The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences awarded President Iliana Iotova the honorary title of “Doctor Honoris Causa.” The ceremony took place in the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall of the Academy.
The Governing Council of BAS awarded the honorary title to the president “for her contribution to Bulgarian studies, her active support for the promotion of the nation’s cultural heritage, the affirmation and preservation of Bulgarian spiritual identity, her contributions as a stateswoman and in her roles as a Member of the European Parliament, Vice President, and President of the Republic of Bulgaria, and her long-standing, active, and personal involvement in the Academy’s causes.”
Today is a special and particularly important day for us, the scientists of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. A day on which we have gathered to pay high and well-deserved tribute to a remarkable individual, an established public figure and stateswoman whose professional career combines journalism, European politics, and public administration in an astonishing way. This was stated in the speech of the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member Evelina Slavcheva. She recalled Iliana Iotova’s strong support for causes related to Bulgarian studies, the preservation of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition, the safeguarding of cultural heritage, and the promotion of scientific diplomacy as a bridge between Bulgaria and the world. “I am convinced that today’s event will remain among the most significant moments in the contemporary history of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,” the President of BAS also said.
After the presentation of the “Doctor Honoris Causa” insignia, President Iliana Iotova expressed her gratitude for the high honor and delivered an academic address. “There are moments that one remembers every day and will remember until one’s last breath; today is such a day for me: an exceptionally moving day, one of the most important days of my life,” she said. Pages bearing today’s date are written in the annals of every state institution, but there is one institution that shapes the future, and that is the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Born on the eve of freedom, it preceded even the restoration of our state, yet it had already laid its spiritual foundations, said President Iliana Iotova. She noted that she accepted the title of “Doctor Honoris Causa” as a tremendous responsibility because it was a symbolic act of joining the cause and the legacy of the generations who built the BAS, to the brilliant minds who wrote the golden pages of Bulgarian academic thought and created our unique Bulgarian contribution to the development of humanity and world civilization.
“We are justifiably proud that our oldest national institution is none other than the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,” the president emphasized in her speech, recalling the role of the visionary founders of the Bulgarian Learned Society and their very first mission: to bring universal enlightenment and progress to the Bulgarian people, the head of state said in her academic address.
She stated that Bulgaria had its proven potential to be a driving force, rather than merely a consumer, of knowledge, technology, and processes. With its indisputable authority and scientific capacity, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is called upon to realize this potential in practice. Having a world-class Academy is not merely a matter of prestige but a key element of our national security, President Iotova added.
The official ceremony at BAS was attended by representatives of the legislative and executive powers, the academic community, the Office of the President, ambassadors, and the media.
