UNESCO has elected Irina Bokova, Ambassador of Bulgaria to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, as its new Director-General.

UNESCO is one of three organisations that sponsor ICTP, along with the IAEA and the Italian government.

A career diplomat and politician, Bokova studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and at the School of Public Affairs of the University of Maryland (USA). She served as deputy minister of Foreign Affairs (1995-97) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996-97). In 1996, as candidate to the post of Vice President of Bulgaria, she advocated her country’s membership in NATO and the European Union.

For more details, visit UNESCO's website.