London, April 2006. The Chairman of Eligo International, Mr Anthony Bailey, hosted a lunch in honour of His Excellency Mr Georgi Parvanov, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, and Mrs Zorka Petrova Parvanova, First Lady of Bulgaria, on the occasion of their Official Visit to the United Kingdom.
His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO, also attended the lunch as the principal British Guest of Honour.
The three hour event was held in the Library of The Travellers’ Club in central London to celebrate British-Bulgarian relations ahead of the Balkan nation’s forthcoming accession to the European Union.
Eligo International has professionally advised successive Bulgarian administrations and hosted similar events on the occasion of Official Visits made to the United Kingdom by previous Bulgarian Heads of State and Government.
Among Bulgarian guests attending were: HE Dr Lachezar Matev, (Ambassador of Bulgaria to the Court of St James’s) and Mrs Bisserka Mateva, HE Mr Nikolay Vassilev (Minister of State Administration), HE Mr Rumen Ovcharov, (Minister of Economy and Energy), Prof Dimitar Ivanov, (Economic Adviser to HE The President), Mr Andrey Karaslavov, (Head of the Office to HE The President), Mr Mitko Nikolov, (Chief of Protocol to HE The President), Mr Zlatin Trapkov, (Foreign Policy Secretary to HE The President), Ms Pavlina Popova, (Foreign Policy Secretary to HE The President), Mrs Boyka Bashlieva, (Press Secretary to HE The President), and Mr Kalin Mitrev, (Member of the Board of Director of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development).
Among the British guests were: HE Mr Jeremy Hill, (Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria), His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, (Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom), The Right Reverend James Jones, (Lord Bishop of Liverpool), The Right Honourable Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, (Minister of State, Home Office), The Right Honourable Kevin Barron, MP, (Chairman of the All Party Bulgarian Group), Graham Brady, Esq., MP, (Shadow Minister for Europe), Sir Michael Craig-Cooper, CBE, TD, DL, (Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater London and representing the Lord Lieutenant), Sir Sigmund Sternberg, KCSG, JP, (Founder, Three Faith Forum), Mr Stephen Twigg, (Director of the Foreign Policy Centre, and former Labour Minister of Education), Captain Ben Sempala-Ntege, (Equerry to HRH The Duke of Gloucester), Mr Dimitrios Stratikopoulos, (Managing Director, Global Banking, Deutsche Bank), Mr Dick Tyler, (Managing Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna) and Mr Brian Bolger, (Managing Director, Head of EEMEA Coverage, Credit Suisse Bank).
To learn more about the President of Bulgaria, click here.
