Humanitarian lawyer Amal Alamuddin’s high-profile marriage to the world’s former most eligible bachelor George Clooney comes at a most opportune time for Greece’s bid for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. Ms. Alamuddin, the leggy beauty with the luscious locks and Ivy League education, is part of the delegation that will meet with Culture Minister Kostas Tasoulas and other Greek officials this week. Though her inclusion in a delegation calling for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece preceded her high-profile marriage, her catapult to fame is only helping draw attention to Greece’s plea for the return of its stolen artefacts.
Initially, Ms. Alamuddin was to visit Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras last month, but the delay appears to have worked in Greece’s favor as the sheer fact that the Parthenon Marbles is her first legal job as the married Mrs. Clooney has made the marbles a hot topic of debate splashed across the international press from gossip magazines to high-brow archaeological journals.
Amal with Geoffrey Robertson, the man that is to the legal world what George Clooney is to showbusiness!
Ms. Alamuddin has the fame, but the leader of the delegation of lawyers meeting in Athens is acclaimed Australian human rights QC Geoffrey Robertson who in 2007 managed to work magic by legally claiming the return of Aboriginal antiquities that were held at the Museum of the Natural History of Britain. His focus on the Parthenon Marbles has been long in the woodworks. An announcement by Doughty Street Chambers says:
“Mr. Robertson and Mrs. (George) Clooney were first asked to provide legal advice to the Greek government on this matter in 2011. They will be holding a series of meetings with government officials during their stay, including the Prime Minister, Mr Antonis Samaras, and the Minister of Culture, Mr Konstantinos Tasoulas.”
Three years onwards, the time is ripe for a collaboration that has been three years in the works.
Though the tug of war between the Greek government and the British Museum has a long history, the new players championing the return of the stolen artefacts will breathe new life into Greece’s hopes for the return of the Parthenon Marbles that had once been the late Melina Mercouri’s dream.
