WHO IS WHO – Iliana Iotova: Supports Kosovo’s membership in international institutions, takes firm stance on North Macedonia

Iliana Iotova, the first woman to serve as Bulgaria’s head of state, built her political career as a journalist, Member of the European Parliament and Vice President of Bulgaria. As Vice President, she advocated Kosovo’s membership in international institutions, as well as recognition of Bulgarians as a national minority in Kosovo, while taking a firm stance toward North Macedonia on respect for the rights of the Bulgarian community and fulfillment of the country’s obligations on its path toward the European Union.

As Bulgaria’s Vice President, Iotova clearly articulated her position on Kosovo’s international status. During a visit to Pristina in February 2023, while serving as Vice President, she supported Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe and announced that Bulgaria would lobby for its inclusion in international and European institutions, including the EU and NATO.

According to a statement from the Office of the President of Kosovo, Osmani received Iotova’s support for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe and also asked Bulgaria to support Kosovo’s efforts to join other international organizations. Iotova reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic future.

An even more explicit statement was reported by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

“We will provide assistance before all international and European institutions for their full membership. The first task is lobbying, in the best sense of the word, for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. They will soon also apply for membership in the EU and NATO,” Iotova said following her meeting with Vjosa Osmani.

As Bulgaria’s Vice President, Iotova also visited areas of Kosovo where, according to the Bulgarian News Agency BTA, an ethnic Bulgarian community lives. She advocated granting Bulgarians in Kosovo the status of a national minority.

According to a Kosovo Online report, she also met with representatives of the United Bulgarians of Kosovo association.

Kosovo Online also addressed the issue in an analysis published on January 31, 2024, which stated that renewed efforts by official Sofia to have the Gorani recognized as a Bulgarian minority in Kosovo had caused considerable concern among the indigenous Muslim communities in the Gora region.

Kosovo Online’s interlocutors at the time said that such recognition would result in Bulgarians being included in the Constitution as a non-majority community, Kosovo gaining an ally in international organizations, and Gorani obtaining EU passports. They also assessed that the “Bulgarization” of Kosovo had intensified ahead of the population census in April, which was expected to bring this particular “project” to a conclusion.

Iotova has also expressed strong views regarding North Macedonia.

At an event held in Kyustendil in October 2024, she called on the authorities in North Macedonia to gain a better understanding of European values, stressing that human rights, including the rights of members of different national communities, were a fundamental prerequisite for progress toward European integration.

She criticized Skopje for what she described as a failure to honor international commitments and the good-neighborliness agreement.

Among other things, she said:

“We Bulgarians want the Republic of North Macedonia, whose self-identification as a state we were the first in Europe to recognize, to make more steady progress toward European integration. That is possible only when international commitments are respected and there is no hate speech.”

Journalist, MEP, Vice President, President

According to her official biography, Iliana Malinova Iotova was born in Sofia on October 24, 1964. She graduated from the Alphonse de Lamartine French Language High School and subsequently earned a degree in Bulgarian philology from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. She furthered her education at France’s National School of Administration (ENA) and the Centre for European Studies in Strasbourg.
She began her professional career in journalism. From 1990 to 1997, she worked at Bulgarian National Television as a reporter, editor and presenter, later becoming head of its news department.

After leaving journalism, she entered politics. From 1997 to 2007, she headed the press office of the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), of which she was a member from 2000 to 2016. During that period, she also held several positions within the party’s governing bodies.

From 2005 to 2007, she served as a member of the Bulgarian Parliament. In June 2007, she was elected to the European Parliament, where she served three terms, until 2017. During her time in the European Parliament, she worked on issues relating to civil liberties, justice and home affairs, consumer protection and regional cooperation. She also served as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

A turning point in her political career came in 2016, when she was elected Vice President of Bulgaria alongside Rumen Radev, who became President. She remained in that position until January 2026, when Radev resigned to enter the parliamentary elections.

After the Constitutional Court formally terminated Rumen Radev’s presidential mandate on January 23, 2026, Iotova assumed the office of head of state. She thus became the first woman to lead Bulgaria, although until the November election she served in that capacity as the constitutional successor to a president who had resigned.

In the November 1 presidential election, she ran alongside vice-presidential candidate Kiril Valchev.

Their ticket received 57.56 percent of the vote, or 1,093,852 votes, while Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev received 39.48 percent. Turnout was approximately 27 percent.

Iotova speaks French and also has a working knowledge of Russian and English. She is married and has one son.