Manatos & Manatos celebrates 40 years
Manatos & Manatos, which for decades has been part of the Greek American community’s presence in Washington, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
A well established lobbying firm in the US Capitol, Manatos & Manatos marked the occasion on December 13 with an event which drew many of Washington’s most influential individuals, from both political parties and over decades.
They joined Greek-American leaders from across the country, from US policymakers from the White House, State Department, Defense Department, US Congress and US Courts, as well as thought leaders from the media, universities and think-tanks
Attendants included the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi who made remarks about the extraordinary service of the Manatos family to their country, community and church. This celebration also marked the over 85 years of the Manatos family working in or with the federal government.
“All of us have benefited from our association with this remarkable family. Their passionate advocacy for Hellenism – for Cyprus, for Greece, for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and for our Sacred Archdiocese of America – is well known throughout the land. Their forty year sojourn is filled with historic wins and stories of their championing our every cause,” the Archbishop said.
“As Archbishop, I feel delighted to express on behalf of the entirety of the Omogeneia, our highest esteem and gratitude for the service they have brought to the community. May their success and accomplishments be even greater in the next forty years, and in the generations to come.”
On her side, Pelosi noted that the Manatos family “is the all-American family. When it comes to patriotism, when it comes to values, when it comes to family, they are so remarkable. They contribute to our society, whether its education, faith, the economy, fairness, every category you can name they participate in. And, of course, for the relationship between Greece and the United States and Cyprus and the United States they have taught us so much…thank you to the Manatos’s for all they have done.”
Mike N. Manatos arrived in Washington, DC in 1936 from Rock Springs, Wyoming. He worked on Capitol Hill in senior positions for 25 years and then became the first Greek-American to work in the White House as President John Kennedy’s – and then President Lyndon Johnson’s – liaison for the US Senate. His son, Andy Manatos, worked on Capitol Hill in senior positions for 10 years and then served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in President Jimmy Carter’s Administration. Mike N. and Andy started Manatos & Manatos in 1983. Andy’s son Mike A. Manatos joined the firm in 1990. Andy’s other son, Tom Manatos, worked for Leader/Speaker Nancy Pelosi for 10 years and is now Block’s Head of Federal Affairs.
