Vera Mutafchieva ( bg, Вера Мутафчиева; March 28, 1929 – June 9, 2009) was a

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 writer and historian.

Biography

Vera Mutafchieva was born in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, March 28, 1929. Her parents were the historian prof.

Petar Mutafchiev Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. P ...

and Nadia Triphonova Mutafchieva was educated at

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

. She obtained her PhD (1958) and DSci (1978) degrees at 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 ...

(BAS) in Sofia. She was a senior researcher at various institutes of the BAS (Institute of History; Institute of Balkan Studies; Institute of Demographic Studies; Institute of Literature), and was elected vice-president of BAS (1993-1996). In 2004 she was elected a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her research focused on the Ottoman period on which she published dozens of studies in Bulgarian and European journals. Some of her monographies were published in the USA, Turkey and Greece. Mutafchieva is the author of historical novels which were translated into 11 languages. She was also script writer of the 1981 film ''

Khan Asparuh Asparuh (also ''Ispor''; bg, Аспарух, Asparuh or (rarely) bg, Исперих, Isperih) was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. Early life ...

'' (4th position in the Most Viewed Movies in Bulgaria of All Times Chart and Official submission of Bulgaria for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 55th Academy Awards in 1983; international title ''681 AD: The Glory of Khan'' ) and of 2 other films on contemporary subjects, as well as of the drama on the second Bulgarian Kingdom "The Road". From 1997 to 1998, Mutafchieva was head of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad. In 2008, it was revealed that she had collaborated with the secret police in communist Bulgaria. However, she is also known for her defence of women's rights in Bulgaria. Mutafchieva died at the

Lozenetz Hospital The Lozenetz University Hospital, also known as "the former Governmental Hospital" is one of the biggest hospitals in Bulgaria. The hospital was founded in 1948 – similar to the practice in former socialist countries – as a governmental clinic ...

in Sofia at the age of 80. Her ashes were scattered in the

Aegean sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

near the Cape

Sounion Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο ''Akrotírio Soúnio'' ; grc, Ἄκρον Σούνιον ''Άkron Soúnion'', latinized ''Sunium''; Venetian: ''Capo Colonne'' "Cape of Columns") is the promontory at the southernmost ...

Awards

Mutafchieva was awarded with numerous national prizes and with the International

Herder Prize The Herder Prize (german: Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and Sout ...

(1980).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mutafchieva, Vera 1929 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Bulgarian novelists Bulgarian biographers Bulgarian historical fiction writers Bulgarian memoirists Women historians Bulgarian women novelists Herder Prize recipients 20th-century memoirists Bulgarian historians