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Irina Bokova

Irina Georgieva Bokova (Bulgarian: Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017).[1][2] During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, among others, two terms as a member of the National parliament, and deputy minister of foreign affairs and minister of foreign affairs ad interim under Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. She also served as Bulgaria's ambassador to France and to Monaco, and was Bulgaria's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Bokova was also the personal representative of Bulgaria's president to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (2005–2009).[3]

Irina Bokova
Ирина Бокова
Bokova in 2009
10th Director-General of UNESCO
In office
15 October 2009 – 10 November 2017
DeputyGetachew Engida
Preceded byKōichirō Matsuura
Succeeded byAudrey Azoulay
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Acting
In office
13 November 1996 – 13 February 1997
Prime MinisterZhan Videnov
Preceded byGeorgi Pirinski
Succeeded byStoyan Stalev
Personal details
Born (1952-07-12) 12 July 1952 (age 71)
Sofia, People's Republic of Bulgaria
SpouseKalin Mitrev
Alma materMoscow State Institute of
International Relations
Signature
WebsiteOfficial biography

On 15 November 2009, she took office[4] as the ninth Director-General of UNESCO, marking two firsts: she became both the first female and the first Southeastern European to head the agency. At UNESCO, Bokova advocated for gender equality, improved education and preventing funding for terrorism, especially by enforcing the protection of intellectual goods. A firm opponent of racism and anti-Semitism, Director-General Bokova led UNESCO's activities on Holocaust remembrance.

Childhood and early years edit

Irina Bokova is the daughter of the communist politician Georgi Bokov, editor-in-chief of Rabotnichesko Delo, the official newspaper and organ of the Bulgarian Communist Party.[5] By descent Bokova is Bulgarian.[6] Bokova graduated from the First English Language School, and then went on to graduate from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, preparing young apparatchiks from the entire Eastern Bloc for future tasks such as diplomats and agents under the control of the KGB.[7] Subsequently, she worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, starting in 1977 as a third secretary and eventually becoming acting minister (ad interim) between 13 November 1996 – 13 February 1997. In 2015 German newspaper Die Welt discovered an error on her UNESCO biography page,[8] where she was named the minister, and not the ad interim. When it came to public attention, the error was immediately removed.[9]

Bokova was a member of the Bulgarian communist party until 1990, when the party was renamed in Bulgarian Socialist Party, and her membership was cancelled, after changes in the law that year required that employees of several ministries, among them Foreign Affairs, should not be members of any political party.[10] Bokova was two terms member of the Bulgarian Parliament – the first term in 1990-1991 during the 7th Grand (Constitutional) National Assembly, elected as a majoritarian representative[11] with the Bulgarian Socialist Party list, and the second, during the 39th National Assembly, in 2001–2005, with the Coalition for Bulgaria list.[12]

Personal edit

In addition to her mother tongue Bulgarian, she speaks English, French, Spanish and Russian.[13] She is married to Kalin Mitrev, a director at EBRD, and has two children.

Education edit

Career edit

Irina Bokova interview on Palmyra, 25 May 2015

Current positions edit

  • Former Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to France.
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Principality of Monaco.
  • Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Bulgaria to UNESCO.
  • Representative of the Bulgarian Government to the executive board of UNESCO (since the election of Bulgaria in October 2007).
  • Personal Representative of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria to Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
  • Deputy Chairperson, Group of Francophone Countries at UNESCO.
  • Chairperson of the Second Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (February 2008, Sofia).
  • Member of the Literary group Prix des Ambassadeur.

Parliamentary experience edit

  • Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Policy, Defense and Security Committee.
  • Member of the European Integration Committee.
  • Deputy Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee Bulgaria – European Union.

Civil society experience edit

  • Founder and Chairperson of the European Policy Forum (since its inception in Sofia in 1997), a non-profit, non-governmental organization.
  • Patron of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east–west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation, etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East.[15]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs edit

  • 2005–2009: Ambassador of Bulgaria to France and Monaco[16]
  • 2005–2009: Ambassador of Bulgaria to UNESCO[16]
  • November 1996 – February 1997: acting at the ministry of foreign affairs (ad interim)
  • June 1995 – February 1997, other positions held in the cabinet of Zhan Videnov, Bulgarian Socialist Party:
  • First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of UN, OSCE, EU and NATO.
  • Chief co-ordinator of Bulgaria–EU relations.[14]
  • Co-chairperson, Bulgaria – EU Association Committee.[14]
  • National PHARE Co-ordinator.[14]
  • Chairperson, Inter-Agency Co-ordination Commission on European Integration (at deputy ministerial level).
  • Took part as head of delegation or keynote speaker in a number of international fora.
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for European Studies.
  • 1984–1990: second and first secretary, Department UN and Disarmament[16]
  • 1982–1984: third secretary, Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the UN[16]
  • 1977–1982: intern and third secretary, Department UN and Disarmament[16]

UNESCO edit

On 22 September 2009, Bokova was elected Director-General of UNESCO.[17] She defeated nine candidates at the election in Paris, with Farouk Hosny ultimately being defeated by 31–27 in the fifth and last round of voting.[17] Hosny had been expected to win but attracted criticism from figures such as Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel over his anti-Israel statements.[17][18] She took over the position from Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan.[17] She entered the office of the Director-General as both the first woman, and the first Southeastern European to take this role.[17] On 15 October 2009, the 35th session of the General Conference elected Irina Bokova of Bulgaria as the tenth Director-General of UNESCO. The investiture took place in a ceremony in Room I in the afternoon of Friday 23 October 2009.

On 4 October 2013, the executive board of UNESCO nominated her for second term as Director-General.[19] She was re-elected by the UNESCO General Conference on 12 November 2013.[20]

In 2009, while most of the Bulgarian media was supportive[21] of Ms. Bokova's future role at the helm of UNESCO, some raised questions about her past as a daughter of a member of the totalitarian communist elite.[22] Bulgarian-born German writer Iliya Troyanov criticised Bokova's election as Director-General of UNESCO in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, calling it "a scandal," in light of Bokova's father's communist past.[23] On the other hand, The New York Times not only published an article, explaining who Mrs. Bokova is,[24] but also officially supported her nomination on the grounds that "[s]he played an active role in Bulgaria's political transformation from Soviet satellite to European Union member. That should be a strong asset in leading an organization badly buffeted in the past by ideological storms."[25]

