Irina Bokova belongs to the political record as a figure whose decisions outlasted the moment that produced them.
The record lists Irina Bokova as Bulgarian diplomat.
Irina Bokova was born at Sofia in 1952. Her recorded nationality is Bulgaria. She was educated at Moscow State Institute of International Relations and John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Twentieth-century politics was conducted under the shadow of two world wars, decolonisation and the Cold War, and broadcast to electorates that could watch it happen.
The offices held were Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996–1997), Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017) and Ambassador of Bulgaria to France (2005–2009).
Her political affiliation is recorded as Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Political reputations are settled slowly, and rarely by the people who made them.
Recognition followed: Commander of the Legion of Honour, Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2017), Order of Stara Planina (2014) and Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru.
That the career was made in Bulgaria is not incidental: the institutions available, the franchise, and the constraints of the moment all shaped what could be attempted.
Irina Bokova's career is not finished, and the historical verdict on it has not been reached.
Achievements
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996–1997)
- Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017)
- Ambassador of Bulgaria to France (2005–2009)
- Special Guest of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1990–1992)
- Commander of the Legion of Honour
- Officer of the National Order of Quebec — 2017
- Order of Stara Planina — 2014
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru
- Educated at Moscow State Institute of International Relations and John F. Kennedy School of Government
