Popular UK author Victoria Hislop granted Greek citizenship

British author Victoria Hislop has been granted honorary Greek citizenship and met with the prime minister of Greece

Honorary Greek citizenship may be granted in recognition of an individual’s special contribution to the country. Actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actor and producer Rita Wilson, were given the honor last year for their support in raising money for victims of a deadly Greek wildfire. The couple received Greek passports this year.

Hislop was officially sworn in as a Greek citizen in Athens on Thursday. She said she was honored by the gesture.

“I love Greece with all its problems and difficulties, not just because it’s a beautiful country,” she said at her meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Hislop said she had already framed a copy of her naturalization certificate that was sent to her home in England.

“That’s already up on my wall,” she said. “But now I have the original.”

source: abcnews.go.com