Lea Cohen (; born 1942), also known as Lea Koen, is a Bulgarian novelist, musicologist, and diplomat. In the 1990s, she was Bulgaria's Ambassador to the European Union. She also served as the ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and NATO. Cohen studied music history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She directed the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra from 1975 to 1979. She has written over 11 novels and books.
Early life and education
Lea Cohen was born in Sofia on 29 June 1942 into a family of lawyers. Her father, Iosif Koen, was one of the Jewish people forced to labor at a highway-building project near Ihtiman during World War II. After completing her secondary education, she studied musicology and piano at the Bulgarian State Conservatory in Sofia. She then studied music history, earning her doctorate from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Career
Cohen worked for the Bulgarian Music magazine as an editor and taught in Plovdiv at the Higher Music Institute. In 1967 she travelled to Moscow and tried to meet with Edison Denisov. She directed the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra from 1975 to 1979. She was the executive director and chief playwright of the Sofia Music Weeks festival.
Following the fall of Communism in Bulgaria in 1989, Cohen became involved in politics and diplomacy. She was elected as a deputy in the Great National Assembly in June 1990. In April 1991, Cohen was appointed Bulgaria's special ambassador to the European Union. From 1991 to 1993, she was also an ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg. She continued working as a diplomat with NATO and the Western European Union from 1993 to 1996, and with Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 1997 to 2001.
Cohen authored several books on musicology, avant-garde music, and musical figures such as Claude Debussy, Lyubomir Pipkov, and Paul Hindemith. Her books include Paul Hindemith (1967), Lubomir Pipkov (1969), and Monsieur Croche et Monsieur Débussy (1988). Koen has also written 11 novels and one play. Her fourth novel, The Strategem, was nominated for Best Bulgarian Novel in 2006.
She has served as president of the Bulgarian Jewish Community. She wrote the 2023 book Salvation, Persecution, and the Holocaust in the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1940-1944).
Personal life
Cohen was married to Vladimir Božkov. She lives in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and Sofia. She remarried to Swiss politician .
Selected works
Novels
The Short Eternity of Alma M (1997) Florida (1998) Alternus Consortium (2005) The Presidential Candidate (2006) Close Connection (2007) The Chaser of Sounds (2008) Bye Bye, Brussels (2011) You Believe: Eight Views on the Holocaust in the Balkans (2012) Love's Hunters (2014) Raphael (2017) Salvation, Persecution, and the Holocaust in the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1940-1944) (2023)
Plays
Bitter Cherries (1999)