Bulgaria’s Ivailo Kalfin becomes Director of Eurofound

Ivailo Kalfin has been elected Executive Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the Bulgarian Labour and Social Policy Ministry said. Kalfin’s bid, which was backed by the Ministry on behalf of the Bulgarian Government, was approved by a convincing majority at a meeting of the Eurofound Management Board on March 5. Eurofound, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a EU agency providing knowledge to help develop social, employment and work-related policies. It researches social, employment and work-related topics, communicates the results and conclusions of its research to EU and national policymakers to help them make policies to improve living and working conditions, develop employment policies and promote social dialogue, and facilitates knowledge sharing among and between people involved in this area at EU level and nationally.

Kalfin, 57, is a qualified economist, having graduated from Sofia’s University of National and World Economy and earning a master’s degree in International Banking from the Loughborough University in the UK. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (2005-2009), Member of the European Parliament (2009-2014), and Deputy Prime Minister for Demographic and Social Policy and Minister of Labour and Social Policy (2014-2016). He was elected to three Bulgarian parliaments.