Philip Dimitrov
Philip Dimitrov is member of the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria since 2015 and member of the Venice Commission for Democracy through Law since 2016. Since December, 2019 Mr. Dimitrov is also a Vice-President of the Venice Commission.
Before that he was Ambassador of the EU to Georgia (2010-2014) and earlier - Ambassador of Bulgaria to the UN (1997-1998) and to the US (1998-2002), Deputy Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament (2005-2008) Member of the European Parliament (2007) and of the Bulgarian Parliament (1993-1997).
He has a JD from the Sofia University, practiced as an Attorney-at Law for almost 20 years and holds PhD in Political Science from the NBU-Sofia. He is distinguished professor (reader) at the NBU-Bulgaria and lectured in the American University of Bulgaria (2002-2008), at the University of Toronto (2007), at the CNU in Virginia (2008-2009).
He was the first freely elected Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1991-1992).
Education
- 12.03.2010 PhD in Political Science from NBU – Sofia, Bulgaria
- 03-09.2003 Public policy scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC
- 1978-1979 State Internship in Law at the Sofia District Court and JD
- 1973-1977 University of Sofia Law School
- 1969-1973 Sofia English Language School
Professional experience
- Member of the Venice Commission since 2016, Vice-President since 2019
- Constitutional Courts judge from 11.11.2015
- Attorney at law: 1979-1990; 1993-1997; 2002-2005; 2010; 2015
Academic experience
- 2010 & 2002-2008 – Adj. Professor at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG)
- Aug. 2008 – Dec. 2009 - Visiting professor at Christopher Newport University – VA, USA
- Oct. 2007 - A course of 12 Lectures on "Practical Problems of Political Representation", University of Toronto
Parliamentary mandates
- 2005-2008 - Deputy Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament. Member of the Juridical Matters Committee and European Affairs Committee
- 2007 - Member of European Parliament, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
- 1995-1997 - Vice Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU – Bulgaria
- 1993-1997 - Member of the Bulgarian Parliament
Diplomatic experience
- Nov.2010 – Aug.2014 - Ambassador, Head of EU Delegation in Tbilisi, Georgia
- 2004: - Special Envoy of the President of the OSCE for Armenia and Azerbaijan
- 1998-2002 - Ambassador of Bulgaria to the US
- 1997-1998 - Permanent Representative of Bulgaria at the UN
Others:
1991-1992 Prime Minister of the first freely elected government of Bulgaria after WWII
Activities in human rights protection
Memberships
- 2003-2010 - Member of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba
- 2008–2010 - Spokesperson of the Committee for Solidarity with the Politically Persecuted in Venezuela
- 1989-1991 - Committee for protection of religion rights, freedom of thought and faiths, values
Programs (selected)
- 2006 - 2007 – Leading member Internship Program for Young Roma in Parliament - Open Society Institute (Bulgaria) and National Democratic Institute (US)
- 2003 - 2007 - Youth in Politics - Joint project of National Endowment for Democracy (US) and Bulgarian Institute for Legal Development
Public activities
- 2004 - Senior member of the NED (US)-CLS (Bulgaria) team for Democratic Experience Exchange with the New Government of Georgia
- 2002-2010 - Honorary Chairman of the Board of George Marshall Association – Bulgaria
- 2003-present - Member of the Club de Madrid of Former Heads of State and Government and Member of the Executive Committee (2006-2007)
- 2004-2010 - Member of the Advisory Board of the US-Moldova Foundation
- 2003-2010 - Member of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba
- 2002-2007 - Program Director at Bulgarian Institute for Legal Development
- 1989-1990 - Secretary of the Bulgarian Bar Union
Conferences (selected)
- February 11-12 2009 - Democracy and Democratization: America and the World – organized by CNU-CASCL - Eastern Europe and South America Panel
- November 20-21st 2008 – A New Departure: Global Challenges and EU-US Policies After the American Elections - Georgia Panel – Washington D.C. organized by the EU Institute for Security Studies
- April 2008 – “Are Revolutions Contagious” Weidenfeld Speaker Series at European Studies Centre, St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University
- October 2007 - Freedom and Responsibility - Prague - Forum 2000
- 2003-2005 - Civic Constitutional Convention - Sofia - Open Society Institute
- September 2004 - Feefteen Years after the Fall of the Wall – Prague – People in Need foundation
Public lectures in US universities
- 11. 2009 - "Faith and the Changes in Eastern Europe" - Washington University - Chestertown
- 10. 2009 - "First Steps of the Post-Communist Transition: Logic and Myths "- Miami University - Cincinnati
- 10.2008 - "Populism Today' - Cornell University – Ithaca
- 11.2008 - "Two Decades after the Wall" – New School – New York
Publications
Political
- Political Representation After Communism (CIELA Sofia 2010)
- The New Democracies and the Transatlantic Link (CIELA Sofia 2004)
- The Myths of Bulgarian Transition. (CIELA Sofia 2003)
Novels
- Light of man (2003)
- For they lived, Oh Lord (1991)
- Others (selected)
- The Western Values After the Fall of the Wall –Annual Eugene Schuyler Series 2015
- „The Transitions in Eastern Europe and the US” Democracy and Democratization: America and the World, Ed.Busch Nathan 2010
- Does the “Populism” in the New Democracies of Europe Really Matter? in Democratizatziya (Washington DC) December 2009
- Foreign policy (Bulgarian edition), June-July 2008
- Parliament in action, Reazom, Sofia, 2007
- Electoral systems. Parties: doctrines and structure, Reazom, Sofia, 2007
- On tolerance and faith in Freedom for all (e-journal), Sofia, March 2004
Awards
- 2014 – Doctor Honoris Causae of the University of Georgia
- 2008 – Token of Honour from the Bar Association in Venezuela for contributions to the defense of Human rights of political prisoners
- 1999 – The Truman-Reagan Freedom Award for contributions to overcoming Communism
- 2007 – Honorary sign of the Sofia Bar Council for contributions to the Sofia Bar college