CULTURE

Cherie Booth honored at luncheon in Athens’s Hotel Grande Bretagne

Cherie Booth’s visit to Greece was, for reasons of security, a lightning one and so could not be given the publicity it deserved. It was only on Monday morning that the guests were invited to the lunch held in her honor by the British-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce in the Hotel Grande Bretagne’s ballroom. Cherie Booth QC, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is a barrister, described by Forbes magazine as perhaps the most powerful woman in the UK and one of the 12 most powerful in the world, as BHCC’s British Chairperson Irene Watson recalled as she introduced Booth, who said that such titles were «given by men – we women know better!» Booth confirms the adage that «behind every successful man there is an intelligent woman.» Except that Booth, the mother of four children (the youngest, Leo, was born during his father’s premiership) is not behind her husband but out there working. Booth’s speech to the luncheon focused on the work of the charity Scope, which aims at full equality for people with disabilities seeking equal opportunities at work, in recreation and, of course, sport. Booth, who came to Greece for the Olympic Games and is back for the Paralympics, was accompanied by British Ambassador Sir David Madden at the lunch, which was attended by members of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, businessmen such as Pavlos Kontellis and his wife Arianne, BHCC board member Haris Economopoulos and his wife Yasmine, Pavlos Karacostas, John Reece, Douglas Bateson, Sotiris Yiannopoulos, former general director of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and now a member of its board. Booth stayed at the British Embassy during her visit, the guest of the British ambassador and his family, with their collection of 17 cats from Cyprus and Athens.

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