Nikola Poposki (born 24 October 1977 in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

) was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

of 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 ...

until 31 May 2017. Prior to that role, in 2010–2011 he served as the country's ambassador to the

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 ...

Education

Nikola Poposki received a BA in Economics from Skopje University and from Nice University in 2002 and a Master in Languages and International Trade in the EU from Skopje University and Rennes University in 2004. He later received a master's degree from the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Career

Foreign policy

Speaking to the Israel Council on Foreign Relations in March 2016, Poposki addressed, in his capacity as Foreign Minister, the recent critiques of the international press with regards to his country's handling of the migrant crisis. He stated: "We’re willing to give them humane treatment and safe transit, but no way will we take the burden for problems that the EU is not ready to resolve," referring to the directives demanded of European countries onto Macedonia even though the latter has been refused so far membership to either the European Community or to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Awards and decorations

*2016: Grand Officer of the

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( it, Stella della solidarietà italiana ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or ...

References

External links