Personalities in the News 2014 Poll Closes in 5 Days

Voting is nearing its end in the "Personalities in the News" 2014 poll, organized Bulgaria's largest English-language news website Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) our Bulgarian-language service Novinite.bg.

Readers have five days more to select their favourite Personalities, with the poll closing at midnight on February 15.
There are six different categories this year: Politics; Business; Diplomacy; Culture; Sports; and Charity, with a few of the names coinciding with those of nominees from the 2013 poll.

Last year's winners included Irina Bokova, UNESCO's first female Secretary General (Politcs); ABB country manager Ekkehard Neureither and Walltopia founder Ivaylo Penchev (tied in Business); Japan's Ambassador to Sofia Takashi Koizumi (Diplomacy); top tennis player Grigor Dimitrov (Sports); violinist Vesko Eschkenazy (Culture); and Dobri Dobrev, known as "the Elder Dobri" (Charity).

As for this year, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who was reelected in the October 5 snap poll, is now again among the nominees, but is facing a tough challenge from Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, and from the murky, mythical, behind-the-scenes force leading Bulgaria's political life from behind and often reffered to by Bulgarians as "#WHO?"

The Business category is also likely to see a heated contest wherein Telerik co-founders Vasil Terziev and Svetozar Georgiev will be pitted against Telenor Bulgaria CEO Stein-Erik Vellan and Italcementi Group's Regional Manager Serge Schmidt.

Three Ambassadors - Jonathan Allen (UK), Shaul Kamisa Raz (Israel) and Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes (france) will be the options offered to readers in Diplomacy.

For Bulgaria 2014 was quite dramatic in...