Obituary: Alexandre 'Aleco' Joannides

“Things are looking up, my dear!” was his watchword, whatever disasters might appear imminent. He never had a bad word to say about anything or anybody.

Alexandre Joannides, pictured, who died today aged 90, was born on 1 November 1922 in Athens. He was essentially Greek, but totally cosmopolitan. He spoke seven languages, all with the same characteristic accent, in the same booming voice. He was a united European long before the union of Europe, educated in Germany as well as Greece.

Joannides served Reuters with total devotion for 36 years, in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. When he retired on 1 November 1987, Glen Renfrew, managing director, described him as the most popular man in Reuters, “a polyglot Reuterian who had shown immense dedication and loyalty throughout a distinguished career as a correspondent and businessman”.

His languages included Greek, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as some understanding of Arabic. He was an expert - both as gourmet and cook - on the cuisines of all these countries, and many more, and could be relied upon to know a restaurant to recommend in many cities of the world.

Joannides graduated from the French Gymnasium in Berlin in 1939 and then studied economics and political science at Athens University from 1941 to 1944, also working as a volunteer surgery assistant with the Greek Red Cross and as a stringer for the London Observer and the Daily Herald. In 1944 he joined the British Embassy as an information officer.

From 1947 to 1951 he served as a 2nd lieutenant reservist during the Greek army’s campaign against a communist guerrilla offensive. He joined Reuters in Athens in 1951. His first major story was an assignment as special correspondent to Port Said to cover the British and French invasion of the Suez Canal Zone in 1956.

Other Reuters postings included correspondent, chief correspondent or manager in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Portugal, Brazil and Lebanon. His arrival in Beirut as regional manager in 1975 coincided with the start of the Lebanese civil war, forcing the company to move its regional headquarters to Bahrain. A manager’s note on his file said: “Few people would have tackled the drama of the Lebanon or the rough living conditions of the Gulf with such enthusiasm and resilience.”

Later appointments based in London included coordinator, Latin America, and media services manager.

In 1990, together with other recently retired colleagues, Joannides founded The Reuter Society, whose first purpose is “to preserve and continue the comradeship developed among the Members during their work for Reuters”.

Joannides is survived by his wife Anna and son Constantine, known as Dino. A younger son predeceased him. ■