The new US ambassador to Bulgaria Nancy McEldowney arrived in Sofia on August 14. She comes to the country from Turkey, where she as deputy chief of mission at the United States embassy in Ankara. Before that, she was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Azerbaijan.

McEldowney (49) replaces John Beyrle, who has been posted to Moscow. She was confirmed by the US senate on April 29 2008 as his replacement, as previously reported by The Sofia Echo.

In addition to her posts in Turkey and Azerbaijan, she has also served at the US embassies in Cairo, Egypt, and Bonn, Germany, along with having been a member of the US delegation to the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the Soviet Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to begin another journey, a journey together with the Government and the people of Bulgaria … We look forward to exploring this beautiful country along with its incredibly rich history and culture. We are thrilled to be in a place of such importance - the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet and one of the cradles of European civilisation," McEldowney said to the media, according to a statement on the website of the United States embassy, when she and her family arrived at Sofia Airport on the 14th.

Florida native McEldowney is a member of the senior foreign service. She is married to Tim Hayes, a retired air force pilot; they have two daughters, Jessica and Alyssa.

Her undergraduate studies at were completed at New College; she holds graduate degrees from Columbia University and the National Defense University.

According to her biography on the US embassy's website, McEldowney has been granted the US state department's Superior Honor Award on four occasions. She is also a recipient of the Sinclair Linguistic Award and the National War College's Distinguished Writing Award. She speaks several languages, among which Arabic and Azerbaijani.