Head of Mission

head of mission

 

 

PLAMEN BONCHEV                               

Born 22 January 1957 in Vidin, Bulgaria

6 October 2020 -      Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

2019 – 2020              Focal Point on Religious Freedom, MFA

2017 – 2020              National Focal Point on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)

2017 – 2020              Head of the Bulgarian Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

2016 – 2020              Director General for Global Affairs, MFA

2012 – 2016              Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia

2011 – 2012              Director, Security Policy Directorate, MFA

2006 – 2010              Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Finland and Estonia

2005 – 2006              Director, Bulgarian Ministerial Task Force, NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Sofia (27-28 April 2006)

2004 – 2006              Director, NATO & International Security Directorate, MFA

2003 – 2004              Head of NATO & ESDP Unit, NATO & International Security Directorate, MFA

1998 – 2003              Deputy Head of Mission, Bulgarian Mission to NATO & WEU in Brussels

1995 – 1998              International Organizations Dept., MFA

1992 – 1995              NATO & WEU Liaison Officer, Bulgarian Embassy in Brussels

1988 – 1992              European Structures Dept., MFA

1983 – 1984              Attache, General International Affairs Dept., MFA

Education & additional training

1971 –1976               English Language School, Vidin

1976 – 1978              Military service

1978 – 1983              MA in International Relations, MGIMO University, Moscow

1982                           Internship, Bulgarian Embassy in Madrid

1984 – 1988              PhD in Political Sciences, MGIMO University, Moscow

1991                           Post-graduate course on European Affairs, The Netherlands Institute of International Relations "Clingendael", The Hague

1996                           Post-graduate intensive course on EU Affairs, College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium

1997 – 1998              NATO Democratic Institutions Fellowship

2004                           Senior Executive Seminar, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Distinctions               

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (2010)

Golden Sign of Honour of the MFA of the Republic of Bulgaria (2009)

Commendation Medal Bulgaria-NATO 1^st Grade of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria (2004)

Silver Sign of Honour of the Bulgarian MFA (2018)

Speaks Bulgarian, English, Spanish and Russian, working knowledge of French