On 16 January 2014, Irina Bokova yielded to pressure from the Arab League and postponed[26] for five months an exhibit entitled The People, the Book, the Land – 3,500 years of ties between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, following protest from the Arab states in UNESCO, arguing it would harm the peace process. Invitations had already gone out and the exhibit was scheduled to run from 21 January through 30 January at UNESCO's Paris headquarters with fully prepared exhibition material already in place. In a letter to Bokova, Abdulla al Neaimi, an official from the United Arab Emirates, expressed "deep worry and great disapproval" over the program showing the age old connection between Israel and the Jewish people.[27] The US State Department said it was outraged at the move, "UNESCO's decision is wrong and should be reversed."[28] Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said "is no appropriate rationale to delay the exhibition and deeply disappointed by the decision made to postpone it".[29] The Wiesenthal Center called the move an "Absolute outrage, the Arabs don't want the world to know that the Jews have a 3,500-year relationship to the Land of Israel".[30] The exhibition was opened on 11 June 2014 in Paris, in a ceremony with participation by Mrs. Bokova and the Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Rabbi Marvin Hier.[31] The exhibit was co-sponsored by Israel, Canada, and Montenegro, and was called "a breakthrough" by its author, professor Robert Wistrich.[32] On 18 November 2015 Irina Bokova was given the Special Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of the exhibition People, Book, Land: The 3,500 year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land in the U.S. capital. Bokova inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of Edward Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Israel's Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer and Rabbi Marvin Hier.[33][34]

On 28 March 2015, she launched Unite4Heritage, a campaign aiming to create a global movement "to protect and safeguard heritage in areas where it is threatened by extremists".[35] The campaign was triggered by the programmatic destruction of cultural heritage conducted in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since 2014, in particular after the circulation of videos of looting at Mosul Museum, destruction in the city of Nimrud and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hatra.

As Director-General of UNESCO, Bokova led efforts to block the trade in Syrian and Iraqi cultural artifacts to fund ISIS and other radical Islamist groups. These efforts led to the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 on 12 February 2015. This resolution officially recognized the link between illicit traffic and security, outlawed all trade in cultural goods from Iraq and Syria and requested that UNESCO coordinate efforts in this area with Interpol.[36] In response to the threat to Iraq's antiquities from increased violence and instability, Bokova implemented an emergency plan to safeguard artifacts of Iraq's cultural heritage.[37]

On 19 October 2015, German DW reported that Japan threatens to halt funding for UNESCO over the organization's decision to include documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the latest listing for its "Memory of the World" program. While the decision is not of the Director-General, a Japanese professor claimed that Mrs. Bokova might have interest in courting China.[38] In October 2016, after opposing an Arab-backed resolution in UNESCO denying Temple Mount's connection to Judaism, Bokova received death threats, prompting her protection to be reinforced.[39]

Post-UNESCO work edit

In 2018 it was announced that Irina Bokova will be teaching at the Kyung Hee University in Korea.[40] Kyung Hee University also awarded Bokova an honorary doctorate in Peace Studies, and she assumed the Miwon Professorship and the office of the honorary rector of the Humanitas College.[41][42]

In 2020[43] she was selected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Class V — Public Affairs, Business, and Administration, section Scientific, Cultural, and Nonprofit Leadership.[44]

United Nations Secretary-General Candidacy edit

Between mid-2014 and end-2016, Bokova was a candidate for the position of UN Secretary General.

In June 2014 the Bulgarian government nominated[45] Irina Bokova to be the official candidate of the country for the United Nations top job.

In January 2015 the new Bulgarian government confirmed[46] the candidacy, although the now-ruling conservative GERB was much less enthusiastic about Bokova than the former Socialist Party government that originally nominated her.[47] That same month former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski wrote in an article at the Wall Street Journal, that her work at UNESCO is "highly regarded", and that the Bulgarian government has "nominated her to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the next U.N. Secretary-General, and she is widely believed to be the frontrunner for that position".[48]

Responding to a Parliamentary question, on 18 May 2015 the Bulgarian foreign minister Daniel Mitov explained[49] the process, undertaken by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to support Irina Bokova's candidacy. He informed the Bulgarian Parliament that the campaign consists of three stages – information-consultative one – until September 2015, the essential stage – between September 2015 and April 2016, and the last stage – from May 2016 until October–December 2016.

On 9 February 2016 the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced that her candidacy for the top UN job has been officially submitted to the United Nations for consideration.[50] On 11 February Bulgarian media reported that the Foreign Ministry has allocated BGN 106,300 (approx. $60,000 at the time of the publication) for the election campaign.[51]

Her campaign ran into troubles after reports that the United Kingdom had opposed her elevation.[47] According to the Government of Russia, Germany began to organize to nominate another Bulgarian – European commissioner Kristalina Georgieva – as candidate to become Secretary General. It was alleged that German chancellor Angela Merkel put pressure on the government of Bulgaria to abandon Bokova's candidacy and instead nominate Georgieva, and had sought Russian support for this move. Germany categorically denied the allegation.[52]

After five informal polls at the UN Security Council, in which Bokova took between third and sixth place, on 28 September 2016, the Bulgarian government announced [53] that it was nominating Kristalina Georgieva as secretary-general candidate. Since the rules for nominating UN Secretary-General do not provide the option of replacing a candidate, unless they agreed to stand down, which Irina Bokova said[54] she would not do, from 28 September 2016 there were two Bulgarian candidates, with Kristalina Georgieva being the "sole and unique candidate of Bulgaria".[55]

Statements and positions edit

As a candidate to replace Ban Ki-moon, Bokova participated in informal dialogues at the UN and other conferences to defend her positions and explain her candidature. When prompted by St. Vincent and the Grenadines and an informal dialogue at the UN, Bokova responded by emphasizing her understanding of the problem as she had recently traveled to Haiti, and her acknowledgement of the various UN agencies that have make substantial efforts to cope with this issue.[56]

In response to a plenary question on the UN's role in regards to cholera in Haiti at the International Peace Institute, Bokova responded, "Of course I know about this problem and I know that there is a legal process that is being engaged in currently. I do not know the details of this legal process, I just know that it is going there and I know that there is an idea to establish a fund for indemnities. I will be advocating also for this action to be taken."[57]

On sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers, Bokova made this issue central to her vision statement. "I am determined to work with governments and the civil society to combat any kind of violence against women and girls... There can be no excuse for the appalling crimes of sexual violence and I consider that the UN has to take the lead in showing strong commitment to ending impunity for violence against women and girls."[58]

On jihadism, she said she would try to get the UN to do more to curb the threat of Isis, saying cultural dialogue and education were key to curbing jihadism which is "one of the threats to peace, one of the threats to societies," adding that "Isis/Daesh is about the destruction of societies. They pit communities against one another".[59]

Endorsements edit

Bokova's candidacy collected a number of endorsements. In July 2015 The Guardian published an article,[60] titled Will the next UN secretary general be a woman? with a picture of Irina Bokova and a description The head of Unesco, Irina Bokova from Bulgaria, is a favourite to become the UN's new secretary general in 2017.

Bulgarian weekly Capital wrote a page[61] about her candidacy, which states, among other,

Bokova demonstrates diplomatic and governance skills in a big international organization – UNESCO, which she heads for a second term. She has good reputation to the permanent five members of the UN Security Council. She speaks fluently English, French, Spanish and Russian – four of the six official UN languages (the requirement is for two). She has a clear vision about the mission and activity of the organization.

