In July, the WFO Executive Committee elected Dr. A.E. Athanasiou of Thessaloniki, Greece, as vice-president.

Dr. Athanasiou will serve a five-year term, but will not automatically succeed the president at the end of this term of service. (The WFO Executive Committee elects a new president from its members just prior to the International Orthodontic Congress.) As vice-president, Dr. Athanasiou will assume the duties of the president at the president's request or in the president's temporary absence. In addition to his responsibilities as vice-president, Dr. Athanasiou also helps to represent the region of Europe on the WFO Executive Committee.

Dr. Athanasiou, who was extremely honored by this election, values the impact the WFO has had on orthodontics worldwide.

"When a comparison takes place regarding the status of orthodontics and its political and scientific organizations in various countries and regions around the world before the formation of the WFO and now, it becomes obvious that our Federation was instrumental in providing standards, guidelines and assistance for improvement," Dr. Athanasiou said. "The WFO provides the network for information, communication, cooperation, development and improvement for the organized scientific groups and the individual members. Former and current Executive Committee WFO members, presidents and trustees of the various national and regional orthodontic societies, as well as individual orthodontic specialists, should feel proud for the collective and individual accomplishments made."

Dr. Athanasiou is a professor of orthodontics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is president of the European Federation of Orthodontics and the Greek Orthodontic Society, and vice-president of the Hellenic Union of Orthodontists. He also serves as editor of the Hellenic Orthodontic Review, a member of editorial boards and a referee for several international orthodontic journals. He is an honorary member of the South African Orthodontic Society.

He has received many distinctions and awards, including the Edward Cherkas Memorial Award from Temple University and the Zendium Prize from the Aarhus University, and he will receive the 2001 Louise Ada Jarabak Memorial International Orthodontic Teachers and Research Award from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation during the 101st AAO Annual Session in Toronto.

Dr. Athanasiou received his dental and doctorate degrees from the University of Athens in 1979 and 1991, respectively. He received his certificate in orthodontics and his master's degree in dental sciences from Temple University in 1985.