Stefan Tafrov is a

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 ...

n politician, born on 11 February 1958, 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 ...

. He was the Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

between 2001 and 2006, being replaced by Ivan T. Piperkov. In September 2002 and December 2003, as part of the standard presidency rotation, he took up the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. In June 2012, he was once again appointed as the Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations, and served until 2016. He graduated from the

Lycée Français de Sofia Lycée Français Alphonse de Lamartine de Sofia (LFAL, in Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: 9-та френска езикова гимназия „Алфонс дьо Ламартин", ФЕГ) is a selective school, selective French language, F ...

, in 1977. After receiving a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from

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 ...

in 1983, Mr. Tafrov worked until 1987 as a staff writer for the weekly newspaper

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

, in Sofia. Prior to his UN appointment, Mr. Tafrov was his country's Ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He also served as the permanent delegate of Bulgaria to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

). From 1991 to 1997, he held a number of

diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

posts, serving two separate terms as the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of his country, and also as Ambassador to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. From 1989 to 1991, he worked as head of the foreign desk of the daily newspaper Democratzia, in Sofia, Bulgaria. During that same period, he also headed the International Relations Department of the Union of Democratic Forces, and was the foreign affairs adviser to the

President of the Republic of Bulgaria This is a list of the heads of the modern Bulgarian state, from the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria to the present day. It also lists the general secretaries of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1948–1990. From 1948 onwards, th ...

. Tafrov has been decorated as Commandeur de la

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of France, and is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies of London,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tafrov, Stefan 1958 births Living people Diplomats from Sofia Sofia University alumni Journalists from Sofia Ambassadors of Bulgaria to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Bulgaria to France Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Italy Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Malta Permanent representatives of Bulgaria to the United Nations Permanent delegates of Bulgaria to UNESCO 21st-century Bulgarian politicians Politicians from Sofia Bulgarian translators French–Bulgarian translators Recipients of the Legion of Honour 21st-century translators