In July 2015 EurActiv published an article[62] by former Irish Minister for European Affairs and Minister for the Environment Dick Roche, titled The next UN Secretary-General? Bokova ticks all the boxes, arguing in favor of Irina Bokova's candidacy.

On 29 September 2015, David Clark, chairman of the Russia Foundation, published an article[63] in the Financial Times' beyondbrics forum. In it the author comments: "Of the women from Eastern Europe being discussed is Irina Bokova, the current head of UNESCO and former Bulgarian foreign minister. She is considered to be a front-runner."

On 2 October 2015, governor Bill Richardson wrote an opinion for The Washington Post, "The next U.N. secretary general should be a woman". There he describes women, who are considered as potential candidates. About Bokova, he writes, "several leading candidates are beginning to emerge. Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO and Bulgaria’s official candidate, fulfills many of the required criteria and is seen by many as the front-runner. She has taken a strong stance on the fight against extremism and terror financing and is actively championing women empowerment and girls’ education."[64]

On 4 July 2016 the French newspaper L'Opinion published an open letter in support of Irina Bokova's candidacy. The letter was signed by a number of prominent French, among them Christine Albanel, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Pierre Bergé, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, Yves Coppens, Édith Cresson, Xavier Darcos, Pierre Gattaz, Jean-Michel Jarre, Bariza Khiari, Beate Klarsfeld, Serge Klarsfeld, Julia Kristeva, Catherine Lalumière, Laurence Parisot, Stéphane Richard, Eric de Rothschild. They urged the French President and the French government to support the nomination of Bokova, as this is in the interests of France, and also to promote their position to the other members of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly.[65]

Awards and decorations edit

Award or decoration Date Place
Doctor honoris causa of Ewha Womans University May 2010 Seoul, Korea
Doctor honoris causa of Moscow State Institute of International Relations September 2010 Moscow, Russian Federation
Doctor honoris causa of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore October 2010 Milan, Italy
Doctor honoris causa of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo October 2010 Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Doctor honoris causa of National University of San Martín December 2010 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Doctor honoris causa in Law of Pontifical Catholic University of Peru February 2011 Lima, Peru
Doctor honoris causa of Philippine Normal University March 2011 Manila, Philippines
Quadricentennial Golden Cross Award of University of Santo Tomas March 2011 Manila, Philippines
Doctor honoris causa of National University of Political Studies and Public Administration Studies April 2011 Bucharest, Romania
Doctor honoris causa of Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center at Haifa University May 2011 Haifa, Israel
Doctor honoris causa of University of Edinburgh June 2011 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Doctor honoris causa of Mongolian University of Science and Technology July 2011 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Doctor honoris causa of Lomonosov Moscow State University September 2011 Moscow, Russian Federation
Doctor honoris causa of University of Algiers 1 April 2012 Algiers, Algeria
Doctor honoris causa of University of Dhaka May 2012 Dhaka, Bangladesh
Honorary Professor of Tongji University May 2012 Shanghai, China
Honorary Distinction of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava May 2012 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Honorary Distinction of Slovak Academy of Sciences May 2012 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Doctor honoris causa of Herzen University June 2012 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Doctor honoris causa of Durham University June 2012 Durham, United Kingdom
Doctor honoris causa of Laval University February 2013 Quebec, Canada
Doctor honoris causa of Tongji University May 2013 Shanghai, China
Doctor honoris causa of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam June 2013 Ha Noi, Vietnam
Doctor honoris causa of Eurasian National University August 2013 Astana, Kazakhstan
Doctor honoris causa in Humanities of University of Malaya September 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Honourable Medal and Diploma of National Academy of Sciences April 2014 Kyiv, Ukraine
Doctor honoris causa of University of Yaoundé I September 2014 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Doctor honoris causa of National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts October 2014 Paris, France
KOÇ-KAM Semahat Arsel Distinguished Fellow of Koç University January 2015 Istanbul, Turkey
Doctor honoris causa of University of National and World Economy January 2015 Sofia, Bulgaria
Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru February 2011 Lima, Peru
Grand Chancellor of the National Order of Chad March 2012 Chad
Title of Commander of the National Order of Benin June 2012 Benin
Officer of the Order of Cultural Merit March 2013 Monaco
Grand Officer of the Condecoracion de la Orden Jose Matias Delgado March 2013 El Salvador
Order of the People's Friendship of the Republic of Bashkortostan October 2013 Bashkortostan
National Order "Juan Mora Fernández" November 2013 Costa Rica
Order of Diplomatic Service Merit February 2014 Seoul, Korea
Hilal-i-Pakistan Award February 2014 Pakistan
Order of Friendship April 2014 Kazakhstan
Order of Stara Planina (1st class) 31 March 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Medal "Magtymguly Pyragy"[66] 15 May 2014 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Title of Commander of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite July 2014 Rabat, Morocco
Grand Officer of the Order of Valour of Cameroon September 2014 Cameroon
Title of Commander of the Legion of Honour[67] April 2015 Paris, France
Doctor honoris causa of EUniversity for Foreigners Perugia[68] Mars 2016 Perugia, Italia
Doctor honoris causa of University of Economics Varna[69] May 2016 Varna, Bulgaria
Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise[70] November 2017 Madrid, Spain
Doctor honoris causa of University of Paris-Sud[71] October 2018 Paris, France

On 10 June 2016, Bukova received the Global Summit of Women's Global Women's Leadership Award in Warsaw, Poland.[72]

On 6 April 2015, the French Embassy in Bulgaria announced that Bokova has been awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honour.[73]

On 31 March 2014, Bokova was officially awarded Bulgaria's highest national honour – the Order of Stara Planina (1st class) by president Rosen Plevneliev for her extremely significant merits to Bulgaria, bringing about an improvement in world peace and security indicators, and the development of political and cultural exchanges at the highest levels.[74][75]

