Iskra Mihaylova was born on 07.09.1957 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has an extensive career in the field of EU cooperation and regional policy. Her path into active politics began in 2001 when she was appointed adviser to the minister for regional development. After the 2005 elections in Bulgaria, Mihaylova continued her involvement in regional policy as deputy minister up to 2009. In the period 2009-2013 she was Member of Bulgaria’s 41st National Assembly and Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Environment and Water. She was also member of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds. From May 2013 up to June 2014 Iskra Mihaylova acted as a Minister of the Environment and Water of Bulgaria. She has participated in numerous international forums as a lecturer and as an official representative of Bulgaria in her capacity of Deputy Minister, Member of Parliament, and Minister in EU Member States, the United States, Israel, China, Georgia, Armenia, Serbia, and Azerbaijan. For years, she has worked for the implementation of the European Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria and was actively involved in the Operational Programmes “Regional Development”, “Environment” and in the monitoring committees of cross-border cooperation programmes. Since 01.07.2015 she has become Member of the European Parliament to the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Currently, Iskra Mihaylova is Chair of the Committee on Regional Development at the European Parliament. She is also Substitute at the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Iskra Mihaylova is Member of the Delegation to the EU-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.