Dr. Zhelyu Zhelev is the Bulgarian Foreign Minister’s special envoy to today’s elections in Tunisia
23 October 2011 News
The first democratically elected president of Bulgaria, Dr.Zhelyu Zhelev, is in Tunisia today as the special envoy of Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov.
Dr Zhelev is monitoring Tunisia’s elections for a Constituent Assembly. These are the first free elections in Tunisia since 1956 when the country won independence from France. It was in Tunisia in February that the Arab Spring began, leading to the overthrow of regimes in Egypt and Libya, and sparking a wave of democratization in the Arab World.
During a visit in July this year to Tunis, Minister Mladenov proposed Zhelev as a special envoy, to present his experience in the building of a multiparty system and the transition from a totalitarian to a democratic state.
During his visit, which will last until October 26, Dr Zhelev will meet the President of the Higher Political Reform Commission Yadh Ben Achour and the Chairman of the Higher Independent Electoral Commission Kamel Jendoubi. Later, Dr Zhelev will take part in the news conference by the EU mission monitoring the elections in Tunisia.
Dr Zhelev, who was President of Bulgaria from 1990 – 1997, will hold meetings with EU ambassadors and with the Bulgarian community in Tunisia, and with various representatives of democratic forces in Arab countries.