References edit

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  2. ^ "Director-General, Audrey Azoulay". UNESCO. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  3. ^ Biography. unesco.org. Retrieved 21 July 2016
  4. ^ UNESCO. "Irina Bokova takes office as Director-General". UNESCO. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  5. ^ "A Glance at UNESCO's Next Leader". The New York Times. 22 September 2009. [dead link]
  6. ^ "Стандарт", Брой 5860, 8 май 2009 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. (in Bulgarian)
  7. ^ "Троянов срещу Бокова | България | DW.COM | 25.09.2009". DW.COM. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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  9. ^ Stefanie Bolzen (23 December 2015). "Frontrunner for top UN job exaggerates biography". Die Welt. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  10. ^ . Duma daily. 26 October 1990. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Several words about Irina (in Bulgarian)". Ivo Mirchev. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  12. ^ "List of Members of the 39th Bulgarian Parliament (in Bulgarian)". Dnevnik daily. 21 June 2001. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
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  14. ^ a b c d . Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
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  16. ^ a b c d e Tasho Tashev, Bulgarian ministers 1879-1999 ISBN 978-954-430-603-8 / ISBN 978-954-509-191-9. p. 61 (Book about members of the Bulgarian cabinets since 1979, in Bulgarian)
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  18. ^ STEVEN ERLANGER (22 September 2009). "Bulgarian Defeats Egyptian in Unesco Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
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  21. ^ . Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
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  23. ^ Warum die Unesco-Wahl ein Skandal ist (German), Summary in English, In Bulgarian
  24. ^ Bulgarian Who Is to Lead Unesco Advocates Political Pluralism, The New York Times, 24 September 2009.
  25. ^ The Right Head for Unesco, The New York Times, 28 September 2009.
  26. ^ Information regarding the planned exhibition, "People, Book, Land – The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land" (information from UNESCO)
  27. ^ "UN cancels Jewish exhibit at last minute on Arab complaints". Fox News Channel. 20 March 2015.
  28. ^ Charbonneau, Louis (17 January 2014). "U.S. chides UNESCO for putting Jewish exhibit on hold". Reuters.
  29. ^ "US, Canada urge UNESCO not to postpone exhibit on Land of Israel". The Jerusalem Post. 19 January 2014.
  30. ^ "UN cancels Jewish exhibit at last minute on Arab complaints". Fox News Channel.
  31. ^ "People, Book, Land: The 3500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land" exhibition opens at UNESCO (information from UNESCO web site)
  32. ^ UNESCO deletes ‘Israel’ from title of its exhibit on Jewish ties to Israel (article in The Times of Israel)
  33. ^ "UNESCO Head Irina Bokova Gets Simon Wiesenthal Center Special Award". Novinite.com.
  34. ^ . SWC. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  35. ^ "#Unite4Heritage campaign launched by UNESCO Director-General in Baghdad". UNESCO. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  36. ^ "We stand together to protect Iraq's cultural heritage, says French President with UNESCO Director-General". UNESCO. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  37. ^ Web Site, UNESCO. "Emergency Response Action Plan to safeguard Iraqi heritage". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  38. ^ Japan furious at UNESCO listing Nanjing Massacre documents
  39. ^ "UNESCO chief 'received death threats' for opposing Jerusalem motion". Times of Israel. 17 October 2016.
  40. ^ Irina Bokova Will Be Teaching at a Korean University article in Dnevnik daily (in Bulgarian)
  41. ^ Professor Irina Bokova Takes the Rostrum at Kyung Hee Article on the Kyung Hee University website.
  42. ^ Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO, Joins the "Future of Kyung Hee" Article on the Kyung Hee University website.
  43. ^ New 2020 Members Announced Website of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  44. ^ New Members Website of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  45. ^ Bulgaria nominates Bokova for UN Secretary General (EurActive)
  46. ^ Bulgaria puts forward Bokova's candidacy for UN Secretary-General(EurActive)
  47. ^ a b "Bokova still in running for UN chief: Bulgaria". www.yahoo.com. AFP. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  48. ^ Aleksander Kwasniewski (1 January 2015). "Leaders Among Equals". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  49. ^ Response by minister Mitov to a question by MP Kristian Vigenin (in Bulgarian, from the official site of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry)
  50. ^ Message from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry (in Bulgarian)
  51. ^ The State to provide BGN 106 300 for Irina Bokova campaign (article in 24 hours daily, in Bulgarian)
  52. ^ Gotev, Georgi (12 September 2016). "Rift brewing between Putin and Merkel over UN nomination". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  53. ^ Bulgaria Replaces Candidate for the United Nations' Top Job
  54. ^ I am still in the competition, 24 hours daily (in Bulgarian)
  55. ^ Letter to the President of the General Assembly (PDF)
  56. ^ "Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) – Informal dialogue for the position of the next UN Secretary-General". Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  57. ^ "The Secretary-General Candidates at IPI: Irina Bokova of Bulgaria". 21 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  58. ^ "UN Web TV". 28 July 2023.
  59. ^ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/un-secretary-general-frontrunner-irina-bokova-says-us-must-do-more-stop-isis-1571848 (article by Brendan Cole, published at International Business Times UK)
  60. ^ Salima Yacoubi Soussane (9 July 2015). "Will the next UN secretary general be a woman?". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  61. ^ Nikola Nikolov (16 August 2014). "On the road to the top of the UN". Capital Weekly. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  62. ^ The next UN Secretary-General? Bokova ticks all the boxes (article by Dick Roche, published at EurActiv)
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  64. ^ "The next U.N. secretary general should be a woman". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  65. ^ "ONU: l'urgence d'une nouvelle ère". L'Opinion. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  66. ^ Alsina. . Turkmenistan state news agency. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  67. ^ UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova awarded Order of the Legion of Honour
  68. ^ . Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  69. ^ "Irina Bokova will not run for president in forthcoming elections".
  70. ^ Document BOE-A-2017-12698 Spanish Official Journal
  71. ^ . Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  72. ^ "Director-General receives the 2016 Global Women's Leadership Award". UNESCO. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  73. ^ Irina Bokova, directrice générale de l’UNESCO, nommée commandeur de la Légion d’honneur 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine (from the site of the French Embassy in Sofia)
  74. ^ Указ № 211 Обн. ДВ. бр. 98 от 12 ноември 2013 г.
  75. ^ "Бокова получи орден "Стара планина" с лента и се върна в детството". mediapool.bg. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.

External links edit

  • Official page at UNESCO web site

Articles and Interviews edit

  • Education on the Frontline (Published on 30 January 2013, in Global Education Magazine)
  • UNESCO Chief: ISIS trying to erase world history (Christiane Amanpour speaks with Irina Bokova about ISIS' wanton destruction of the ancient sites in Iraq)
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
Acting

1996–1997
Succeeded by
Stoyan Stalev
Acting
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Director-General of UNESCO
2009–2017
Succeeded by

