Permanent Secretary
Mr. CHRISTO STEFANOV POLENDAKOV
Born on 1 September 1970 in Sofia, Bulgaria
Education:
1982 - 1987 Tehran International School, Islamic Republic of Iran
1987 - 1993 M.A. in International Relations, Oriental Department of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Russian Federation
Career development:
1993 - 1994 Commodity Manager (Plastics group), “Chimimport” JSC, Sofia, Republic of Bulgaria
1994 - 1996 Desk Officer, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (MFA)
1996 - 1999 Third Secretary, Consul, DCM, Bulgarian Embassy in Oslo, Kingdom of Norway
1999 - 2002 Chief Expert (non-proliferation, arms control, export controls, regional security issues), International Security Directorate (MFA)
2002 - 2005 First Secretary, Bulgarian Permanent Mission to the UN, OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna, Republic of Austria
2005 - 2006 Senior Co-ordination Officer, Office of the OSCE Secretary General, OSCE Secretariat, Vienna, Republic of Austria
2007 - 2012 Deputy Director and Chief Recruitment Section, Department of Human Resources, OSCE Secretariat, Vienna, Republic of Austria
2012 - 2013 Director for Human Resources (MFA)
2013 - 2015 Head of South and South-East Asia Department, Asia, Australia and Oceania Directorate (MFA)
2015 - 2019 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Islamic Republic of Iran
2019 - 2020 Director of Asia, Australia and Oceania Directorate and Acting Director General for Bilateral Relations, ASEM Senior Official, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and member of the Career Committee (MFA)
2020 - 2021 Director General for Bilateral Relations (MFA)
2021 - 2026 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Hungary and Permanent representative to the Danube Commission
As of 13 June 2024 President of the Danube Commission
2026 - Director for Foreign Policy Planning, Information and Coordination (MFA)
As of 11 May 2026 Acting Permanent Secretary of the MFA
Holds the personal rank of Ambassador
Foreign languages: English, Persian and Russian
Family status: Married, three children