Meglena Shtilianova Kuneva (Bulgarian: Меглена Щилиянова Кунева; born 22 June 1957) is a Bulgarian and EU politician.
Early life and education
Born in Sofia, Kuneva is descended from a Catholic family[1] from the town of Rakovski. She graduated in Law from Sofia University in 1981, and in 1984 she became a Doctor of Law.[2] She worked as a journalist for the Law Programme of the Bulgarian National Radio while being an Assistant Professor at Sofia University. As an anchor, she participated in various campaigns related ti human rights, such as the abolition of the death penalty, which still existed at that time in the country.
In June 2001 Kuneva was elected a deputy (Member of Bulgarian Parliament) as a founding member of the LiberalSimeon II National Movement (NDSV) party. In August 2001 Kuneva left her position in the Bulgarian parliament because she was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief Negotiator of the Republic of Bulgaria with the European Union. She represented the Bulgarian Government in the Convention on the Future of Europe (the European Convention), which designed the EU Constitutional Treaty (the European Constitution).
During her term in office, Kuneva was interested in online data collection (of personal data), profiling and behavioral targeting, and in particular is looking for "enforcing existing regulation on the Internet and to regulate where adequate response to consumer concerns on the issue of data collection".[7]
Return to national politics
In 2012 Kuneva ran as an independent presidential candidate, getting 14% of the votes.
Later that year she founded a political party Bulgaria for Citizens movement, which in 2014 secured places in the parliaments as part of the bigger right centrist alliance Reformist bloc. Kuneva was elected member of parliament and then became a Deputy Prime Minister, resposnible for foreign affairs, regugee agency and data protectio unit. She also had an oversight of the human trafficking commission and the newly created anticorruoption body.
In early 2016 Kuneva took over the Ministry of Education and Science in a time the education system in Bulgaria was going though an overreaching reform.
Council of Europe
In 2018 Kuneva was appointed Head of the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe, where she collaborated to establish a common European stance in conjunction with the Council of Europe and optimal coordination between the two organizations.
Vick Foundation, Member of the Jury for the 2008 Bulgarian Novel of the Year[10]
Political positions
In October 2013, Kuneva announced her opposition to the ban on land sale to foreigners that was voted by the Bulgarian Parliament.[11] This closely matches the stand the European Commission has taken on the matter.
In December 2013 she said that "she felt more pity than anger toward" Plamen Oresharski because he is not the real decision maker in the Council of Ministers.[12]
Personal life
Meglena Kuneva is married to financier Andrey Pramov, a son of the secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party (1962–1978), and they have one son – Aleksandar.[3]
1 = President. 2 = Vice President. 3 = Served from 1 January 2007. 4 = Vassiliou replaced Kyprianou on 3 March 2008. 5 = Tajani replaced Frattini on 18 June 2008. 6 = Ashton replaced Mandelson on 3 October 2008. 7 = Šemeta replaced Grybauskaitė on 1 July 2009. 8 = Samecki replaced Hübner on 4 July 2009. 9 = De Gucht replaced Michel on 17 July 2009. 10 = Šefčovič replaced Figeľ on 1 October 2009.
