"Irina Bokova, born in 1952, in Sofia (Bulgaria), is the Director-General of UNESCO since 2009; the first woman and the first Eastern European to lead the Organization.
Having graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and studied at the University of Maryland (Washington) and the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University), Irina Bokova has served at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sofia, 1977–82; Bulgarian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, 1982–84; UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1984–86; Advisor to Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1986–90; Member of Constituent National Assembly, 1990–91; European Security Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1991–92; NATO Fellow, Program for Central and Eastern Europe, 1992–94; State Secretary for European Integration, 1995–97; Minister of Foreign Affairs a.i., 1996–97; Member of Parliament, 2001–2005; Ambassador of Bulgaria to France and Monaco and Permanent representative to UNESCO, Personal representative of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria to the ""Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie"" (OIF), 2005 – 2009. Irina Bokova is also Executive Secretary of the Steering Committee of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), (2012-2015), and co-Vice-Chair of the Broadband Commission.
She has received several state distinctions from countries across the world and is Doctor honoris causa of leading universities. In addition to her mother tongue, she speaks English, French, Spanish and Russian."