Kristian Vigenin
Member of the European Parliament for the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
For me,
Kristian Vigenin
The most important mission in my life is my family - husband of Milena and father of John and Boris. From my family I get support and moral strength to fulfil my public and political commitments. I am a member of the European Parliament and lead the Delegation of Bulgarian Socialists. I am a member of the Executive Bureau of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
I was born in Sofia. I am a graduate of the 91st German Language School “Konstantin Galabov”. I graduated from the University of National and World Economy – International Relations and Macroeconomics. I give a personal example of how important lifelong learning is – I study law part-time at Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”.
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I have participated in many elections – local, for the National Assembly and for the European Parliament.
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I have been a Member of Parliament for 12 years – in the period 2005-2007 and 2014-2024, I was elected from Yambol and Blagoevgrad. As such, I have held various positions – Secretary for Foreign Policy of the BSP Parliamentary Group (2005-2007 and 2014-2021), Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs and Control of European Funds (2017-2019), Chairman of COSAC (01-06.2018), Deputy Chairman in 6 National Assemblies (2019-2024). During this period I have actively participated in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly as DeputyHead of the Bulgarian Delegation (2014-2024), Special Representative for the South Caucasus (2016-2018), Vice President of the OSCE PA (2018-2022), Chair of the Special Committee on Migration (2021-2022), Special Representative for Eastern Europe (2023-2024), in the OSCE PA I was President of the Group of Social Democrats, Socialists and Progressives in the period 2020-2024, and before that Vice President (2016-2020).
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I was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2013 and before that an observer (2005-2007). In the European Parliament, I was elected Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (2010-2013), Member of the Board of the European Endowment for Democracy (2012-2013), Coordinator of the S&D Group in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2009-2011), Vice-President of the PES Group (2007-2009). I am currently Head of the Delegation of Bulgarian Socialists in the European Parliament, a position I also held in 2005-2007.
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At the local elections in 1995 I was elected as a district councillor in Poduyane district, Sofia, and remained in this position until the abolition of the district councils by law in March 1999.
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In 2013-2014, I served as the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, and in the first half of 2014 I was the rotating chair of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation.
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My working career started in the Ministry of Finance, European Integration Department of the Customs Agency (1999-2001), after which I continued as an expert and later Head of the Foreign Policy and International Cooperation Department of the National Assembly of the BSP (2001-2005).
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My political activity began in 1994 with the founding of the BSM, the youth organization of the BSP, where as a member of the National Council until 2000 I was elected International Secretary and Vice-President for International Activities. Since 2000 I have been a member of the BSP National Council. In this period I have been elected as a member of the IB (2002-2015 as Secretary for Foreign Policy and International Affairs, 2020-2024 as Vice-Chairman for Foreign Policy and European Affairs, currently I am again a member of the IB). In the period 2005-2015 I also held the position of Chairman of the Foreign Policy Council of the National Assembly of the BSP. I was also elected Chairman of the BSP Regional Organization in Poduyane, Sofia, a post I held in the period 2005-2012, and I was then a member of the Sofia City Council of the BSP. Since 2024 I am again elected as a member of the Sofia City Council of the party.
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During these years, I have also worked actively in the Party of European Socialists as a member of the Presidium (2006-2016 and since 2020) and as head of the Working Group on the Western Balkans in the period 2006-2018.
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I speak fluent English and German, I use French and Russian.
For me,
Kristian Vigenin
The most important mission in my life is my family - husband of Milena and father of John and Boris. From my family I get support and moral strength to fulfil my public and political commitments. I am a member of the European Parliament and lead the Delegation of Bulgarian Socialists. I am Vice-Chairman of the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. I was born in Sofia.
I was born in Sofia. I am a graduate of the 91st German Language School “Konstantin Galabov”. I graduated from the University of National and World Economy – International Relations and Macroeconomics. I give a personal example of how important lifelong learning is – I study law part-time at Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”.
I have participated in many elections – local, for the National Assembly and for the European Parliament.
I have been a Member of Parliament for 12 years – in the period 2005-2007 and 2014-2024, I was elected from Yambol and Blagoevgrad. As such, I have held various positions – Secretary for Foreign Policy of the BSP Parliamentary Group (2005-2007 and 2014-2021), Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs and Control of European Funds (2017-2019), Chairman of COSAC (01-06.2018), Deputy Chairman in 6 National Assemblies (2019-2024). In this period I have actively participated in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly as Deputy Head of the Bulgarian Delegation (2014-2024), Special Representative for the South Caucasus (2016-2018), OSCE PA Vice President (2018-2022), Chair of the Special Committee on Migration (2021-2022), Special Representative for Eastern Europe (2023-2024).
I was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2013 and before that an observer (2005-2007). In the European Parliament, I was elected Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (2010-2013), Member of the Board of the European Endowment for Democracy (2012-2013), Coordinator of the S&D Group in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2009-2011), Vice-President of the PES Group (2007-2009).
At the local elections in 1995 I was elected as a district councillor in Poduyane district, Sofia, and I remained in this position until the district councils were abolished by law in March 1999.
In 2013-2014, I served as the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, and in the first half of 2014 I was the rotating chair of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation.
My working career started in the Ministry of Finance, European Integration Department of the Customs Agency (1999-2001), after which I continued as an expert and later as Head of the Foreign Policy and International Cooperation Department of the National Assembly of the BSP (2001-2005).
My political activity began in 1994 with the founding of the BSM, the youth organization of the BSP, where as a member of the National Council until 2000 I was elected International Secretary and Vice-President for International Activities.
I have been a member of the National Council of the BSP since 2000. In this period I have been elected as a member of the IB (2002-2015 as Secretary for Foreign Policy and International Affairs and from 2020 as Vice-Chairman for Foreign Policy and European Affairs), in the period 2005-2015 I also held the post of Chairman of the Foreign Policy Council of the National Council of the BSP. I was also elected Chairman of the BSP Regional Organization in Poduyane, Sofia, a post I held in the period 2005-2012.
During these years, I have also worked actively in the Party of European Socialists as a member of the Presidium (2006-2016 and since 2020) and as head of the Working Group on the Western Balkans in the period 2006-2018.
I speak fluent English and German, I use French and Russian.
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