The Bulgarian National Committee (BNC) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was established in 1967. Its first chairperson, between 1968 and 1972, was Prof. Hristo Gandev, Director of the Ethnographic Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). From 1972 to 1987, the chairperson was Prof. Velizar Velkov, Deputy Director of the Archaeological Institute with Museum at BAS. The Secretary was Engineer Alexander Valchev, Director of the National Polytechnic Museum. In 1972, two representatives of the BNC of ICOM participated in the ICOM General Assembly in Paris and Grenoble. As a result of the active work of the National Committee of ICOM, it was entrusted with organising a session of the International Committee of Archaeological and Historical Museums, which took place in Sofia in October 1979.

At the end of the 1980s, the organisation’s activity declined and eventually ceased. In 1994, on the initiative of the National Center for Museums, Galleries, and Fine Arts at the Ministry of Culture, steps were taken to restore membership in ICOM, which was successfully re-established in 1995.

The Statute of the BNC of ICOM from February 1999 was signed by Albert Benbasat as Chairperson, Engineer Alexander Valchev as Deputy Chairperson, and members Ilya Prokopov, Trifon Trifonov, Ruzha Marinska, and Mikhail Maleev, with Elena Nikolova as Secretary. In July 2012, the BNC of ICOM was registered under Bulgarian law as a non-profit association.

 

Since the restoration of the BNC of ICOM, the organisation has been chaired by:

 

  • Prof. Albert Benbasat (1995–2004)
  • Engineer Alexander Valchev (2005–2011)
  • Corresponding Member of BAS Mila Santova (2011–2013)
  • Dr. Lyubava Konova (2013–2014)
  • Corresponding Member of BAS Mila Santova (2015–2021)
  • Prof. Svetla Dimitrova – from 2021 to date

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