Professor Symeonidis was born in Lythrodonta and studied at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, obtaining a law degree in 1972 with a grade of 10, followed in 1973 by a degree in Political Science from the same university. He went on to study on a scholarship at Harvard University, where he obtained a Master of Laws and an S.J.D. In 1976, he began his teaching career in Thessaloniki and in 1978 moved to the University of Louisiana, where he also served as Vice-Chancellor for seven years.
In Louisiana, he held the distinguished Albert Tate Chair. In 1999, he was elected Dean of Willamette University in Oregon, USA, a position he held for twelve years. At this university, he holds the distinguished Alex L. Parks Chair, and has been named Dean Emeritus.
He has published 30 books and 150 legal studies in eight languages. The Supreme Courts of the US, the United Kingdom and Israel have made 25 honourable citations to his work, describing him as ‘a leading authority on US law’. He has also been described as ‘the undisputed leader’ and ‘a giant of private international law’ in the US, ‘the father of codifications’ and ‘the world’s leading expert on comparative private international law’. In addition to his academic career, he has a prolific legislative record, which includes codifications for three US states, participation in the drafting of two international treaties, and the provision of legislative advice to international organisations, the European Parliament and national governments.
Despite his long absence from Cyprus, Professor Symeonides always maintained close ties with the island, He played a significant role in the 1989 trial in Indianapolis concerning the return to Cyprus of the four Kanakaria mosaics, whilst he was involved in numerous other cases concerning the recovery of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Cyprus through legal proceedings, contributing his expertise as a specialist in cultural heritage law and private international law. He also represented Cyprus at several conferences and organisations in the US and Europe. During Cyprus’s EU Presidency in 2012, he travelled to Brussels and, for six months, chaired or participated in European integration processes relating to key regulations under European law, including the revision of Brussels I and the negotiation of Rome III. Of particular significance was also his acceptance of the appointment as head of the committee that contributed to the establishment of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cyprus.
His international recognition is evident, amongst other things, in his appointment as President of the International Association of Legal Sciences and the American Society of Comparative Law. He has been elected a Member of the American Law Institute and a member of the Coif, and has served as President of the Association of American Law Schools in the field of private international law. Among his many honours is his election in 2021 as a member of the Academia Europaea. In 2019, he was elected an honorary member of the Institut de Droit International. In 2017, he was appointed honorary professor at East China University and an external member of the Venezuelan Academy of Political and Social Sciences. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Cyprus, Willamette University and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has been honoured with the Robert L. Misner Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship (2016) and the Certificate of Merit from the American Society of International Law (2015), whilst the American Society of Comparative Law has honoured him with the Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), the Courtland H. Peterson Senior Scholar Prize (2013), and the Friedrich K. Juenger Prize in Private International Law (2001). The Academia Mexicana de Derecho Privado y Comparado named its 2011 national conference in his honour, whilst he was honoured by the American Association of Private International Law for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of private international law. The Louisiana Law Review dedicated an entire issue to him in 2000. In recognition of his work, the Academy awarded him the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus in 2022.
