The National Day of Bulgaria – March 3rd – was celebrated with an official reception at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
More than 400 guests, including members of Congress, White House officials, representatives of the Department of State and the US administration, the Diplomatic corps, the think tanks and non-governmental organizations, business, academic and cultural communities, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian community from the Washington area attended the event. Honorary consuls of Bulgaria in the United States and former US ambassadors to Bulgaria participated as well. Leaders of the American Jewish organizations, including B’nai B’rith International, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jews, and others also took part in the reception.
Among the official guests were Congressman Joe Wilson, Founder and Co-Chair of the Bulgaria Caucus in the US Congress; Ms. Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs; Mr. Peter Haas, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs; Mr. William Berkley, Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council (White House), Mr. Matthew Boise, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia; Mr. Elan Carr, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; Mr. Thomas Yazdgerdi, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues; Major General Terry Haston, Commissioner/The Adjutant General of Tennessee (until March 1st); Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the EU Delegation; Ms. Bilha Bryant, a Holocaust Survivor of Bulgarian origin.
The official part of the reception was opened with the national anthems of Bulgaria and the United States, performed by the opera singer Genko Geshev, a music professor at Duqesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev, Congressman Joe Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia Matthew Boise, and Major General Terry Haston, former Head of Tennessee National Guard, addressed the guests.
At the end of the official part, Ambassador Stoytchev awarded Major General Haston with the Commendation Medal of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria for his overall contribution to the partnership between Bulgaria and the National Guard of Tennessee.
Here are some pictures from the event:
