Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SOFIA537
2009-09-24 14:56:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Sofia
Cable title:
BIO NOTES FOR NEW BULGARIAN UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL
how-toVZCZCXRO3442 OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHSF #0537 2671456 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 241456Z SEP 09 FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6346 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RUEHVEN/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA AU IMMEDIATE RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE RUEHFR/UNESCO PARIS IMMEDIATE RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA IMMEDIATE 0038 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 1068
UNCLAS SOFIA 000537
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
PASS TO EUR/CE TOMIKA KONDITI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BIO NOTES FOR NEW BULGARIAN UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL
REF: PARIS 1301
UNCLAS SOFIA 000537
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
PASS TO EUR/CE TOMIKA KONDITI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BIO NOTES FOR NEW BULGARIAN UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL
REF: PARIS 1301
1. (SBU) Bulgarian media have responded generally
positively to reports of Irina Georgieva Bokova's September
22 election as the Director-General of UNESCO (reftel). A
career diplomat and politician, Bokova was born on July 12,
1952. She comes from a family with long ties to the former
Bulgarian Communist Party and current Bulgarian Socialist
Party (BSP) and the only negative reaction to her election
stems from these family connections. Her father, Georgi
Bokov, was a high ranking Bulgarian Communist Party official
and editor of a party newspaper. Bokova's brother, Philip
Bokov, served as chief of staff to Bulgaria's last Prime
Minister, Sergei Stanishev, and is now Bulgaria's Ambassador
to Slovenia. After graduating from the English LanguQdvQgL-rsQh$ol in Sofia in 1971, Bokova received a Master's Degree in
international relations from the Moscow State Institute of
International Relations in 1976. A year later she began a
diplomatic career, spending the majority of her time in New
York and Sofia. She served as a member of parliament in the
7th Grand National Assembly from 1990-1991. In 1996, Bokova
was a vice-presidential candidate running with Ivan Marazov
of the BSP, who lost the election. That same year, Bokova
became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later served as
the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Zhan Videnov's
short-lived Socialist government from 1996 to 1997.
2. (SBU) From 2001-2005, Bokova served in the 39th National
Assembly as a representative of the Coalition for Bulgaria.
She is currently serving as Bulgaria's Ambassador to France
and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Bokova enjoys good
relations with President Georgi Parvanov, who was firmly
behind her bid for the UNESCO position. She is married to
Kalin Mitriev, EBRD's Director for Bulgaria, Poland, and
Albania and has two children from a previous marriage. She
speaks excellent English, as well as Russian, French, and
Spanish.
ORDWAY
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
PASS TO EUR/CE TOMIKA KONDITI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BIO NOTES FOR NEW BULGARIAN UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL
REF: PARIS 1301
1. (SBU) Bulgarian media have responded generally
positively to reports of Irina Georgieva Bokova's September
22 election as the Director-General of UNESCO (reftel). A
career diplomat and politician, Bokova was born on July 12,
1952. She comes from a family with long ties to the former
Bulgarian Communist Party and current Bulgarian Socialist
Party (BSP) and the only negative reaction to her election
stems from these family connections. Her father, Georgi
Bokov, was a high ranking Bulgarian Communist Party official
and editor of a party newspaper. Bokova's brother, Philip
Bokov, served as chief of staff to Bulgaria's last Prime
Minister, Sergei Stanishev, and is now Bulgaria's Ambassador
to Slovenia. After graduating from the English LanguQdvQgL-rsQh$ol in Sofia in 1971, Bokova received a Master's Degree in
international relations from the Moscow State Institute of
International Relations in 1976. A year later she began a
diplomatic career, spending the majority of her time in New
York and Sofia. She served as a member of parliament in the
7th Grand National Assembly from 1990-1991. In 1996, Bokova
was a vice-presidential candidate running with Ivan Marazov
of the BSP, who lost the election. That same year, Bokova
became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later served as
the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Zhan Videnov's
short-lived Socialist government from 1996 to 1997.
2. (SBU) From 2001-2005, Bokova served in the 39th National
Assembly as a representative of the Coalition for Bulgaria.
She is currently serving as Bulgaria's Ambassador to France
and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Bokova enjoys good
relations with President Georgi Parvanov, who was firmly
behind her bid for the UNESCO position. She is married to
Kalin Mitriev, EBRD's Director for Bulgaria, Poland, and
Albania and has two children from a previous marriage. She
speaks excellent English, as well as Russian, French, and
Spanish.
ORDWAY