Sofia, November 15 (BTA) - BTA Director General Maxim Minchev has died here on Sunday after a short illness. On November 6, his colleagues at BTA were informed that Minchev had tested positive for COVID-19 and was quarantined.

Politicians and public figures, including President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, issued statements expressing their sympathy.

President Rumen Radev expressed his condolences to Minchev's family and friends in an address, released by his Press Secretariat. "The public and Bulgarian journalism have lost a great man and professional who contributed greatly to the development of news agency journalism in Bulgaria," said the Bulgarian head of State.

Expressing his deepest sympathy on the occasion of Minchev's death, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, quoted by his press service, said: "A proven and respected journalist with extensive professional experience, always led by the profession's standards. God bless his soul!"

Head of the Parliamentary Culture and Media Committee and former culture minister Vezhdi Rashidov described Maxim Minchev's death as "a huge loss as a talented journalist has left us, a true professional, an honest man and a true friend! Until the very end, he remained faithful to the mission of responsible journalism. I am deeply grieving his death," Rashidov is quoted as saying.

In a message on the webpage of the Sofia Municipality, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova called Minchev "a devoted and exceptional professional[...], who organized a lot of forums that helped popularize Sofia."

The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) expressed their condolences in an address to BTA and Maxim Minchev's family and friends.

"He was one of the brightest public figures in the past 30 years. A convinced democrat, a reputable journalist, an accomplished director of the Bulgarian News Agency. His death is a huge loss for both his family and Bulgarian journalism," the UDF said.

Expressing his condolences in an address, former president Petar Stoyanov (1997-2002) described Maxim Minchev as a "wonderful and dedicated Director of BTA, a man whose joy and kindness were contagious".

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Maxim Minchev was born on June 5, 1953 in Sofia. In 1976 he graduated in journalism at the Lviv University in Ukraine and in 1986 in pedagogy at the G.S. Rakovsky Military Academy. Between 1993 and 1996 he was a fellow at NATO's Headquarters in Brussels.

During his over 40-year long career he was correspondent and editor of various newspapers and radio programmes. Minchev was among the founders of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria in 1991 and served on its Board of Directors and as press director until 2003.

Since 2003 until his death he was Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency.

During his tenure at the agency he launched a network of 13 press clubs, with two of them located in Bosilegrad (Serbia) and Taraclia (Moldova).

Minchev also initiated 15 world meetings of Bulgarian media around the world.

In 2015, he became a recipient of the Golden Age Award of the Culture Ministry on the occasion of National Awakeners' Day.

The BTA team offers condolences to his family. MY/PP