Shortly after Rumiana Bachvarova arrived as Bulgaria’s ambassador to Israel, she went to see her compatriot Nikolai Mladenov in Jerusalem.
He took her to the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
“This small place is the cornerstone of all conflicts here,” Mladenov told Bahavarova. “But look how beautiful it is.”
It has been several years since Mr. Mladenov assumed the post of Special Coordinator for the United Nations Middle East peace process, a position historically seen as symbolic but ineffective. Previous diplomats who held the title issued a statement condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and stressing the importance of a two-state solution. But they had little impact on the intractable conflict, were largely ignored by Israelis, and failed to foster change with the Palestinians. They came and went without leaving a trace.
But Mladenov came into the role with a different perspective and was able to build trust with both Israeli and Palestinian officials. At the age of 37, the Bulgarian politician and diplomat had already been appointed Minister of Defense, and a few months later became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held for three years. Before coming to Jerusalem in 2015, he was the United Nations Special Representative for Iraq and earlier in his career was a member of the European Parliament.
Now, 53 years old, Mladenov faces perhaps his most difficult task yet. As the newly announced High Representative for Gaza, he will serve as a key link between US President Donald Trump’s “peace committee” and a technical committee made up of Palestinian officials meant to run the shattered enclave. He must turn the U.S.-brokered 20-point ceasefire plan, which lacks key details, into a workable plan to rebuild Gaza, disarm Hamas, and govern 2 million people.
And for it to work, it has to be acceptable to Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans all.
In addition to President Trump, the White House announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will join the Peace Commission, although they will not have direct responsibility for the commission.
With little fanfare, Mr. Mladenov met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Palestinian officials last week to prepare for his future work.
Mladenov declined to comment on his new role. After Witkov announced the start of the second phase of the ceasefire on Wednesday, Mladenov reposted the message but did not speak himself.
But when he posted his New Year’s post to X, he definitely knew what was going to happen.
“As we enter 2026, I hope it will be a year in which common sense prevails, rules are respected, facts weigh more than slogans, and strength is measured in thoughtful restraint and wise choices rather than reckless escalation,” he wrote.
Mladenov, who was due to retire at the end of 2020, said in an interview with the New York Times that when he arrived in Jerusalem more than a decade ago, he was initially struck by how irrelevant his position was. But Mr. Mladenov bounced between key figures, meeting with Israel, the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, and submitting monthly reports to the United Nations Security Council in New York on the president’s orders. position.
Although he did not make much headlines during his time in Jerusalem, behind the scenes he actively contributed to quickly ending the repeated escalations between Israel and Hamas, especially alongside Egypt.
“Good job. Again,” he once wrote in a text message after a 24-hour flare-up subsided.
“Everyone likes Mladenov, not only in Israel but throughout the Middle East. He has been able to have complete trust from all sides, which is very rare,” a senior Israeli official told CNN this week. “He speaks in a positive and constructive manner, avoids getting caught up in negativity, and works with everyone in an orderly and transparent manner without unnecessary complications. He is a fair player who understands the sensibilities of all parties.”
Among Palestinians, the assessment is more nuanced. Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst who previously worked as an advisor in the PLO’s negotiating department, acknowledged Mladenov’s professionalism.
“He was always seen as a very serious person, someone who knew the file very well. He wasn’t the type of advisor or diplomat, someone who was too reliant on advisors and people telling him what to say,” he said.
But Abu Eid also told CNN that he felt Mladenov was leaning too heavily on Israel’s position, worrying more about Israel’s image than the human rights abuses suffered by Palestinians.
“He cared about the Palestinians, but he cared more about the Israelis,” Abu Eid said.
Some in Jerusalem’s diplomatic community agree, believing Mr. Mladenov is unduly ignoring the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was established in the 1990s as part of an international effort to resolve the conflict and still maintains some degree of administrative control over parts of the West Bank.
One diplomat told CNN that he felt he could have spent more time on the moribund peace process than building very good relations not only with Israel but also with Hamas, the PA’s longtime rival and a US-designated terrorist organization. This means more involvement with the PA.
A sympathetic reading of Mladenov’s choices might conclude that he devoted his energies to more dynamic actors within his purview, but it also meant that it suited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have the region’s highest-ranking UN official cultivate ties with Hamas at the expense of the PA. The fragmentation of the Palestinian leadership has contributed to weakening the Palestinian cause on the international stage.
But while Israel’s behind-the-scenes approach to Hamas fell apart with the October 7, 2023 attack, concerns remain in Ramallah, where the PA is headquartered, that a new technocratic committee could become another means of dividing Palestinians by creating a rival power center.
“The Palestinian Authority as a transitional authority has existed for the past 32 years, and now there is a (new) authority in Gaza… This is also an interim arrangement until December 31, 2027. So now that we have two transitional authorities, the question for us is how do we actually make the two work together to achieve a two-state solution,” former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told CNN in an audio note.
Many Palestinians are also skeptical of Mladenov’s continued ties with the United Arab Emirates, where he is the executive director of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, which focuses on international relations and diplomacy. In his final months in Jerusalem as a U.N. official, Mladenov defended the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with the UAE and other countries. Palestinians saw the 2020 peace agreement as a betrayal that circumvented their aspirations for statehood, which was supposed to be a precondition for Israel’s regional integration.
But supporters of the deal say it emphasizes what many consider one of Mladenov’s strengths: his openness to new approaches.
“I think he’s a very down-to-earth person,” said former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro. The two worked together in 2015 and 2016, with Mladenov demonstrating a willingness to break through red tape to get the job done. “He’s far less bound or committed to bureaucratic processes than he is to delivering results. He’ll go anywhere, talk to anyone, and insist that the conversations are results-oriented,” said Shapiro, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank.
But virtually everyone CNN spoke to issued the same stark warning: Mr. Mladenov’s previous ability to build relationships does not guarantee success in his new role. Without an established infrastructure around him, he must immediately take on the most difficult task under the initial second phase of the US-brokered agreement.
Three months after the ceasefire went into effect, Hamas has made no moves to disarm, which is one reason why international security forces have been prevented from sending international security forces to Gaza. Concerns also remain about Israel’s true intentions for further military withdrawal from the Strip. Mladenov also needs to find a way to transition Gaza from nearly 20 years of Hamas rule to the Palestinian Council of Engineers under his chairmanship.
Meanwhile, Hamas welcomed the establishment of the commission and said in a statement issued by senior official Bassem Naim that it was ready to hand over administration of Gaza and facilitate the commission’s work.
However, a former senior Israeli security official expressed skepticism.
“I don’t think this effort will be successful,” said a former official who worked with Mr. Mladenov on the U.N. mission. “He has a great ability to build trust. But from an Israeli perspective, it’s clear that he has close ties to Hamas, so it’s going to be difficult for him to impose anything on Hamas or get them to relinquish power.”
Ultimately, success in Mladenov’s new job will depend on political will and key players acting with integrity, but those who know him believe that if he fails, it will not be for lack of trying.
Bachvarova, the same Bulgarian who gave me a tour of Jerusalem’s Old City, admires his emotional connection with others and his firm belief in dialogue and compromise.
“He doesn’t take easy choices or easy political lines,” she says. “He is a brave man.”
