“I very much enjoy discovering and studying Bulgarian traditions and culture, including music. I would love to meet the Bulgarian musician Grafa!”
The US Ambassador Herro Mustafa made this confession in an interview for the daily newspaper 24 Hours. “Surprising and unexpected! I thank her for the positive attitude, for noticing my work. I look forward to meeting her,” replied Vladimir Ampov – Grafa. Herro Mustafa established a dizzying pace during her first 100 days in Bulgaria. Three months after her arrival the Ambassador gained exceptional popularity and showed the face of a diplomat who cares for the country where he works. On 16 October Herro Mustafa landed at Sofia Airport with her husband, an Indian businessman, and their two daughters. Since then the Ambassador has never stopped working for the Bulgarian-American relations, visiting various landmarks and meeting famous and ordinary people. Her Eminence, who speaks 9 languages, including Portuguese, Arabian, Hindi, Russian and Greek, started to actively study Bulgarian. She says that she is dedicating time to improving her Bulgarian on a daily basis. The result is obvious: now she starts all her speeches in Bulgarian. She even posted a video on Facebook in which, in understandable Bulgarian, she talks about her family and her work. 
“I have been assigned on this position after 20 years in diplomacy. Throughout my carrier I have been actively involved in energy security, rule of law and anti-corruption measures. I want to work towards strengthening our partnership and increasing the American investments in Bulgaria. I believe that, as partners and allies in NATO, Bulgaria and the USA are stronger together,” says Herro Mustafa in her video. She is of Kurdish origin, but her family fled from Iraq and settled in the USA when she was still a child. In her carrier she’s already worked for three consecutive American presidents. Shortly after her arrival, the diplomat met the prime minister Boyko Borisov, the president Rumen Radev, ministers from the cabinet and leaders of political parties. The Embassy regularly reports on her activities by publishing photos and texts. The first significant activity of Mrs. Mustafa took place in the middle of November, when together with Boyko Borisov and the Ambassadors of Greece and Azerbaijan she inspected the progress in the construction of the Greece-Bulgaria intersystem gas connection. Then the American Ambassador rode in the prime minister’s SUV and complimented him on his driving. “Herro, I’ve driven Antonio Tajani, Donald Tusk and David Cameron around in this car,” said the prime minister, listing the names of his important passengers. The US Ambassador gave her first interview in Bulgaria for the daily newspaper 24 Hours. This was before the key meeting of Boyko Borisov and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in Washington towards the end of November. She explained that America wants Bulgaria to become a true energy hub, while the fight against corruption is among her priorities. Herro Mustafa travelled to the American capital to participate in the discussions between the delegations of the two countries. After her arrival in Sofia she held a lecture at the Atlantic Club and she stated that the relationships between the USA and Bulgaria are at a new level of development and joint activities. According to the diplomat 3 years from now Bulgaria may become the most attractive destination in the region for American companies, if it advances in its efforts to establish rule of law and anti-corruption measures. The first diplomat of the USA clearly showed that she is disciplined and she will never step away from her principles. The Ambassador notified the Bulgarian authorities that Washington is ready to sanction corrupt Bulgarian officials and their families to help Bulgaria strengthen its democracy and free market economy. She said that, for example, the American authorities can enforce a ban on the issue of US visas for foreign government officials and their families, if they are connected to corruption. At the beginning of January Bulgaria welcomed the beautiful guardian of the law Jessica Kim from the US Department of Justice. She is a legal adviser assisting the justice sector in combating corruption and organized crime. Herro Mustafa immediately dropped her in the deep end by taking her to a meeting with prime minister Borisov and the minister of justice Danail Kirilov. On the background of the serious topics the Ambassador continued to tirelessly explore Bulgaria. She visited the botanical garden in Sofia and soon enough she shared on the social networks what her name means in Bulgarian: “Herro is a kind of flower. In Bulgaria we call it ‘ruzha’.” Perhaps the time spent with the flowers has inspired the diplomat to choose the Bulgarian rose as a motif for her unique Ambassador coin. She will present it as a gift to people she meets. After riding in Boyko Borisov’s SUV, the Ambassador flew with him to the American aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Black Sea. “On water and on land, together we are stronger,” said Mustafa on board. And, for a magical Christmas, Herro Mustafa respected the Bulgarian traditions and prepared a banitsa all by herself. “Food is an important part of every culture. In order to truly understand a culture, you must discover and appreciate its food,” she claimed. Herro Mustafa said that she and her husband, Ravnish, are enthusiastic cooks, when they have free time. The diplomat said farewell to 2019 in an iconic way, by singing the evergreen New Year with Vasil Naydenov and Bogdana Karadocheva at the celebration in the US Embassy. The new year of the American Ambassador started with an important debate on the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the USA at the Council of Ministers. As a skillful diplomat Herro Mustafa discussed with the Bulgarian authorities the importance of diversification of gas deliveries hours before the prime minister left for Istanbul for the opening of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. The event was attended by the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Serbia. Herro Mustafa also celebrated Vasilitsa with students from the village of Karadzhovo and even danced horo with them. She visited incognito the Tsarevets fortress in Veliko Tarnovo. No one knew she was coming and the employees at the museum never realized they had a VIP guest. “I am impressed by the millennial history of Bulgaria, by the magic of its folklore and the strength of the Bulgarian spirit,” said the diplomate. From the very beginning of her stay she banked on cultural connections. In the first month she walked around the streets of the capital, visited the Sofia City Library and explored Rila Monastery. The first diplomat of the USA , a graduate in national security and international relations, was delighted to see the famous Panagyurishte Treasure at the National History Museum and had her picture taken with the sculptures of Petko and Pencho Slaveykov. In her first 100 days Herro Mustafa also spoke with with Patriarch Neophyte and the head mufti of the Bulgarian Muslims.
