Stefan Panaretov

Stefan Panaretov (Bulgarian: Стефан Панаретов) or Stephen Panaretoff or Stephan Panaretoff (October 4, 1853 - October 19, 1931) was a prominent Bulgarian diplomat, academician and professor at Robert College, an independent private high school in Turkey.[1][2][3]

Stephen Panaretoff
Стефан Панаретов Хаджиилиев
Born(1853-10-04)4 October 1853
Sliven, Ottoman empire
Died19 October 1931(1931-10-19) (aged 78)
Washington, DC, U.S.
Resting placeRock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
38°56′59.7″N 77°00′42.1″W
Nationality Bulgarian
CitizenshipOttoman; Bulgarian; U.S.
EducationRobert College
Occupation(s)educator; diplomat
EmployerRobert College
Known forthe first Bulgarian Minister to the US
Spouse
Lydia Ann Gile Panaretoff
​
​
(m. 1892; died 1931)​
ChildrenCyril Panaretoff

Early life

He was born on 4 October 1853 in Sliven to Archimandrite Panaret, a Bulgarian clergyman, who served in the Bulgarian church in Constantinople. At the age of 14 he entered the recently established Robert College and graduated in 1871. Upon graduation he immediately became an assistant professor in Bulgarian literature and in 1875 was promoted to the rank of a professor. Panaretoff taught for 43 years at Robert College until he was appointed, at the age of 61, as the first Bulgarian minister to the U.S.

After the April Uprising and following Ottoman Atrocities in 1876, Panaretoff publicized the Turkish massacres of Bulgarian Christians in an effort to sway Western public opinion. He traveled to Britain to represent the Bulgarian people.[4] In 1880, Panaretoff conducted another unofficial diplomatic mission to London to gain support for Bulgarian acquisition of Eastern Rumelia.

In 1892 he married the American missionary and teacher Lydia Ann Gile (1869-1931), who taught at the American College for Girls in Constantinople.

Diplomat and lecturer

He became the first Special Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to the U.S. after presenting his Letter of Credence to President Woodrow Wilson on December 22, 1914.[5]

His only son, Cyril Panaretoff, was killed in the First World War, fighting for the Kingdom of Bulgaria.[6]

He played a critical role in maintaining Bulgarian relations with the Wilson administration through the War, despite a myriad of calls for the breaking of diplomatic ties with the Central Power ally. In 1918, Panaretov was the only official diplomatic representative of a member country of the Central Powers who continued his work in the capital of the United States.[7][8]

In 1921, Panaretoff served as the ad hoc Bulgarian representative to the League of Nations after the international organization admitted Bulgaria as a member state.

Panaretov resigned his post as Minister Plenipotentiary in 1925. Rather than return to Bulgaria, Panaretov and his wife stayed in Washington and he became lecturer at George Washington University.[1]

Legacy

After his death, which followed the death of his wife, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences received a bequest from his estate of approximately 2.5 million lev. The Academy built a library and reading room that was named in his honor.[1][9]

Books
  • Panaretoff, Stephen (1922). Near Eastern Affairs and Conditions (1 ed.). New York: Macmillan. Retrieved 29 March 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  • Bulgaria and Her Neighbors : An Historic Presentation of the Background of the Balkan Problem, One of the Basic Issues of the World-War (1 ed.). New York: Mail and Express Job Print. 1917. Retrieved 7 June 2016 – via Hathi Trust Digital Library. and via Internet Archive

References
  1. Pundeff, Marin (1989). "Stefan Panaretov and Bulgarian-American Relations". Bulgarian Historical Review. 17 (3): 18–41. Archived from the original on May 4, 2004.
  2. Washburn, George (1909). Fifty Years in Constantinople and Recollections of Robert College (1 ed.). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 90. Retrieved 7 June 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  3. Laveleye, Emile de (1887). The Balkan Peninsula; Edited and Revised for the English Public by the Author; With an Introductory Chapter Upon the Most Recent Events and a Letter from the Right Honourable W. P. Gladstone M.P. Translated by Mrs. Thorpe. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 286-287. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Washburn, George (1909). Fifty Years in Constantinople and Recollections of Robert College (1 ed.). Boston & New York: Houghton Mufflin Company. pp. 110-111. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  5. "Reception of the First Minister of Bulgaria to the US". United States Department of State / Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States with the Address of the President to Congress, December 8, 1914 (PDF). 1914 – via http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS. {{cite book}}: External link in |via= (help)
  6. "PANARETOFF DEAD; FORMER DIPLOMAT; As the First Bulgarian Minister to This Country, Served From 1914 to 1925; EDUCATOR FOR MANY YEARS; A Professor at Constantinople-Lectured at Two Universities in Washington Since Retiring". The New York Times. October 20, 1931.
  7. "Bulgarian Minister Says His Land is not Our Foe: In a Remarkable Interview Stephan Panaretoff Tells Why He Thinks We Should Not Declare War - Admits His Country Will Continue Fighting". The New York Times. December 9, 1917.
  8. "Wilson Made Bulgaria Surrender, Says Her Envoy Here "I Consider President's Ideas as Great a Power in Bringing About the Defeat of the Central Powers as Force of Arms" He Declares". The New York Times: 74. October 6, 1918.
  9. "Bulgarian Donors in History: The Professor from Sliven". America for Bulgaria Foundation. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2021. Panaretov willed his entire fortune, around 5 million Bulgarian levs, to Bulgarian education. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the National Library in Sofia were beneficiaries. His scholarships supported students of Bulgarian linguistics at Sofia University and high school students and teachers in need.


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