Svetoslav Ivanov

Svetoslav Ivanov is a journalist at bTV News and the host of the flagship current affairs program “120 Minutes.” He is the author of some of the most prominent Bulgarian documentary films on the Middle East, reporting from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, and many others. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Robert Schuman Prize from the European Commission for his investigative piece “Crescent in the Crown” about Islamist movements in London, the Golden Feather award from the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) for his contribution to television journalism in 2016, and has been named Reporter of the Year by his bTV colleagues three times – in 2008, 2009, and 2012. In 2018, he received the Worlds and Colours media award in the Television category for the overall public impact of his show. In 2021, Svetoslav Ivanov was honored with the Daniela Seizova – In the Name of Life Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a distinction for excellence in language use from Sofia University. He holds a degree in Journalism from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” In 2012, he completed a specialization at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and in 2018, he graduated from the Negotiation Mastery program at Harvard Business School. His journalistic career began at Darik Radio, where he worked as a reporter and anchor. Svetoslav Ivanov has brought exclusive interviews to the bTV audience with global figures such as Cécilia Sarkozy, Lech Wałęsa, Viktor Yushchenko, Ahmet Davutoğlu, former CIA Director James Woolsey, former KGB agent Mikhail Lyubimov, Ribal al-Assad, Richard Branson, Jordan Belfort, and many others. His articles have appeared in some of the most respected international publications, including the British newspaper The Independent. He is the author of the bestselling travelogue “Where the Trees Died” (2015), featuring stories from the world’s most dangerous hotspots. The book was among the bestsellers in Bulgaria in 2015. His second book, “Monsters and Awakeners” (2017), includes 75 editorials from his weekly commentary segment that opens each episode of “120 Minutes.” Svetoslav Ivanov is also the creator of impactful documentaries such as “Fugitives in London,” “The Road After Sofia,” “Khomeini’s Iran,” “Libya Before and After Gaddafi,” “Why Ratko Mladić Is Sad,” and “Romeo and Juliet of the Middle East,” among others.