irina, bokova, this, biographical, article, written, like, résumé, please, help, improve, revising, neutral, encyclopedic, 2021, this, bulgarian, name, patronymic, georgieva, family, name, bokova, irina, georgieva, bokova, bulgarian, Ирина, Георгиева, Бокова, . This biographical article is written like a resume Please help improve it by revising it to be neutral and encyclopedic May 2021 In this Bulgarian name the patronymic is Georgieva and the family name is Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova Bulgarian Irina Georgieva Bokova born 12 July 1952 is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director General of UNESCO 2009 2017 1 2 During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria she served among others two terms as a member of the National parliament and deputy minister of foreign affairs and minister of foreign affairs ad interim under Prime Minister Zhan Videnov She also served as Bulgaria s ambassador to France and to Monaco and was Bulgaria s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Bokova was also the personal representative of Bulgaria s president to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie 2005 2009 3 Irina BokovaIrina BokovaBokova in 200910th Director General of UNESCOIn office 15 October 2009 10 November 2017DeputyGetachew EngidaPreceded byKōichirō MatsuuraSucceeded byAudrey AzoulayMinister of Foreign AffairsActingIn office 13 November 1996 13 February 1997Prime MinisterZhan VidenovPreceded byGeorgi PirinskiSucceeded byStoyan StalevPersonal detailsBorn 1952 07 12 12 July 1952 age 71 Sofia People s Republic of BulgariaSpouseKalin MitrevAlma materMoscow State Institute ofInternational RelationsSignatureWebsiteOfficial biography On 15 November 2009 she took office 4 as the ninth Director General of UNESCO marking two firsts she became both the first female and the first Southeastern European to head the agency At UNESCO Bokova advocated for gender equality improved education and preventing funding for terrorism especially by enforcing the protection of intellectual goods A firm opponent of racism and anti Semitism Director General Bokova led UNESCO s activities on Holocaust remembrance Contents 1 Childhood and early years 2 Personal 3 Education 4 Career 4 1 Current positions 4 2 Parliamentary experience 4 3 Civil society experience 4 4 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 4 5 UNESCO 4 6 Post UNESCO work 5 United Nations Secretary General Candidacy 5 1 Statements and positions 5 2 Endorsements 6 Awards and decorations 7 References 8 External links 8 1 Articles and InterviewsChildhood and early years editIrina Bokova is the daughter of the communist politician Georgi Bokov editor in chief of Rabotnichesko Delo the official newspaper and organ of the Bulgarian Communist Party 5 By descent Bokova is Bulgarian 6 Bokova graduated from the First English Language School and then went on to graduate from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations preparing young apparatchiks from the entire Eastern Bloc for future tasks such as diplomats and agents under the control of the KGB 7 Subsequently she worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria starting in 1977 as a third secretary and eventually becoming acting minister ad interim between 13 November 1996 13 February 1997 In 2015 German newspaper Die Welt discovered an error on her UNESCO biography page 8 where she was named the minister and not the ad interim When it came to public attention the error was immediately removed 9 Bokova was a member of the Bulgarian communist party until 1990 when the party was renamed in Bulgarian Socialist Party and her membership was cancelled after changes in the law that year required that employees of several ministries among them Foreign Affairs should not be members of any political party 10 Bokova was two terms member of the Bulgarian Parliament the first term in 1990 1991 during the 7th Grand Constitutional National Assembly elected as a majoritarian representative 11 with the Bulgarian Socialist Party list and the second during the 39th National Assembly in 2001 2005 with the Coalition for Bulgaria list 12 Personal editIn addition to her mother tongue Bulgarian she speaks English French Spanish and Russian 13 She is married to Kalin Mitrev a director at EBRD and has two children Education editThis section is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this section if appropriate Editing help is available May 2021 1971 First English Language School Sofia 1976 Moscow State Institute of International Relations MSc in international relations 1989 January August University of Maryland School of Public Affairs Washington D C Program on US foreign policy decision making process 1992 1994 NATO fellow Program for Central and Eastern Europe on democratic institutions focusing on the national and legal mechanism for the protection of minorities 1999 November December Harvard University John F Kennedy School of Government Executive Program in Leadership and Economic Development 14 Career edit source source source source source Irina Bokova interview on Palmyra 25 May 2015 Current positions edit This section is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this section if appropriate Editing help is available May 2021 Former Director General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to France Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Principality of Monaco Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Bulgaria to UNESCO Representative of the Bulgarian Government to the executive board of UNESCO since the election of Bulgaria in October 2007 Personal Representative of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria to Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie OIF Deputy Chairperson Group of Francophone Countries at UNESCO Chairperson of the Second Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage February 2008 Sofia Member of the Literary group Prix des Ambassadeur Parliamentary experience edit This section is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this section if appropriate Editing help is available May 2021 Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Policy Defense and Security Committee Member of the European Integration Committee Deputy Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee Bulgaria European Union Civil society experience edit This section is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this section if appropriate Editing help is available May 2021 Founder and Chairperson of the European Policy Forum since its inception in Sofia in 1997 a non profit non governmental organization Patron of the Asian University for Women AUW in Chittagong Bangladesh The university which is the product of east west foundational partnerships Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Open Society Foundation IKEA Foundation etc and regional cooperation serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East 15 Ministry of Foreign Affairs edit This section is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this section if appropriate Editing help is available May 2021 2005 2009 Ambassador of Bulgaria to France and Monaco 16 2005 2009 Ambassador of Bulgaria to UNESCO 16 November 1996 February 1997 acting at the ministry of foreign affairs ad interim June 1995 February 1997 other positions held in the cabinet of Zhan Videnov Bulgarian Socialist Party First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of UN OSCE EU and NATO Chief co ordinator of Bulgaria EU relations 14 Co chairperson Bulgaria EU Association Committee 14 National PHARE Co ordinator 14 Chairperson Inter Agency Co ordination Commission on European Integration at deputy ministerial level Took part as head of delegation or keynote speaker in a number of international fora Member of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for European Studies 1984 1990 second and first secretary Department UN and Disarmament 16 1982 1984 third secretary Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the UN 16 1977 1982 intern and third secretary Department UN and Disarmament 16 UNESCO edit On 22 September 2009 Bokova was elected Director General of UNESCO 17 She defeated nine candidates at the election in Paris with Farouk Hosny ultimately being defeated by 31 27 in the fifth and last round of voting 17 Hosny had been expected to win but attracted criticism from figures such as Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel over his anti Israel statements 17 18 She took over the position from Koichiro Matsuura of Japan 17 She entered the office of the Director General as both the first woman and the first Southeastern European to take this role 17 On 15 