Elena Poptodorova is a founding member of The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, where she is Vice-President, Director for Euro-Atlantic Affairs and Project Manager of the Three Seas National Program.

She serves as Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) and has served two times as Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the United States (from 2002 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2016).

Elena joined Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1975 and served from 3rd secretary through Minister-Counselor in the Secretariat, the State Protocol, the Cabinet of the Minister and the UN and Disarmament Directorates, until 1990, when she was elected in the national legislature.

From 1987 to 1990, she was Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Italy and Bulgaria’s Consul General to the Republic of San Marino. Before her first mandate as the Ambassador of Bulgaria to the USA, she served as a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Organizations Directorate. In the period 2008 – 2009, Elena served as Ambassador-at-Large for the Black Sea Region at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to her second appointment in Washington, Ambassador Poptodorova was Director of the Security Policy Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – a position, which she held for a year since August 1, 2009.

Elena earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in English and Italian linguistic and literary studies, after which she attended a post-graduate course in international relations at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. She later specialized at the University of Leeds, England, and the University of Siena, Italy.