On January 12th 1999, at a special ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr Konstantinos Stefanopoulos offered honourary distinctions to eminent Greeks and foreign citizens for their contribution to politics, literature and art. Within this framework, he awarded Commander of the Order of Phoenix the Founder and President of the Foundation of the Hellenic World Mr Lazaros Efraimoglou for his contribution to the preservation of the national conscience via the Foundation and its continuous private funding.

Commander of the Order of Phoenix was additionally awarded the painter and professor of the Athens School of Fine Arts Mr I. Morali, the painter and professor of the Athens School of Fine Arts Mr Dimitris Mitaras, the founder of the Museum of Cycladic Art Mrs Doli Goulandris, the sculptor Mr Gianni Pappa and the professor of the School of Exact Sciences Mr Leonida Resvani.

Mr Stefanopoulos awarded the former specialist-ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Balkan Issues Mr Euaggelo Kofo and the romanist-balkaniologist Mr Achillea Lazarou, Officers of the Order of Phoenix. Finally, the former President of the Athens Academy and university professor Mr Konstantinos Despotopoulos was honoured with the metal of Knight Commander of the Order of Phoenix. Analogous were the distinctions for eight prestigious foreign citizens. Specifically, Commander of the Order of Honour to Mr Tomas Michael Cox, British, Mr Edward O' Hara, British and Dr Luc Hoffmann, Swiss, Commander of the Order of Phoenix to Mr D. Reinsch, German, Mr R. Wuensche, German and Mr R. Fagles, American and Officer of the Order of Honour to Mr Guy Saunier, French, and Mr. Henri Tonnet, French.

In a brief speech, Mr Stefanopoulos, praised upon the work of these prominent personalities, expressed the state's gratitude for their contribution to society and underlined that in times when we frequently lie on the negative aspects of Greece, it is worth stressing on the positive sides of the scientific, artistic and cultural communities which offer their high services. He put emphasis on the indicative choice of people, as there is a great number of prestigious scientists, technocrates and artists who honour Greece and deserve the state's gratitude.