“Your job is to change the image of Bulgaria.” That was the challenging task that stood before Ivan Stancioff when he returned to his home country after 47 years of living abroad. In 1991, Bulgaria’s first democratic president Dr. Zhelyu Zhelev appointed Stancioff Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the first ever Bulgarian Ambassador to the Irish Republic. In 1994, Stancioff became Ambassador at Large and Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He threw himself at the challenges with all the ardor of an exile finally reunited with his native land.

“When you are far away for a long time, the image of the country expands,” Stancioff said at a Feb. 9, 2010 talk at AUBG. He described how as young men abroad he and his other expatriate Bulgarian friends would occasionally burst into Bulgarian patriotic songs at their jobs, to the puzzlement of co-workers and employers.

When Stancioff returned to Bulgaria in the early 90s, the country was a very different place from the one he remembered. People didn’t smile, he observed on one of his first trips around the country. Instead of discouraging him, the mismatch between his expectations and reality galvanized him into action. He set about doing whatever he could to help his country transition smoothly from communism to democracy. In addition to his diplomatic work, he set up a care center for children with disabilities in Varna, and through his company Cresta Marketing SA has been involved in bringing foreign investment to Bulgaria and the region.    

Another early 1990s memory of Bulgaria Stancioff shared with the audience was of visiting the then newly-established AUBG. “Standing in front of the building of the University and seeing American and Bulgarian flags flattering together was very emotional,” he said. The image was more than just a symbol of Bulgaria’s opening to the world; the values the young institution espoused – tolerance, diversity, free exchange of ideas – made him hopeful for the whole region’s future. Stancioff’s return to the University two decades later was an even happier occasion as the flags have multiplied and optimism was evident in the faces surrounding him. He urged students to gain more experience by living and studying abroad after graduation but to then return to their countries and work for their betterment.    

A highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Ivan Stancioff essay competition winner. Stancioff had challenged students to define what makes a good diplomat. Albanian Irena Palamani’s answer was picked among over 40 others for its creativity and exhaustiveness.

The Q&A session that followed Stancioff’s talk included questions about Bulgarian history, the country’s political future, and Stancioff’s opinion on some finer points of diplomacy. The meeting stretched into the evening as eager students stayed on to talk to the ambassador one-on-one or in small groups.