Mr. Petko Draganov (Bulgaria, 2015–2017)
Petko Draganov of Bulgaria served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) from 17 March 2015 to 4 September 2017.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Draganov served as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a position he held from 1 May 2009.
Born on 25 January 1958 in Cairo, Mr. Draganov attended the English Language School in Sofia. He earned a Master’s degree in International Law from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Mr. Draganov began his diplomatic career in the Information Department of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 1985 to 1998, he specialized in African affairs, serving in Bulgarian embassies in Ghana and Zimbabwe, as well as in the Ministry’s African Department. From 1993 to 1998, he served as Ambassador of Bulgaria to South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.
In 1998, Mr. Draganov was appointed Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. From August to December 2000, he served as President of the Conference on Disarmament.
From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Draganov served as First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, with responsibility for multilateral diplomacy, development cooperation, disarmament, and European integration.
During this period, he also served as Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO, Alternate Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations Security Council, and Special Representative of the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to the Republic of Moldova.
Mr. Draganov served a second term as Bulgaria’s Permanent Representative in Geneva from 2005 to 2008.
In 2008, he was elected President of the Trade and Development Board of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In that capacity, he contributed significantly to the successful outcome of the Accra Conference, serving as Chair of the UNCTAD XII Preparatory Committee and the Committee of the Whole.
As Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Mr. Draganov helped advance the organization’s communications strategy and publications policy, streamline management processes, and strengthen inter-agency collaboration and technical cooperation activities.
Mr. Draganov speaks English, French, and Russian, and reads Spanish and Italian.
He is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.