Gonda Van Steen, Professor and Koraes Chair in Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language, and Literature, as well as Director of the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King’s College London, joined Voice of Greece and the program “Our Global Voice”, hosted by Dimitris Kontogiannis, to reflect on a long-awaited ministerial decision that brings resolution to a decades-old issue affecting hundreds of Greek-born children adopted abroad in the 1950s and 1960s.
Van Steen, whose pioneering research into these international adoptions culminated in her acclaimed book “Adoption, Memory, and Cold War Greece: Kid pro quo?” (University of Michigan Press, 2019), has played a key role in reviving public and political attention to this sensitive chapter of modern Greek history. She spoke of a pivotal meeting held last September with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, attended also by Interior Minister Thodoris Livanios and Mary Cardaras, one of the adoptees and a dedicated author on the subject. At that meeting, the Prime Minister called for the removal of bureaucratic hurdles so that these individuals might reclaim the Greek citizenship they were born with.
After months of silence and uncertainty, Van Steen welcomed the long-anticipated ministerial decree issued by Mr. Livanios and Deputy Minister Vassilis Spanakis. The decision outlines the necessary documentation for the registration, correction, or amendment of civil records for children adopted abroad before 1976, effectively opening the path to the restoration of their Greek nationality.
It is estimated that more than 3,000 Greek children were adopted internationally during that era—primarily by families in the United States, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. When asked about the current impact, Van Steen noted that between 300 and 500 adoptees are actively pursuing the reinstatement of their Greek citizenship, many having waited for a legislative solution to bring long-overdue recognition to their roots.