Ivan Ilchev (),

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in history, the rector of

Sofia University Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...

(the oldest and biggest higher education facility in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

) between 2007 and 2015. He specialized in modern history of the Balkan peoples. Ivan Ilchev was born on June 25, 1953, in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. His father is Ilcho Dimitrov, also a famous historian and former minister of education. His mother is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. Ilchev graduated from the 114 English High School in Sofia. He continued his education in Sofia University, where he graduated in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. After his graduation, in 1978, he became

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

at the History Department of the Sofia University and

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in 1987. He was awarded the title of professor of modern history of the Balkan Peoples in 1995. Ivan Ilchev has lectured in

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in Columbus,

Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both ...

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, the University of Chiba, Japan, the universities of Leipzig, Thessaloníki, Oxford, Chicago and many other famous universities. He was dean of the History Department of Sofia University and member of the Academic Council from 2003 to 2007. Ilchev is also an active member of the Social Council of

Bulgarian National Television The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgaria ...

and the Public Museum Council at the Ministry of Culture. At the beginning of November 2007, professor Ilchev was elected rector of the Sofia University, after a

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

, by 218 votes to 90 for the other candidate. He was reelected in 2011. He is corresponding member of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; , ''Bŭlgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated БАН) is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy, with headquarters in Sofia, is autonomous and consists of a S ...

Selected publications

Ivan Ilchev has published 13 books, 2 of them in co-authorship with other academics. The most renowned of them - in Bulgarian, titles translated - are: * The Rose of the Balkans. A Short History of Bulgaria. Sofia 2005 * Bulgarian Parliament and Bulgarian Statehood. 125 Years National Assembly 1879-2005 (with V. Kolev, V. Yanchev). Sofia 2005 * Middle Time. Or the Bulgarian between two centuries. Sofia, Colibri 2005 * Touching America (with Plamen Mitev). Sofia 2003 * To the Wester, To the Westest — Japan. Letters of a gaijin. Sofia, Colibri 2001 * My Fatherland — right or not. Exterior propaganda of Balkan peoples. 1821-1923. Sofia 1995 * Advertisement during Bulgarian Renaissance. Sofia 1995 * Bulgaria and the Triple Entente during World War I. Sofia 1990 * Winston Churchill and the Balkans. Sofia 1989, second issue Riva, 2007

Honours

Ilchev Buttress on

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after Ivan Ilchev.

References

External links

Ivan Ilchev
on the homepage of University of Sofia (in Bulgarian) *
Article
in the journal "Dnevnik", November 15, 2007, about the election of Ivan Ilchev with his biography (in Bulgarian, retrieved on Dec 27, 2012)
Europass
Curriculum Vitae, comprehensive biography of Ivan Ilchev. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilchev, Ivan 1953 births Living people 20th-century Bulgarian historians Sofia University alumni Academic staff of Sofia University Rectors of Sofia University Ohio State University faculty 21st-century Bulgarian historians