The new U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Eric Rubin, arrived today at Sofia International Airport with his wife Nicole Simmons.
One of Ambassador Rubin’s first official acts was to greet the Embassy’s Twitter followers with “Excited to have arrived in Bulgaria as U.S. Ambassador. First task – relaunch @USEmbassySofia on Twitter. До скоро!” The Ambassador also appeared in a short video, greeting the Bulgarian people and expressing his desire to work toward a strong, productive partnership between the United States and Bulgaria.
Eric Seth Rubin, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor, most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, a position he held from 2011 to 2015. Rubin previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 2008 to 2011, Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2006 to 2008, and Director of the Office of Policy and Coordination from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, he was Consul General and Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2001 to 2004, Resident Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University from 1999 to 2000, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1998 to 1999. He also served as Assistant White House Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security Council Director for Public Affairs from 1997 to 1998, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1996 to 1997, and Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine from 1994 to 1996. Mr. Rubin received a B.A. from Yale University.