October 2009 the 35th session of the General Conference elected Irina Bokova of Bulgaria as the tenth Director General of UNESCO The investiture took place in a ceremony in Room I in the afternoon of Friday 23 October 2009 On 4 October 2013 the executive board of UNESCO nominated her for second term as Director General 19 She was re elected by the UNESCO General Conference on 12 November 2013 20 In 2009 while most of the Bulgarian media was supportive 21 of Ms Bokova s future role at the helm of UNESCO some raised questions about her past as a daughter of a member of the totalitarian communist elite 22 Bulgarian born German writer Iliya Troyanov criticised Bokova s election as Director General of UNESCO in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung calling it a scandal in light of Bokova s father s communist past 23 On the other hand The New York Times not only published an article explaining who Mrs Bokova is 24 but also officially supported her nomination on the grounds that s he played an active role in Bulgaria s political transformation from Soviet satellite to European Union member That should be a strong asset in leading an organization badly buffeted in the past by ideological storms 25 On 16 January 2014 Irina Bokova yielded to pressure from the Arab League and postponed 26 for five months an exhibit entitled The People the Book the Land 3 500 years of ties between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel following protest from the Arab states in UNESCO arguing it would harm the peace process Invitations had already gone out and the exhibit was scheduled to run from 21 January through 30 January at UNESCO s Paris headquarters with fully prepared exhibition material already in place In a letter to Bokova Abdulla al Neaimi an official from the United Arab Emirates expressed deep worry and great disapproval over the program showing the age old connection between Israel and the Jewish people 27 The US State Department said it was outraged at the move UNESCO s decision is wrong and should be reversed 28 Canada s Department of Foreign Affairs said is no appropriate rationale to delay the exhibition and deeply disappointed by the decision made to postpone it 29 The Wiesenthal Center called the move an Absolute outrage the Arabs don t want the world to know that the Jews have a 3 500 year relationship to the Land of Israel 30 The exhibition was opened on 11 June 2014 in Paris in a ceremony with participation by Mrs Bokova and the Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Marvin Hier 31 The exhibit was co sponsored by Israel Canada and Montenegro and was called a breakthrough by its author professor Robert Wistrich 32 On 18 November 2015 Irina Bokova was given the Special Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center at a ceremony in Washington D C for the inauguration of the exhibition People Book Land The 3 500 year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land in the U S capital Bokova inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of Edward Royce Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Israel s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer and Rabbi Marvin Hier 33 34 On 28 March 2015 she launched Unite4Heritage a campaign aiming to create a global movement to protect and safeguard heritage in areas where it is threatened by extremists 35 The campaign was triggered by the programmatic destruction of cultural heritage conducted in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL since 2014 in particular after the circulation of videos of looting at Mosul Museum destruction in the city of Nimrud and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hatra As Director General of UNESCO Bokova led efforts to block the trade in Syrian and Iraqi cultural artifacts to fund ISIS and other radical Islamist groups These efforts led to the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 on 12 February 2015 This resolution officially recognized the link between illicit traffic and security outlawed all trade in cultural goods from Iraq and Syria and requested that UNESCO coordinate efforts in this area with Interpol 36 In response to the threat to Iraq s antiquities from increased violence and instability Bokova implemented an emergency plan to safeguard artifacts of Iraq s cultural heritage 37 On 19 October 2015 German DW reported that Japan threatens to halt funding for UNESCO over the organization s decision to include documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the latest listing for its Memory of the World program While the decision is not of the Director General a Japanese professor claimed that Mrs Bokova might have interest in courting China 38 In October 2016 after opposing an Arab backed resolution in UNESCO denying Temple Mount s connection to Judaism Bokova received death threats prompting her protection to be reinforced 39 Post UNESCO work edit In 2018 it was announced that Irina Bokova will be teaching at the Kyung Hee University in Korea 40 Kyung Hee University also awarded Bokova an honorary doctorate in Peace Studies and she assumed the Miwon Professorship and the office of the honorary rector of the Humanitas College 41 42 In 2020 43 she was selected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Class V Public Affairs Business and Administration section Scientific Cultural and Nonprofit Leadership 44 United Nations Secretary General Candidacy editSee also United Nations Secretary General selection 2016 Between mid 2014 and end 2016 Bokova was a candidate for the position of UN Secretary General In June 2014 the Bulgarian government nominated 45 Irina Bokova to be the official candidate of the country for the United Nations top job In January 2015 the new Bulgarian government confirmed 46 the candidacy although the now ruling conservative GERB was much less enthusiastic about Bokova than the former Socialist Party government that originally nominated her 47 That same month former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski wrote in an article at the Wall Street Journal that her work at UNESCO is highly regarded and that the Bulgarian government has nominated her to succeed Ban Ki moon as the next U N Secretary General and she is widely believed to be the frontrunner for that position 48 Responding to a Parliamentary question on 18 May 2015 the Bulgarian foreign minister Daniel Mitov explained 49 the process undertaken by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support Irina Bokova s candidacy He informed the Bulgarian Parliament that the campaign consists of three stages information consultative one until September 2015 the essential stage between September 2015 and April 2016 and the last stage from May 2016 until October December 2016 On 9 February 2016 the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced that her candidacy for the top UN job has been officially submitted to the United Nations for consideration 50 On 11 February Bulgarian media reported that the Foreign Ministry has allocated BGN 106 300 approx 60 000 at the time of the publication for the election campaign 51 Her campaign ran into troubles after reports that the United Kingdom had opposed her elevation 47 According to the Government of Russia Germany began to organize to nominate another Bulgarian European commissioner Kristalina Georgieva as candidate to become Secretary General It was alleged that German chancellor Angela Merkel put pressure on the government of Bulgaria to abandon Bokova s candidacy and instead nominate Georgieva and had sought Russian support for this move Germany categorically denied the allegation 52 After five informal polls at the UN Security Council in which Bokova took between third and sixth place on 28 September 2016 the Bulgarian government announced 53 that it was nominating Kristalina Georgieva as secretary general candidate Since the rules for nominating UN Secretary General do not provide the option of replacing a candidate unless they agreed to stand down which Irina Bokova said 54 she would not do from 28 September 2016 there were two Bulgarian candidates with Kristalina Georgieva being the sole and unique candidate of Bulgaria 55 Statements and positions edit As a candidate to replace Ban Ki moon Bokova participated in informal dialogues at the UN and other conferences to defend her positions and explain her candidature When prompted by St Vincent and the Grenadines and an informal dialogue at the UN Bokova responded by emphasizing her understanding of the problem as she had recently traveled to Haiti and her acknowledgement of the various UN agencies that have make substantial efforts to cope with this issue 56 In response to a plenary question on the UN s role