Nickolay Mladenov

Nickolai Evtimov Mladenov (Bulgarian: Николай Евтимов Младенов; born 5 May 1972) is a Bulgarian politician and diplomat who served as the minister of foreign affairs in the government of then prime minister Boyko Borisov from 2010 to 2013. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009 and was Minister of Defense from 27 July 2009 to 27 January 2010. On 2 August 2013 Mladenov was appointed as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. On 5 February 2015, Mladenov was appointed UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Not to be confused with Nikola Mladenov.

Nickolai Mladenov
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 February 2015
Preceded by	Robert Serry
UN Special Representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
In office 2 August 2013 – 5 February 2015
Preceded by	Martin Kobler
Succeeded by	Ján Kubiš
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
In office 27 January 2010 – 13 March 2013
Preceded by	Rumiana Jeleva
Succeeded by	Marin Raykov
Minister of Defence of Bulgaria
In office 27 July 2009 – 27 January 2010
Preceded by	Nikolai Tsonev
Succeeded by	Anyu Angelov
Member of the European Parliament for Bulgaria
In office 2007–2009
Personal details
Born	Nickolay Evtimov Mladenov (1972-05-05) 5 May 1972 Sofia, Bulgaria
Nationality	Bulgarian
Political party	GERB
Spouse(s)	Gergana Mladenova
Children	daughter
Alma mater	University of National and World Economy King's College London

Early life and education

Nickolai Mladenov was born on 5 May 1972 in Sofia.[1] In 1995, he graduated from the University of National and World Economy, majoring in international relations. The following year he obtained an MA in war studies from King's College London.

Career

Between 1996 and 1998 Mladenov was program director of the Open Society Foundation in Sofia, followed by an appointment as a program coordinator in the social department of the World Bank for Bulgaria. In 1999 he founded the European Institute in Sofia and was its director until 2001.[2] He was a member of parliament for the United Democratic Forces in the 39th National Assembly, parliamentary secretary (until March 2002), and vice chairman of the committee on European integration and the committee on foreign affairs, defense and security.

On 12 March 2002 Mladenov was elected to the national executive council of the party Union of Democratic Forces. Later he was appointed spokesman of the party. From 22 February 2004 he was the vice-president of UDF, resigning on 16 August 2005.

From 2005 to 2007 he served as a consultant to the World Bank, International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute in Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries. In 2006 he worked as an adviser to parliamentary committees on defense and foreign policy and cooperation of the Iraqi Parliament.

Member of the European Parliament, 2007–2009

Mladenov was number 3 on the candidate list of the GERB party for the European elections 2007. As a member of the European Parliament Mladenov was a member of the committees on internal market and consumer protection, foreign affairs, and the subcommittee on security and defence. He was also the first vice chairman of the parliament's delegation for relations with Iraq and member of the delegations to Israel and Afghanistan.

Mladenov is a signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.[3]

Career with the United Nations, 2013–present

On 2 August 2013, Mladenov was appointed as United Nations Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He succeeded Martin Kobler of Germany.[4][5] At the time, the country security had deteriorated as Sunni Islamist groups stepped up an insurgency against the Shi’ite-led government.[6]

On 5 February 2015, Mladenov was appointed United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, replacing Dutch diplomat Robert Serry.[7]

In late 2018, Mladenov was mentioned in news media as potential successor of Staffan de Mistura as United Nations Special Envoy for Syria.[8]

Other activities

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member[9]

Political positions

Mladenov is considered by many to be a Western-oriented, bright politician. During his tenure as defense minister, he increased Bulgarian deployment to Afghanistan, and also improved United States-Bulgaria relations immensely. An excerpt from a US diplomatic cable recovered in the Cablegate scandal solidifies this:

February 2010 US Diplomatic Cable from Sofia

Mladenov, 37, is one of the youngest and brightest stars in Borissov's cabinet. A former Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Mladenov was the first person to become Minister of Defense without military experience. Mladenov is modern-thinking and western oriented. He is dynamic, with a famous work ethic and the strategic vision to challenge entrenched interests inside the military and his ministry. While Minister of Defense, Mladenov made deepening the United States-Bulgaria relationship his top priority and worked to expand deployments to Afghanistan and find creative new uses for the joint bases. While he made progress, much of his time and attention was drawn into cleaning up the legal, structural, and budgetary mess left behind by the previous Minister. We can expect Mladenov to take his reformist, transatlanic attitude with him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It is rumored that he will continue to have input into important security decisions, though how this will work in practice is not yet clear. He will undoubtedly represent Bulgaria well in his new role and will put a young, modern face on Bulgaria.

(Source)

See also

• List of foreign ministers in 2013
• Foreign relations of Bulgaria
• List of Bulgarians

References

1. "Index Mf-Mn". Rulers. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
2. "Профил на Николай Младенов" (in Bulgarian). personi.dir.bg. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
3. "Prague Declaration: Selected signatories". Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
4. "Secretary-General appoints Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as Special Representative for Iraq". Press release. United Nations. 2 August 2013.
5. "UN chief appoints Bulgarian official as Special Representative for Iraq". United Nations. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
6. Michelle Nichols (August 2, 2013), U.N. chief names former Bulgarian foreign minister as Iraq envoy Reuters.
7. "Secretary-General Appoints Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process". United Nations.
8. Michelle Nichols (October 17, 2018), U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura to step down at end of November Reuters.
9. Members European Council on Foreign Relations.

External links

• Personal Blog (in Bulgarian)
• CNN Interview (in English)

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Robert Serry	UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process February 2015 - present	Succeeded by Current
Preceded by Martin Kobler	UN Special Representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq 2013 - 2015	Succeeded by Ján Kubiš
Political offices
Preceded by Rumiana Jeleva	61st Minister of Foreign Affairs 27 January 2010 – 13 March 2013	Succeeded by Marin Raykov
Preceded by Nikolai Tsonev	Ministry of Defence 2009–2010	Succeeded by Anyu Angelov