Solomon Passy
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Solomon Isaac Passy (Bulgarian: Соломон Исак Паси) (born December 22, 1956) is a Bulgarian politician, foreign minister of Bulgaria from July 2001 until August 2005, and the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 2004.
Solomon Passy was born in Plovdiv. He is the son of famous Bulgarian philosopher Isaac Passy. He is a renowned mathematician and holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic and Computer Science from Sofia University. He was involved in the dissident movement under totalitarianism. In 1990, Passy was the founding President and CEO of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, a non-governmental organization to lobby for NATO membership, and the founder and spokesman of the Green Party of Bulgaria.
He is currently a Member of Parliament of the 40th National Assembly of Bulgaria, and Chairperson of the Foreign Policy Committee.
Solomon Passy took part in several Antarctic expeditions to Livingston Island.
Passy is also well-known for his famous Trabant. The car became an ironic symbol of Bulgaria's aspirations to join NATO and the EU when Passy gave rides in the car to several NATO Secretary-Generals, including Manfred Wörner and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Pope John Paul II, on a visit to Sofia in 2002, blessed Passy's muddy-gray Trabant. Passy transported numerous dignitaries in his Trabant, beginning with an impromptu lift he provided late NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner to the Queen's Birthday celebration at the British Embassy in Sofia in summer 1991. The car, which was parked in front of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry during Passy's tenure as minister, is now on display at the Bulgarian National Historical Museum.