in regards to cholera in Haiti at the International Peace Institute Bokova responded Of course I know about this problem and I know that there is a legal process that is being engaged in currently I do not know the details of this legal process I just know that it is going there and I know that there is an idea to establish a fund for indemnities I will be advocating also for this action to be taken 57 On sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers Bokova made this issue central to her vision statement I am determined to work with governments and the civil society to combat any kind of violence against women and girls There can be no excuse for the appalling crimes of sexual violence and I consider that the UN has to take the lead in showing strong commitment to ending impunity for violence against women and girls 58 On jihadism she said she would try to get the UN to do more to curb the threat of Isis saying cultural dialogue and education were key to curbing jihadism which is one of the threats to peace one of the threats to societies adding that Isis Daesh is about the destruction of societies They pit communities against one another 59 Endorsements edit Bokova s candidacy collected a number of endorsements In July 2015 The Guardian published an article 60 titled Will the next UN secretary general be a woman with a picture of Irina Bokova and a description The head of Unesco Irina Bokova from Bulgaria is a favourite to become the UN s new secretary general in 2017 Bulgarian weekly Capital wrote a page 61 about her candidacy which states among other Bokova demonstrates diplomatic and governance skills in a big international organization UNESCO which she heads for a second term She has good reputation to the permanent five members of the UN Security Council She speaks fluently English French Spanish and Russian four of the six official UN languages the requirement is for two She has a clear vision about the mission and activity of the organization In July 2015 EurActiv published an article 62 by former Irish Minister for European Affairs and Minister for the Environment Dick Roche titled The next UN Secretary General Bokova ticks all the boxes arguing in favor of Irina Bokova s candidacy On 29 September 2015 David Clark chairman of the Russia Foundation published an article 63 in the Financial Times beyondbrics forum In it the author comments Of the women from Eastern Europe being discussed is Irina Bokova the current head of UNESCO and former Bulgarian foreign minister She is considered to be a front runner On 2 October 2015 governor Bill Richardson wrote an opinion for The Washington Post The next U N secretary general should be a woman There he describes women who are considered as potential candidates About Bokova he writes several leading candidates are beginning to emerge Irina Bokova director general of UNESCO and Bulgaria s official candidate fulfills many of the required criteria and is seen by many as the front runner She has taken a strong stance on the fight against extremism and terror financing and is actively championing women empowerment and girls education 64 On 4 July 2016 the French newspaper L Opinion published an open letter in support of Irina Bokova s candidacy The letter was signed by a number of prominent French among them Christine Albanel Yann Arthus Bertrand Pierre Berge Helene Carrere d Encausse Jean Pierre Chevenement Yves Coppens Edith Cresson Xavier Darcos Pierre Gattaz Jean Michel Jarre Bariza Khiari Beate Klarsfeld Serge Klarsfeld Julia Kristeva Catherine Lalumiere Laurence Parisot Stephane Richard Eric de Rothschild They urged the French President and the French government to support the nomination of Bokova as this is in the interests of France and also to promote their position to the other members of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly 65 Awards and decorations editAward or decoration Date Place Doctor honoris causa of Ewha Womans University May 2010 Seoul Korea Doctor honoris causa of Moscow State Institute of International Relations September 2010 Moscow Russian Federation Doctor honoris causa of Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore October 2010 Milan Italy Doctor honoris causa of St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo October 2010 Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria Doctor honoris causa of National University of San Martin December 2010 Buenos Aires Argentina Doctor honoris causa in Law of Pontifical Catholic University of Peru February 2011 Lima Peru Doctor honoris causa of Philippine Normal University March 2011 Manila Philippines Quadricentennial Golden Cross Award of University of Santo Tomas March 2011 Manila Philippines Doctor honoris causa of National University of Political Studies and Public Administration Studies April 2011 Bucharest Romania Doctor honoris causa of Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center at Haifa University May 2011 Haifa Israel Doctor honoris causa of University of Edinburgh June 2011 Edinburgh Scotland United Kingdom Doctor honoris causa of Mongolian University of Science and Technology July 2011 Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Doctor honoris causa of Lomonosov Moscow State University September 2011 Moscow Russian Federation Doctor honoris causa of University of Algiers 1 April 2012 Algiers Algeria Doctor honoris causa of University of Dhaka May 2012 Dhaka Bangladesh Honorary Professor of Tongji University May 2012 Shanghai China Honorary Distinction of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava May 2012 Bratislava Slovak Republic Honorary Distinction of Slovak Academy of Sciences May 2012 Bratislava Slovak Republic Doctor honoris causa of Herzen University June 2012 St Petersburg Russian Federation Doctor honoris causa of Durham University June 2012 Durham United Kingdom Doctor honoris causa of Laval University February 2013 Quebec Canada Doctor honoris causa of Tongji University May 2013 Shanghai China Doctor honoris causa of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam June 2013 Ha Noi Vietnam Doctor honoris causa of Eurasian National University August 2013 Astana Kazakhstan Doctor honoris causa in Humanities of University of Malaya September 2013 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Honourable Medal and Diploma of National Academy of Sciences April 2014 Kyiv Ukraine Doctor honoris causa of University of Yaounde I September 2014 Yaounde Cameroon Doctor honoris causa of National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts October 2014 Paris France KOC KAM Semahat Arsel Distinguished Fellow of Koc University January 2015 Istanbul Turkey Doctor honoris causa of University of National and World Economy January 2015 Sofia Bulgaria Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru February 2011 Lima Peru Grand Chancellor of the National Order of Chad March 2012 Chad Title of Commander of the National Order of Benin June 2012 Benin Officer of the Order of Cultural Merit March 2013 Monaco Grand Officer of the Condecoracion de la Orden Jose Matias Delgado March 2013 El Salvador Order of the People s Friendship of the Republic of Bashkortostan October 2013 Bashkortostan National Order Juan Mora Fernandez November 2013 Costa Rica Order of Diplomatic Service Merit February 2014 Seoul Korea Hilal i Pakistan Award February 2014 Pakistan Order of Friendship April 2014 Kazakhstan Order of Stara Planina 1st class 31 March 2014 Sofia Bulgaria Medal Magtymguly Pyragy 66 15 May 2014 Ashgabat Turkmenistan Title of Commander of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite July 2014 Rabat Morocco Grand Officer of the Order of Valour of Cameroon September 2014 Cameroon Title of Commander of the Legion of Honour 67 April 2015 Paris France Doctor honoris causa of EUniversity for Foreigners Perugia 68 Mars 2016 Perugia Italia Doctor honoris causa of University of Economics Varna 69 May 2016 Varna Bulgaria Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise 70 November 2017 Madrid Spain Doctor honoris causa of University of Paris Sud 71 October 2018 Paris France On 10 June 2016 Bukova received the Global Summit of Women s Global Women s Leadership Award in Warsaw Poland 72 On 6 April 2015 the French Embassy in Bulgaria announced that Bokova has been awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honour 73 On 31 March 2014 Bokova was officially awarded Bulgaria s highest national honour the Order of Stara Planina 1st class by president Rosen Plevneliev for her extremely significant merits to Bulgaria bringing about an improvement in world peace and security indicators and the development of political and cultural exchanges at the highest levels 74 75 References edit Directors