site.btaBulgarian Diplomat Ivan Stancioff Passes Away at 92

Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - Former diplomat and foreign minister of Bulgaria Ivan Stancioff passed away at his home in Scotland at the age of 92 on Wednesday. His wife notified the Bulgarian Embassy in London about his demise.

Ivan Stancioff was born on April 1, 1929 in Sofia. He was only two when his family went to Italy where they spent five years. In 1945 his family left Bulgaria again, for political reasons. From 1945 he lived in the United States and from 1971 in Great Britain. He returned to Bulgaria in 1990, for the first time after 47 years.

In 1991 Ivan Stancioff was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James and the first Bulgarian Ambassador to the Irish Republic.

He presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth wearing the formal dress of his grandfather, Dimitar Stanchov, also ambassador to the United Kingdom (1908, 1922-1924), minister of foreign affairs (1906) and prime minister of Bulgaria (1907).

In 1994-1995 he served as minister of foreign affairs in Reneta Indzhova's caretaker cabinet.

Stancioff was chairman of the National Consultative Council of the Diplomatic Institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Distinguished with numerous Bulgarian and international awards, both as a diplomat and for his countless charitable initiatives. Established the Karin Dom - Varna foundation, the International Centre for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations, and Gavroche Dom in Varna.

The Bulgarian school in London is named after him.

He spoke Bulgarian, English, French, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese.

Ivan Stancioff had four children.

President Rumen Radev expressed condolences to the family, colleagues and friends on the demise of the diplomat, politician and public figure Ivan Stancioff, the Press Secretariat of the head of State said Thursday.

"We have lost a distinguished Bulgarian, one who deeply bore the spirit of the Bulgarian National Revival in his heart," the President underscored./DS/BR