A PRESENTATION ON THE BULGARIAN DIPLOMATIC SOCIETY

Short history:

The Bulgarian Diplomatic Society (BDS) was registered by Sofia City Court in March 1998 as a non-profit non-governmental organization. As of today the BDS encompasses 300 career diplomats and experts in the fields of international relations, Bulgarian foreign policy and international security. It does represent in a way the institutional memory of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service for the last more than 40 years.

Aside from the realm of diplomacy quite a few BDS members today apply their knowledge and skills to different other areas of Bulgaria’s economic, cultural and academic life. Some are being employed by international organizations. Others are teaching in universities and other institutions of higher learning. The BDS was proud to welcome the election of Mme Irina Bokova, a founding member of the BDS to the prestigious position of UNESCO Director General – the highest international office ever taken by a Bulgarian national.

The Bulgarian Diplomatic Society is open for membership to any current or former member of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service.

Structure:

In accordance with its Charter the BDS is run by the following main bodies:
a) General Assembly – the highest body of authority

b) Governing Board and its Chairman

c) Executive Director
d) Control Board

Current Composition of the Governing Board:

At the annual election session of the General Assembly on November 15, a new Governing Board was elected:

• Georgui Peichinov, Bulgarian envoy to China until 2012
• Delian Kapitanov, from the private sector
• Filip Bokov, Bulgarian envoy to Slovenia
• Ljubomir Kjuchukov, Ambassador to the Court of St James’ until 2012
• Pauline Popova, lawyer, former Foreign Policy Secretary of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• Plamen Grozdanov, Bulgarian envoy to the Russian Federation until 2012;
• Simeon Nikolov, former Defense Vice Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• Stefan Dimitrov, former Head of the Diplomatic Bureau of the Republic of Bulgaria in Bonn, Germany until 2012;
• Zlatin Trapkov, Bulgarian envoy to the Netherlands until 2012

At the same session Filip Bokov was elected Chairman of the Governing Board and Stefan Dimitrov as Executive Director. The Control Board is chaired by Andrey Karaslavov, Bulgarian Ambassador to Greece until the spring of 2012.

Media presence of the BDS

In March 2001 the BDS established an online digital publication for analysis “еxpert–bdd.com”. Gradually the publication asserted itself as a source of serious responsible analysis on foreign policy and international and national security matters and grew popular among teachers and students, journalists and analysts, as well as among a broader circle of compatriots abroad. Its Editor-in-chief since its establishment continues to be Mr. Simeon Nikolov, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Security and International Relations.

Contact points

Address: 9 Tzvetan Minkov str., 1202 Sofia, Bulgaria

TLF/Fax: +359-931 2188

E-mail: bddbul@abv.bg

www.expert-bdd.com