for a US arms embargo on Turkey.”
What did he make of the recent developments in the Cyprus problem since the election of President Demetris Christofias?
“It’s difficult to know where the recent developments will take Cyprus. I’ve read about Turks talking about two countries: this cannot be positive.”
He also spoke about Turkey’s prospects of joining the European Union.
“As long as Turkish troops occupy Cyprus and Turkey refuses to grant diplomatic recognition to Cyprus, Turkey cannot access the EU. I’d like to see Turkey being a genuine democracy in Europe. I’m not in principle against it.”
After all these years, does he suffer from Cyprus fatigue syndrome?
“I think I’ve put a lot into it over the years, but no, I have not found reading and dealing with aspects of the Cyprus problem tiresome.
“On the contrary, I stand ready to contribute to efforts for a solution if asked.”
