site.btaBulgaria, France Rediscovered Each Other as Zhelev, Mitterrand Met in 1989

French Council of State Honorary Member Jean Musitelli said here Monday that President Francois Mitterrand found in President Zhelyu Zhelev an enlightened personality who, "armed" solely with his convictions, never lost hope but kept moving forward. He was speaking at a forum titled "Zhelyu Zhelev, the Philosopher President. From Dissidence to Democracy, Europe and Shared Responsibility", held at the French Institute in Sofia on the occasion of November 10, the anniversary of the start of Bulgaria's democratic transition in 1989.

Dr Zhelyu Zhelev served as President of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997 and was the country's first democratically elected head of State. He passed away on January 30, 2015.

Speaking about the relationship between Zhelev and Mitterrand, who was President of France from 1981 to 1995, Musitelli, who was Mitterrand's diplomatic adviser and spokesperson, recalled his participation in the French President’s visit to Sofia in January 1989. He attended the famous working breakfast at the French Embassy in Bulgaria and a meeting with students at Sofia University. Musitelli described the meeting as a "remarkable moment that reflected the first signs of freedom emerging in the country", noting that Mitterrand was strongly impressed by his discussions with Zhelev and the connection that developed between them.

Musitelli noted that for Mitterrand, the meetings in Sofia in 1989 were a revelation, as relations between the two countries had long been in a "frozen" period of mistrust and unfamiliarity. He recalled that Communist leader Todor Zhivkov had last visited France in 1966 and that, for 23 years after that, there had been practically no contacts at such a level.

Musitelli added that the meeting between Zhelev and Mitterrand in 1989 became a rediscovery between France and Bulgaria, and the two made a mutual commitment to stay in touch. Over the next five years, until 1994, they met on ten occasions: seven times in Paris, twice in Sofia, and once on the island of Mauritius. Throughout that period, Mitterrand and Zhelev maintained a strong dialogue, sustained by personal respect and affinity.

In his congratulatory message on Zhelev’s election as President of Bulgaria in 1990, Mitterrand hailed him as an innovator. For the French President, Zhelev always favoured dialogue, the calming of tensions, and the introduction of a new style of relations among neighbours in the Balkans.

Born in Bordeaux in 1946, Jean Musitelli graduated from the Ecole normale superieure in Saint-Cloud and the École nationale d'administration in Strasbourg. He served as counsellor at the French Embassy in Rome (1981-1984), diplomatic adviser (1984-1989) and spokesperson (1989-1995) to President Francois Mitterrand, before becoming adviser to Foreign Ministers Roland Dumas and Hubert Vedrine. He was France’s ambassador to UNESCO (1997-2002), a member of the Council of State (2001-2015), and chair of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage (1999-2008) and the Private Copying Commission (2015-2021).

Musitelli is a member of the board of the Francois Mitterrand Institute and recounted his experience in a two-part television film titled History of French Diplomacy (2009).