Stefan Panaretov ( bg, Стефан Панаретов) or Stephen Panaretoff or Stephan Panaretoff (October 4, 1853 - October 19, 1931) was a prominent

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n diplomat, academician and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

, an independent private high school in Turkey.

Early life

He was born on 4 October 1853 in Sliven to

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Panaret, a Bulgarian clergyman, who served in the Bulgarian church in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. At the age of 14 he entered the recently established

and graduated in 1871. Upon graduation he immediately became an assistant professor in Bulgarian literature and in 1875 was promoted to the rank of a professor. Panaretoff taught for 43 years at Robert College until he was appointed, at the age of 61, as the first Bulgarian minister to the U.S. After the

April Uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...

and following Bulgarian Atrocities in 1876, Panaretoff publicized the Turkish massacres of Bulgarian Christians in an effort to sway Western public opinion. He traveled to Britain to represent the Bulgarian people. In 1880, Panaretoff conducted another unofficial diplomatic mission to London to gain support for Bulgarian acquisition of Eastern Rumelia. In 1892 he married the American missionary and teacher Lydia Ann Gile (1869-1931), who taught at the American College for Girls in Constantinople.

Diplomat and lecturer

He became the first Special Envoy and

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...

of Bulgaria to the U.S. after presenting his

Letter of Credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

to President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

on December 22, 1914. His only son, Cyril Panaretoff, was killed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, fighting for the Kingdom of Bulgaria. He played a critical role in maintaining Bulgarian relations with the Wilson administration through the War, despite a myriad of calls for the breaking of diplomatic ties with the Central Power ally. In 1918, Panaretov was the only official diplomatic representative of a member country of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

who continued his work in the capital of the United States. In 1921, Panaretoff served as the ad hoc Bulgarian representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

after the international organization admitted Bulgaria as a member state. Panaretov resigned his post as

in 1925. Rather than return to Bulgaria, Panaretov and his wife stayed in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and he became lecturer at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

Legacy

After his death, which followed the death of his wife, the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

received a bequest from his estate of approximately 2.5 million lev. The Academy built a library and reading room that was named in his honor.

Books

* * an
via Internet Archive

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Panaretov, Stefan 1853 births 1931 deaths Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Robert College alumni People from Sliven Ambassadors of Bulgaria to the United States Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery