Nikolay Mladenov

Nikolay Mladenov
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
Incumbent
Assumed office 2010
Member of the European Parliament for Bulgaria
In office 2007–2009
Personal details
Born	Nikolay Evtimov Mladenov
Nationality	Bulgarian

Nikolay Evtimov Mladenov (Bulgarian: Николай Евтимов Младенов) is a Bulgarian politician who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov since 2010. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009 and was Minister of Defense from 27 July 2009 to 27 January 2010.

Biography

Nikolay Mladenov was born on 5 May 1972 in Sofia. In 1995, he graduated from the University of National and World Economy, majoring in International Relations. The following year he obtained a MA in War Studies from King's College London.

Between 1996 and 1998 he was Program Director of the Open Society Foundation in Sofia, followed by an appointment as a program coordinator in the social department of the World Bank for Bulgaria. In 1999 he founded the European Institute in Sofia and was its director until 2001. He was a member of parliament for the United Democratic Forces in the 39th National Assembly, Parliamentary Secretary (until March 2002), and Vice Chairman of the Committee on European Integration and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security.

On 12 March 2002 was elected to the National Executive Council of the party Union of Democratic Forces. Later he was appointed spokesman of the party. From 22 February 2004 he was the vice-president of UDF, resigning on 16 August 2005.

From 2005 to 2007 he served as a consultant to the World Bank. International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute in Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries. In 2006 he was an adviser to parliamentary committees on defense and foreign policy and cooperation of the Iraqi Parliament.

He was number 3 on the candidate list of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party for the European elections 2007. As a member of the European Parliament Mladenov was a member of the Committees on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Foreign Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. He was also the first vice chairman of the EP delegation for relations with Iraq and member of the delegations to Israel and Afghanistan.

He is a signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.

Political career

Mladenov is considered by many to be a Western-oriented, bright politician. During his tenure as Defense Minister, he increased Bulgarian deployment to Afghanistan, and also improved United States-Bulgaria relations immensely. An excerpt from a US diplomtic cable recovered in the Cablegate scandal solidifies this:

February 2010 US Diplomatic Cable from Sofia

Mladenov, 37, is one of the youngest and brightest stars in Borissov's cabinet. A former Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Mladenov was the first person to become Minister of Defense without military experience. Mladenov is modern-thinking and western oriented. He is dynamic, with a famous work ethic and the strategic vision to challenge entrenched interests inside the military and his ministry. While Minister of Defense, Mladenov made deepening the United States-Bulgaria relationship his top priority and worked to expand deployments to Afghanistan and find creative new uses for the joint bases. While he made progress, much of his time and attention was drawn into cleaning up the legal, structural, and budgetary mess left behind by the previous Minister. We can expect Mladenov to take his reformist, transatlanic attitude with him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It is rumored that he will continue to have input into important security decisions, though how this will work in practice is not yet clear. He will undoubtedly represent Bulgaria well in his new role and will put a young, modern face on Bulgaria.

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External links

• Biography
• Personal Blog (Bulgarian)