Eleonora Mitrofanova

Eleonora Valentinovna Mitrofanova (Russian: Элеонора Валентиновна Митрофанова; born 11 June 1953) is a Russian diplomat. She currently serves as the Ambassador of Russia to Bulgaria, having held the post since 15 January 2021. She is the first woman to hold the post of First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary[1][2]
Eleonora Mitrofanova
Ambassador of Russia to Bulgaria
Assumed office
15 January 2021
Preceded byAnatoly Makarov
Head of Rossotrudnichestvo
In office
19 December 2017 – 25 June 2020
Preceded byLyubov Glebova
Succeeded byYevgeny Primakov Jr.
Permanent Delegate of Russia to UNESCO
In office
29 January 2009 – 19 September 2016
Preceded byVladimir Kalamanov
Succeeded byAlexandre Kouznetsov[3]
Head of Roszarubezhcenter
In office
August 2004 – 17 October 2008
Preceded byValentina Tereshkova
Succeeded byFarit Mukhametshin
(as head of Rossotrudnichestvo)
Personal details
Born (1953-06-11) 11 June 1953
Stalingrad, RSFSR, Soviet Union
SpouseVladimir Tyrtychnikov
ChildrenMaria, Andrei, Fiodor
Alma materMoscow State Institute of
International Relations

Career

Mitrofanova is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, specializing in International economics.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2003-2009)

In May 2003, President Vladimir Putin appointed Mitrofanova by decree[4] to the post of First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. After the abolition of the Russian Ministry of Affairs of Federation and Nationalities, her mandate included also the activities of the Roszaroubezhcentre of the MFA.

Ambassador-at-large to UNESCO (2009-2016)

She was previously ambassador-at-large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.

Ambassador to Bulgaria (2021-present)

On 15 January 2021, she was appointed Ambassador of Russia to Bulgaria.[5]

As a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian government's response to it in Bulgaria, in late March 2022, Mitrofanova was criticized for making "undiplomatic, sharp and rude" statements against the Bulgarian government and its citizens.[6]

In April 2022, Mitrofanova proceeded to harshly criticize an initiative of the Bulgarian citizens and government to rename the alley in front of the Russian Embassy to Heroes Of Ukraine Lane, and a neighboring alley to Boris Nemtsov Lane, in commemoration of the infamously slain Russian opposition figure.[7]

In the wake of such controversies, there have been widespread talks about declaring Mitrofanova persona-non-grata, due to the abrasive, disrespectful and undiplomatic way in which she has addressed the Bulgarian government and citizens.[8]

In the evening of June 27, 2022 the Russian embassy in Sofia launched a charity appeal for Bulgarians to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9] One day later, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats over concerns of espionage.[10] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Bulgaria would be temporarily closing down its diplomatic mission in Yekaterinburg and expected Russia to temporarily halt the activities of its own mission in Ruse, Bulgaria.[11] All services of the Russian embassy were halted, and Bulgaria stipulated that from that point on, Russia must follow the official standard of limiting their numbers to 23 diplomatic staff and 25 administrative staff.[12]

On April 20, 2023, Mitrofanova violated Article 41 of the Vienna Convention by publicly expressing her support for a particular Bulgarian political party.[13]

Personal life

She is married and is the mother of three children. Her brother Alexei Mitrofanov is a politician and former MP. Besides Russian, she is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Decorations

References
  1. Дипломаты в ранге Чрезвычайного и Полномочного Посла. Официальный веб-сайт МИД России
  2. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 9 февраля 2010 года № 167 «О присвоении Митрофановой Э. В. дипломатического ранга Чрезвычайного и Полномочного Посла»". Archived from the original on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  3. "Délégation permanente de la Fédération de Russie auprès de l'Unesco". russianunesco.ru.
  4. "Президент своим Указом назначил Элеонору Митрофанову первым заместителем Министра иностранных дел". Президент России.
  5. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 15.01.2021 № 24 "О Чрезвычайном и Полномочном После Российской Федерации в Республике Болгарии"". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. "Bulgaria to recall its ambassador to Russia for consultations". euronews. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  7. "The Russian Ambassador in Bulgaria was not pleased with the name changes around the Embassy - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  8. Бедров, Иван (2022-03-04). "Ще остане ли в България Елеонора Митрофанова" [Will Eleonora Mitrofanova stay in Bulgaria?]. Свободна Европа (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  9. "Moscow's Embassy in Bulgaria Launches Fundraiser for Russian Troops". Balkan Insight. 28 June 2022.
  10. Oliver, Christian (28 June 2022). "Bulgaria expels 70 Russian diplomats and spies". Politico. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  11. Tsolova, Tsvetelia (28 June 2022). "Bulgaria expels 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns". Reuters. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  12. Todorov, Svetoslav (29 June 2022). "Russian Embassy's Work Frozen After Bulgaria Expels 70 Diplomats". Balkan Insight.
  13. Nikolov, Krassen (2023-04-21). "Russian ambassador interferes in Bulgarian elections". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  14. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11.04.2003 г. № 416". Президент России.
  15. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 13.09.2013 г. № 718". kremlin.ru.
  16. Лавров вручил представителю РФ при ЮНЕСКО Митрофановой орден Почета, РИА Новости. 21.04.2014
  17. "Главная | Российская академия бизнеса и предпринимательства". ex.ru.
  18. Элеоноре Митрофановой вручен орден «Дуслык»
  19. "Высокая церковная награда — Элеоноре Митрофановой".
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