Simeon Karakolev

Simeon Karakolev is one of the founders and is a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Agrarian Chamber (BAC) - the largest association in agriculture in Bulgaria and an official member of Copa&Cogeca. He founded the National Sheep Breeding Association (NOA) and is co-chairman of Bulgaria's largest animal breeding association - the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association (NOKA). He has been engaged in sheep breeding since 2003. In 2006, he established the "National Association for Breeding Dairy Sheep in Bulgaria". For the six mandates as chairman of the association, Simeon worked and managed to transform a large part of dairy sheep farming in the country. He is the initiator and coordinator of numerous innovative projects in the livestock sector. He created the Center for Professional Training at NOKA to increase Bulgarian farmers' professional qualifications. Furthermore, he is the founder of the largest producers’ groups in Bulgaria and is one of the leading experts on the subject. He is a member of the Advisory Council on Animal Husbandry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Council on Genetic Resources in Animal Husbandry. He is working on the establishment of the Union of Sheep Breeders in Europe. Simeon is the creator and inspirer of some of the largest events to respect the Bulgarian way of life, culture, folklore and animal husbandry. Organized and created one of the largest outdoor events in Bulgaria, promoting local livestock, traditional food and their producers. The events are attended by hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians, united by the love for nature and solidarity between generations. In 2012, he initiated the largest branch event in Europe - the National Assembly of Sheep Breeders in Bulgaria, since 2015 to the present he has been the Executive Director of Rozhen - the assembly of folk creativity and animal husbandry, he is the manager of the "Heritage in the Future" Foundation. He is the inspirer and founder of the 111-meter Pylon Rozhen - the tallest pylon in the European Union. It was opened in 2023 by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria after a large-scale nationwide donation campaign. Simeon Karakolev was born on May 29, 1978 in Gorna Oryahovitsa. He is the father of two children. He graduated with a degree in "Economic Management" at VUARR Plovdiv and a master's degree in "Entrepreneurship and Strategic Marketing" at Trakia University - Stara Zagora, he is working on a doctoral program "Creation of Groups and Organizations of Producers in Sheep Breeding".