Alekos Mykoniatis Obituary

At dawn on 11 January 2007, Alekos Mykoniatis, the owner, editor and director of Heraklion local newspaper “Patris”, died of heart failure.

Alekos Mykoniatis was born in Heraklion in 1925. His parents were from Smyrna and Constantinople and settled in Heraklion in 1924. His father, Athenagoras Mykoniatis, founded “Patris” , a paper favouring the Venizelist party, in 1946.

On his father’s death in 1964, Mykoniatis took over the management of the paper, continuing to work in the Tax Office until 1967 when he was sacked by the Junta.

In 1954 he married Maria Kopidaki, with whom he had two children, Dimitra and Athenagoras, who continues to edit the paper today. Alexandros Mykoniatis was very active in social work, particularly in the post-war years, playing a leading part in the establishment of many charitable societies and foundations. He always had much to offer without making a fuss about it, as he considered it his duty.

A true gentleman, he had a strong sense of duty and service to his homeland. From his first steps in the profession, he served the basic principles of journalism and opposed all forms of injustice. With his objective, independent reporting, he set a personal example of principled behaviour.

Alekos Mykoniatis, uncompromising to the end, was also a tender, simple and truly wise man. Deeply democratic, he was a personal friend of Sophocles Venizelos, George and Andreas Papandreou, and many other leading figures of the time. His death marks the end of a major chapter in the history of the “Patris” and a bright page in that of Crete, which he loved above all else.