General United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization www unesco org Retrieved 8 March 2018 Director General Audrey Azoulay UNESCO 13 November 2017 Retrieved 8 March 2018 Biography unesco org Retrieved 21 July 2016 UNESCO Irina Bokova takes office as Director General UNESCO Retrieved 14 March 2016 A Glance at UNESCO s Next Leader The New York Times 22 September 2009 dead link Standart Broj 5860 8 maj 2009 Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine in Bulgarian Troyanov sreshu Bokova Blgariya DW COM 25 09 2009 DW COM Retrieved 13 December 2015 UNESCO Irina Bokova UNESCO Retrieved 28 December 2015 Stefanie Bolzen 23 December 2015 Frontrunner for top UN job exaggerates biography Die Welt Retrieved 23 December 2015 Address by the President of Bulgaria to the personnel of the Ministries of Interior Defense Foreign Affairs Prosecution Office Secret Service and Intelligence Agency in Bulgarian Duma daily 26 October 1990 Archived from the original on 21 April 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 Several words about Irina in Bulgarian Ivo Mirchev 24 September 2009 Retrieved 3 April 2016 List of Members of the 39th Bulgarian Parliament in Bulgarian Dnevnik daily 21 June 2001 Retrieved 3 April 2016 Profile Irina Bokova Al Jazeera 25 September 2009 Archived from the original on 14 June 2015 a b c d Biography on Irina Bokova s personal web site Archived from the original on 13 October 2009 Retrieved 24 September 2009 Educating girls and women is the best way to fight poverty and build peace unesco org a b c d e Tasho Tashev Bulgarian ministers 1879 1999 ISBN 978 954 430 603 8 ISBN 978 954 509 191 9 p 61 Book about members of the Bulgarian cabinets since 1979 in Bulgarian a b c d e Bokova wins Unesco leadership vote Al Jazeera 22 September 2009 Retrieved 22 September 2009 STEVEN ERLANGER 22 September 2009 Bulgarian Defeats Egyptian in Unesco Vote The New York Times Retrieved 22 September 2009 Irina Bokova nominated by UNESCO Executive Board for the post of Director General UNESCO 4 October 2013 Retrieved 7 October 2013 UNESCO General Conference elects Irina Bokova for second term as Director General F e Don t Envy Rejoice Bulgarians In Bulgarian an editorial in Trud Bulgaria s best selling newspaper Archived from the original on 19 July 2011 Retrieved 26 September 2009 Is Bokova s Win a Win for the Entire Nation a blog posting by Ivo Indzhev a prominent Bulgarian journalist and blogger In Bulgarian Warum die Unesco Wahl ein Skandal ist German Summary in English In Bulgarian Bulgarian Who Is to Lead Unesco Advocates Political Pluralism The New York Times 24 September 2009 The Right Head for Unesco The New York Times 28 September 2009 Information regarding the planned exhibition People Book Land The 3 500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land information from UNESCO UN cancels Jewish exhibit at last minute on Arab complaints Fox News Channel 20 March 2015 Charbonneau Louis 17 January 2014 U S chides UNESCO for putting Jewish exhibit on hold Reuters US Canada urge UNESCO not to postpone exhibit on Land of Israel The Jerusalem Post 19 January 2014 UN cancels Jewish exhibit at last minute on Arab complaints Fox News Channel People Book Land The 3500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land exhibition opens at UNESCO information from UNESCO web site UNESCO deletes Israel from title of its exhibit on Jewish ties to Israel article in The Times of Israel UNESCO Head Irina Bokova Gets Simon Wiesenthal Center Special Award Novinite com UNESCO Director General Joins Top Congressional Leaders at Capitol Hill Opening of SWC Historical Exhibition on the Jewish People and The Holy Land SWC Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 6 January 2016 Unite4Heritage campaign launched by UNESCO Director General in Baghdad UNESCO Retrieved 15 May 2015 We stand together to protect Iraq s cultural heritage says French President with UNESCO Director General UNESCO Retrieved 13 August 2015 Web Site UNESCO Emergency Response Action Plan to safeguard Iraqi heritage Retrieved 13 August 2015 Japan furious at UNESCO listing Nanjing Massacre documents UNESCO chief received death threats for opposing Jerusalem motion Times of Israel 17 October 2016 Irina Bokova Will Be Teaching at a Korean University article in Dnevnik daily in Bulgarian Professor Irina Bokova Takes the Rostrum at Kyung Hee Article on the Kyung Hee University website Irina Bokova former Director General of UNESCO Joins the Future of Kyung Hee Article on the Kyung Hee University website New 2020 Members Announced Website of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences New Members Website of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Bulgaria nominates Bokova for UN Secretary General EurActive Bulgaria puts forward Bokova s candidacy for UN Secretary General EurActive a b Bokova still in running for UN chief Bulgaria www yahoo com AFP 13 September 2016 Retrieved 17 May 2021 Aleksander Kwasniewski 1 January 2015 Leaders Among Equals The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 22 August 2015 Response by minister Mitov to a question by MP Kristian Vigenin in Bulgarian from the official site of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Message from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry in Bulgarian The State to provide BGN 106 300 for Irina Bokova campaign article in 24 hours daily in Bulgarian Gotev Georgi 12 September 2016 Rift brewing between Putin and Merkel over UN nomination www euractiv com Retrieved 17 May 2021 Bulgaria Replaces Candidate for the United Nations Top Job I am still in the competition 24 hours daily in Bulgarian Letter to the President of the General Assembly PDF Irina Bokova Bulgaria Informal dialogue for the position of the next UN Secretary General Retrieved 27 June 2016 The Secretary General Candidates at IPI Irina Bokova of Bulgaria 21 June 2016 Retrieved 27 June 2016 UN Web TV 28 July 2023 http www ibtimes co uk un secretary general frontrunner irina bokova says us must do more stop isis 1571848 article by Brendan Cole published at International Business Times UK Salima Yacoubi Soussane 9 July 2015 Will the next UN secretary general be a woman The Guardian Retrieved 13 August 2015 Nikola Nikolov 16 August 2014 On the road to the top of the UN Capital Weekly Retrieved 13 August 2015 The next UN Secretary General Bokova ticks all the boxes article by Dick Roche published at EurActiv Eastern Europe must grab its chance to name the next UN Secretary General Financial Times Retrieved 1 October 2015 The next U N secretary general should be a woman The Washington Post Retrieved 10 October 2015 ONU l urgence d une nouvelle ere L Opinion 4 July 2016 Retrieved 5 July 2016 Alsina Turkmenistan segodnya veb sajt gosudarstvennogo informacionnogo agentstva Turkmenistana Ukazy Prezidenta Turkmenistana i Hronika 15 go maya Turkmenistan state news agency Archived from the original on 29 August 2019 Retrieved 3 June 2014 UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova awarded Order of the Legion of Honour Laurea Honoris Causa Unescowaterchair Archived from the original on 26 August 2019 Retrieved 26 August 2019 Irina Bokova will not run for president in forthcoming elections Document BOE A 2017 12698 Spanish Official Journal Quatre personnalites de renommee internationale distingues Docteur Honoris Causa de l Universite Paris Sud L actualite a l Universite Paris Sud Archived from the original on 26 August 2019 Retrieved 26 August 2019 Director General receives the 2016 Global Women s Leadership Award UNESCO Retrieved 24 July 2020 Irina Bokova directrice generale de l UNESCO nommee commandeur de la Legion d honneur Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine from the site of the French Embassy in Sofia Ukaz 211 Obn DV br 98 ot 12 noemvri 2013 g Bokova poluchi orden Stara planina s lenta i se vrna v detstvoto mediapool bg 31 March 2014 Retrieved 1 April 2014 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Irina Bokova Official page at UNESCO web site Articles and Interviews edit Education on the Frontline Published on 30 January 2013 in Global Education Magazine UNESCO Chief ISIS trying to erase world history Christiane Amanpour speaks with Irina Bokova about ISIS wanton destruction of the ancient sites in Iraq Political offices Preceded byGeorgi Pirinski Minister of Foreign AffairsActing1996 1997 Succeeded byStoyan StalevActing Diplomatic posts Preceded byKōichirō Matsuura Director General of UNESCO2009 2017 Succeeded byAudrey Azoulay Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Irina Bokova amp oldid 1198966056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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