A New Study on the First Foreign Minister Marko Balabanov was Presented at the "Mission" Gallery
On April 6 (Thursday) at 6 p.m., a large audience gathered at the "Mission" gallery for the presentation of the new monographic study "Marko Balabanov" (2022), with author Boyan Angelov, who, in addition to being the chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Writers, is a poet, literary critic, doctor of philosophy, social psychology and pedagogy. The event was organized by the State Institute for Culture of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, publishing house "Zachariy Stoyanov" and the Union of Bulgarian Writers within the program of the Institute "Writing Diplomats".
The book is part of the "Duty and Honor" series of one of the most popular and active publishing houses in Bulgaria, "Zachariy Stoyanov", which includes fiction and non-fiction dedicated to significant names from Bulgarian history. The series contains more than 50 historical and biographical books about prominent historical figures – rulers, political leaders, national heroes, educators and clergy.
In the salon of the gallery, in the presence of a large audience of diplomats, writers, journalists, trainee attachés and other guests, the book was presented by the correspondent member and director of the "Zachary Stoyanov" publishing house Ivan Granitski, the author Boyan Angelov and the director of the State Institute for Culture Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova. As the host of the event, she emphasized that the presentation is part of the program of the Institute "Writing Diplomats" - a platform that gives a stage for authors and books related to diplomacy and it is an important tool in cultural diplomacy. "There is no more natural and logical place than ours to present a book about the first foreign minister who left such a strong mark on our history, studied law in Paris but also philosophy and aesthetics in Heidelberg and left an important legacy for our memory" - noted Joveva. The publisher Ivan Granitski and the author Boyan Angelov presented in detail the personality and enormous merits of Marko Balabanov for Bulgarian diplomacy, for his role in education and culture, as well as as the first foreign minister in post-liberation Bulgaria, his presence as a journalist, novelist and teacher.
In his book, the author Boyan Angerov analyzes in detail not only the creative path of this outstanding intellectual and patriot, but also reveals the role of the Bulgarians of Constantinople in the spiritual growth of Bulgaria. Born in Klisura, Marko Balabanov was a remarkable lawyer, diplomat and publicist - one of the highly valued and deserving actors of the Bulgarian revival. Educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, founder of the revival magazine Chitalishte and a number of newspapers before and after the Liberation. He was the first minister of foreign affairs of the newly established Principality of Bulgaria, a diplomat, a member of parliament, and the chairman of the National Assembly.
The director of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute, Tanya Mihailova, also took part in the presentation and shared interesting details about the naming of the 2019 trainee attache class after Marko Balabanov on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the Bulgarian diplomatic service and the idea to present a bust of the Bulgarian statesman in the ministry. For the Diplomatic Institute, books were donated for the library.