Anastasios (Tasos) Kioses
SFWAF News:
The community is invited to a Santa Fe World Affairs Forum (SFWAF) lunch program discussion with Anastasios (Tasos) Kioses, 12-2 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, in the Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) Board Room (Room 223).
Alexander the Great is thought to have said, “May God keep you away from the venom of the cobra, the teeth of the tiger and the revenge of the Afghans”. Winston Churchill wrote in 1897, “Financially it is ruinous. Morally it is wicked. Militarily is an open question and politically it is a blunder”.
This is not a talk that involves analyses of the Afghan situation but rather a narrative of photographic portraits and experiences during Tasos’ assignment in Afghanistan with the United Nations from 2017-2025.
Tasos is a recent retiree from the United Nations. He has worked in the private sector (Air France in Paris, France, and the Athens Olympic Committee for the 2004 Games), the State Department in Athens, Greece, and the United Nations from 2006 to 2025. He has served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, the Republic of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and last but not least, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from August 2017 to June 2025.
He is a graduate of San Diego State University (Class of 1984), specializing in Political Science – International Affairs. His professional expertise revolves around administrative affairs and contract management, where over his 35-year career, he has successfully managed contracts worth in the hundreds of millions of United States dollars with considerable savings.
His interests and passions involve traveling and immersing himself in different cultures as well as photography. He is fluent in French and English, Greek (native language) and is struggling to keep up with his Spanish language skills.
Afghanistan is also colloquially known as the “Graveyard of Empires”. From Alexander the Great in the 330s BC, the three Anglo-Afghan wars in the 19th and early 20th century, the Soviet Union invasion in 1979 and its subsequent withdrawal in 1989, to the recent United States led war for 20 years that ended in the withdrawal in 2021, Afghanistan has successfully warded off the greatest empires of the time. Its strategic location on the land route between Persia (Iran) India and central Asia made it a prize for empires to (unsuccessfully) control for centuries.
The cost for this lunch program is $26 for SFWAF members and $36 for non-members. Payment may be made by check made out to SFWAF and mailed to the Santa Fe World Affairs Forum, PO Box 31965, Santa Fe, NM 87594, or by credit card through PayPal. Please indicate on the check – or if using Paypal (“add special instructions to the seller”) that the payment is for the Dec. 4, 2025 program: https://sfwaf.org/payment/.
Nonmembers, please include their best contact information. If interested in membership, please email sfwaforum@outlook.com.
Payment for this program is nonrefundable after Friday, Nov. 28. SFWAF strongly prefers that payment be made by PayPal or check postmarked by Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, to facilitate check-in. If mailing a check, please also email sfwaforum@outlook.com to ensure attendance is confirmed.
Santa Fe Community College Board Room (#223) is in the West Wing (Administration Building). The college is located at 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Enter through the building’s main entrance (on the left side of the building behind the flag poles). The Board Room is on the corridor to the left of the Campus Center.
Directions: From Rodeo Road turn south onto Richards Avenue. Turn into the campus main drive. Parking lots are in front of the building. From I-25 take the Cerrillos Road exit, turn east onto Governor Miles Road and then right onto Richards Avenue. Then follow directions above.