An International Visitor to Rutgers Day: Bulgaria's Ambassador, Elena Poptodorova

Rutgers Day is the university’s annual grand gathering, when the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses are open to all visitors. There will be nearly 500 exhibits, games, lectures, and activities, all free, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Poptodorova will receive a certificate of appreciation on the Skylands Stage at 12:20 p.m.

One of those activities is the New Jersey Folk Festival, held every year on Douglass Campus. The festival, which each year celebrates a different country’s music and culture, will feature music and culture from Bulgaria this year. The ambassador will be accompanied by her country’s New York-based consul-general, Radoslav Tochev.

“In all the years of the festival, this is the first time we’ve been honored by a visit from the ambassador of the country whose music we’re featuring,” said Angus Kress Gillespie, professor of American studies and executive director of the New Jersey Folk Festival. “We’re very glad that she’ll be able to be with us on Rutgers Day. She’ll get a chance to see our university and city, and meet people from all over the state.”

Poptodorova served 11 years in the Bulgarian parliament before her first tour as ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2008, and then served in the foreign ministry for two years before returning to Washington in 2010. She is fluent in English, French and Italian. She is a founding member of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, which aims to strengthen Bulgaria’s ties to Europe and the West; the Center for Regional and Geopolitical Research; and the Bulgarian Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which she currently chairs. In addition, Poptodorova is a trustee of the Board of Directors of the American University in Bulgaria.  

Click here to watch a discussion between the ambassador and international students about American and European foreign policy.