Rumiana Jeleva
Encyclopedia
Rumiana Ruseva Jeleva was Bulgaria's minister of foreign affairs (July 2009-January 2010), the third woman to hold this office after Irina Bokova
and Nadezhda Mihailova
. Jeleva was a key figure in the "Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
" (GERB) political party which won the 2009 parliamentary elections. From 2007-2009 she served as Member of the European Parliament
(MEP) and headed the Bulgarian delegation in the EPP Group. She was nominated by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov
as Commissioner in the "Barroso II Commission" and was affiliated with the European People's Party
(EPP). However, an article in the German newspaper Die Welt
accused her husband of links with the Russian mafia
.
Jeleva holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Sofia (1995) and a PhD in sociology from Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
(2003).
, her name should have been transliterated as "Zheleva". Because of this confusion, some people erroneously pronounce the name with a y sound, [j].
, stepping down as both commissioner-designate and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and putting an end to her political career. She was replaced as commissioner-designate by Kristalina Georgieva
and as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Nikolay Mladenov
.
Irina Bokova
Irina Georgieva Bokova is a Bulgarian politician, incumbent Directors-General of UNESCO. She was member of the Bulgarian Parliament from the Bulgarian Socialist Party for two terms, minister and deputy minister of foreign affairs in the socialist cabinet of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov, and was...
and Nadezhda Mihailova
Nadezhda Mihailova
Nadezhda Nejnski, better known as Nadezhda Nikolova Michailova is Bulgarian politician, Minister of Foreign affairs , head of Union of Democratic Forces , Member of Parliament , European MP since 2009.-External links:*...
. Jeleva was a key figure in the "Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria , abbreviated GERB , is a Bulgarian centre-right political party established on March 13 2006. It has been Bulgaria's ruling party since 2009....
" (GERB) political party which won the 2009 parliamentary elections. From 2007-2009 she served as Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) and headed the Bulgarian delegation in the EPP Group. She was nominated by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov
Boyko Borisov
Boyko Metodiev Borisov is a Bulgarian politician who has been Prime Minister of Bulgaria since July 2009. Previously he was Mayor of Sofia from 8 November 2005 until his election as Prime Minister....
as Commissioner in the "Barroso II Commission" and was affiliated with the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP). However, an article in the German newspaper Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
accused her husband of links with the Russian mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
.
Jeleva holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Sofia (1995) and a PhD in sociology from Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg was founded in 1993 and is one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university in Magdeburg has about 13,000 students in nine faculties. There are 11,700 papers published in international journals from this institute...
(2003).
Pronunciation
The Bulgarian pronunciation of the name Jeleva is ˈʒeleva, with the [ʒ] sound of English pleasure, and according to the current official standards for Romanization of BulgarianRomanization of Bulgarian
Romanization of Bulgarian is the practice of transliteration of text in the Bulgarian language from its conventional Cyrillic orthography into the Latin alphabet. Romanization can be used for various purposes, such as rendering of proper names and place names in foreign-language contexts, or for...
, her name should have been transliterated as "Zheleva". Because of this confusion, some people erroneously pronounce the name with a y sound, [j].
Failure in EC hearings and end of political career
Jeleva was Bulgaria's nominee for European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. During her January 2010 confirmation hearing, she repeatedly failed to answer questions regarding allegations over her financial interests. She also failed to demonstrate sufficient competence in the areas she was to oversee. Her defensive and seemingly arrogant attitude and her poor language skills further jeopardized her candidacy. Facing a storm of disapproval at home, on January 19, 2010, Jeleva sent a letter of resignation to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko BorisovBoyko Borisov
Boyko Metodiev Borisov is a Bulgarian politician who has been Prime Minister of Bulgaria since July 2009. Previously he was Mayor of Sofia from 8 November 2005 until his election as Prime Minister....
, stepping down as both commissioner-designate and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and putting an end to her political career. She was replaced as commissioner-designate by Kristalina Georgieva
Kristalina Georgieva
Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva is a Bulgarian economist and politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response in the second college of the Barroso Commission....
and as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Nikolay Mladenov
Nikolay Mladenov
Nickolay Evtimov Mladenov is a Bulgarian politician who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov since 2010. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009 and was Minister of Defense from 27 July 2009 to 27 January...
.