Ralitsa Vassileva is a CNN International

CNN International

CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...

 television news anchorwoman. She has covered the Bosnian War

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and many other major international issues. She has interviewed many world leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

, Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....

, Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger

Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...

, and others.

Career

Vassileva grew up and was educated in Sofia, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 and New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and graduated from Sofia University

Sofia University

The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...

. She worked for Bulgarian National Radio

Bulgarian National Radio

Bulgarian National Radio is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organization. It operates two national and seven regional channels, as well as an international service – Radio Bulgaria – which broadcasts in 11 languages.-National:...

 in 1987 as an English translator and announcer, and from there made the transition to reporting. Vassileva became a reporter for Bulgarian National Television

Bulgarian National Television

The Bulgarian National Television or BNT is the public broadcaster of Bulgaria. The company was founded in 1959 and began broadcasting on December 26 of the same year. It began broadcasting in color in 1970...

 in 1990, and transferred to CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

 in 1992.

Trivia

• Jethro Tull's
  Jethro Tull (band)
  Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
  
   Ian Anderson
  Ian Anderson (musician)
  Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
  
   wrote and recorded a song called "Not Ralitsa Vassileva", which appeared on his album Rupi's Dance
  Rupi's Dance
  Rupi's Dance is a solo album by Jethro Tull frontmanIan Anderson. The album was released around the same timeas Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre's new solo album, Stage Left....
  
  . Vassileva appeared as guest at an Ian Anderson "Rubbing Elbows" performance in Atlanta, Georgia
  Atlanta, Georgia
  Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
  
  
• Ralitsa Vassileva appears in the 2006 British film The Queen
  The Queen (film)
  The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
  
  in a real-life outtake of her anchoring CNN's World News. She says "Britain's Queen Elizabeth will deliver a televised address Friday, the royal family
  British Royal Family
  The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
  
   has been accused of not showing enough remorse over Princess Diana's
  Diana, Princess of Wales
  Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
  
   death".

External links

• Ralitsa Vassileva profile CNN.com
• RALITSA VASSILEVA: I MADE SENSE OF A NEW REALITY AFTER SEPTEMBER 11 Novinite.com, 7 April 2002 - Interview with Ralitsa Vassileva on Bulgarian online media Novinite
• Ralitsa Vassileva's blog CNN.com In the Field