Rosen Plevneliev
President of the Republic of Bulgaria (2012 – 2017)
Born on 14 May 1964. Graduated Technical University in Sofia. Until 2009 Plevneliev is a successful entrepreneur. Enters politics in 2009 serving as a minister of regional development and public works. Elected President of the Republic of Bulgaria in November 2011. Initiated the National Development Program Bulgaria 2020. He set long-term national priorities such as innovations, e-government, e-voting, ambitious modernization program, connectivity, vocational education, long-term public planning, energy efficiency, liberalization and diversification. Patron of the first innovation ecosystem and the first hi-tech park in Bulgaria and on the Balkans – Sofia Tech Park. Patron of hi-tech industries – Information and Communication Technologies, outsourcing and automotive. Presented Person of the Year 2015 award of Ukraine for his political activity in international context. Awarded Friend of Zion Award as a great friend of Israel and for the courage of the Bulgarian people who bravely and courageously saved 48,000 Bulgarian Jews during WW II. Awarded IT Award for significant contribution to IT development by the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies. Awarded the special WEBIT Festival prize for his outstanding contribution to the development of the digital economy in Bulgaria. Honorable Chairman of the FOZ Museum in Israel. Member of Nizami Ganjavi International Center in Baku. Member of the Trilateral Commission. Member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Distinguished Professor for the Emerging Markets Institute of Beijing Normal University. Distinguished Professor of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University. Member of the International Advisory Board of GLOBSEC. Member of the Global Advisory Committee of the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University.
