The passing of refinery and shipping tycoon Vardis Vardinogiannis on Tuesday, only a few weeks before his 91st birthday, as expected resulted in numerous tributes and anecdotes recalling his successes and eventful life.
Beyond his business acumen and philanthropism, the native Cretan and Hellenic Navy career officer (1955-1967) was also remembered for his emblematic testimony during the trial of the “17 November” urban terrorists in the mid-2000s.
Members of the ultra-leftist terror group had fired RPGs at his luxury sedan in November 1990, with Vardinogiannis surviving due to the vehicle’s armor plating.
When summoned as a witness for the state’s prosecution, one of Greece’s most influential business leaders promptly appeared and stared down his would-be assassins from the witness stand.
“Who’re lucky you’re here and that I didn’t find you earlier,” was his widely reported statement at the time.
He went on to describe the horror and pain he experienced during the rocket attack, before continuing his scathing testimony in front of the subsequently convicted N17 defendants, with the most prominent trio of terrorists – Alexandros Giotopoulos, Dimitris Koufodinas and Savvas Xiros – still incarcerated.
Asked to describe the assassination attempt against him, Vardinogiannis, whose family owned the Panathinaikos Athens FC team at the time, said: “It was like Saravakos taking a penalty shot and hitting the post,” he characteristically commented, referring to star striker Dimitris Saravakos, one of Panathinaikos’ standouts during that era.
