Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Rayko Nikolov, doyen of Bulgarian diplomacy dies age 96

Rayko Nikolov with Pope John Paul II
Photo: archive

The doyen of Bulgarian diplomacy Rayko Nikolov has died at the age of 96, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has announced.

Rayko Nikolov was Bulgaria’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva for many years, as well as to the former Yugoslavia and to Italy, and was one of the people who shaped Bulgaria’s Balkan policy before the democratic changes in 1989. He was also the man who helped bring Sergei Antonov home, and the man who discovered Italy’s Celle di Bulgheria for Bulgaria, a municipality whose name is a reminder of the Bulgarian presence in these lands in the past. Researchers say the roots of the local population go back to Alcek, thought to be Khan Asparuh’s brother. They say that before Asparuh founded the First Bulgarian Kingdom in 681, Alcek settled in the lands of the Kingdom of the Lombards.

May he rest in peace!



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

EU report urges North Macedonia to include Bulgarians in the constitution

North Macedonia has still not adopted the necessary constitutional amendments aimed at including Bulgarians and other non-majority communities in the constitution. This is stated in the annual report of the European Commission on the progress of EU..

published on 11/3/25 5:22 PM

"Vazrazhdane" party hold protest against the euro and the visit of Christine Lagarde to Sofia

With shouts "No to the euro", about a hundred supporters of "Vazrazhdane" gathered to protest in front of the building of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) in Sofia. The protest is being held over a planned official visit of the..

published on 11/3/25 12:40 PM
Valdis Dombrovskis

EU may cut money for Bulgaria because of delayed anti-corruption reforms

It is theoretically possible that Bulgaria could apply for a third payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan by the end of 2025, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis announced in an interview with the Bulgarian..

published on 11/3/25 11:38 AM