Ivaylo Georgiev Kalfin ( bg, Ивайло Георгиев Калфин; born 30 May 1964) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n politician. A three-term deputy, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2009 in the Stanishev Cabinet. Kalfin was a

Member of European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

between 2009 and 2014. Between 7 November 2014 and May 2016 he served as Deputy Prime-Minister of Bulgaria, and Minister of Labor and Social Policy in the Second Borisov Cabinet.

Biography

Born in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Kalfin completed his high school studies in the Lycée Français de Sofia. He later received his higher education at the

University of National and World Economy The University of National and World Economy ( bg, Университет за национално и световно стопанство) is a university in Sofia, Bulgaria. Notable alumni of the university are five Prime Ministers of Bulga ...

(1983–1988) and Loughborough University (1998–1999). His foreign language skills include

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. He is married and has a daughter. Kalfin founded the Social Democrats National Movement and served as the deputy president of the Common Parliamentary Committee Bulgaria-

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

between 1995 and 1998. A deputy in the 37th (1994-1997), 38th (2000-2001) and 40th (since 2005)

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ordin ...

, Kalfin has been part of the

Bulgarian National Bank The Bulgarian National Bank ( bg, Българска народна банка, Bohlgarska narodna banka, ), or BNB, is the central bank of the Republic of Bulgaria. Headquartered in Sofia, the bank was established in 1879. It is the 13th oldest ...

's Consultative Council since 2004. He observed the elections in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

in 2001 and 2004 as part of

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

missions in the region and has also worked as a senior university lecturer and manager in several consulting companies. Between 2002 and 2005, he was also an economic advisor to the

President of Bulgaria The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the head of state of Bulgaria and the commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Army. The official residence of the president is at Boyana Residence, Sofia. After the completion of the second round of votin ...

Georgi Parvanov Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Sto ...

. He became the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Deputy Prime Minister in 2005. He is a member of Internet Society - Bulgaria.

Relations with the Republic of Macedonia

On 24 July 2006, at the opening of a working conference with the heads of Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad, Kalfin became the first Bulgarian Foreign Minister to publicly voice his opinion against the misinterpretation and misappropriation of the

Bulgarian history The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of hominid occupation d ...

by the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

, saying that: On 28 July 2006 Kalfin appealed to the Skopje authorities to replace the director of the Macedonian cultural and informational centre in Sofia Stefan Vlahov-Mitsov: His statement was provoked by Mitsov's alleged participation in the management of

UMO Ilinden-Pirin UMO can refer to: * Unknown Mortal Orchestra, a psychedelic rock band from New Zealand * United Macedonian Organisation: Ilinden–Pirin, a Macedonian organization in Bulgaria * University of Maine at Orono (unofficial abbreviation) * Mozilla Add ...

, a controversial party largely regarded as Macedonist and anti-Bulgarian by the Bulgarian public.

European Parliament

In the European Parliament, Kalfin served as: * Vice-chairman of the Committee on Budgets, * Member of the Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis * Member of the Delegation for relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo * Substitute at the Committee on Budgetary Control * Substitute at the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy * Substitute at the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia

References

External links

Kalfin's biography at the European Parliament site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalfin, Ivaylo 1964 births Alumni of Loughborough University Bulgarian Socialist Party politicians Candidates for President of Bulgaria Coalition for Bulgaria MEPs Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Foreign ministers of Bulgaria Living people Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) MEPs for Bulgaria 2009–2014 Politicians from Sofia

Biography

Relations with the Republic of Macedonia

European Parliament

See also

References

External links