Peter Petri, dean of the Graduate School of International Economics and Finance (GSIEF), will be serving as an economic advisor to the Bulgarian government. Nikolay Vassilev a 1997 GSIEF master's degree recipient, and now the deputy prime minister and minister of the economy of Bulgaria, extended the invitation to Petri last month while giving a lecture at Brandeis.Petri is an internationally renowned expert on trade, investment and economic policy, with experience including consultation with the World Bank, the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Bulgarian government.

When asked by Vassilev to accept the position, Petri was pleasantly surprised, as reported by novenite.com.

"In the past I've worked as an advisor in a dozen or so countries, mostly in East Asia, but never expected to be asked to advise the Bulgarian government," Petri said. "It's a great honor."

Petri will not be leaving his post as Dean of GSIEF, however.

"(The job) will involve the occasional trip to Bulgaria where I would meet with policymakers," Petri said. "I would give talks and recommendations and report to them."

Petri said he feels his experience at Brandeis and other institutions has prepared him for this position."I did a lot of research and writing and analysis about development while I was a professor," said Petri. "In addition, I've consulted from time to time at the World Bank."

Petri said he is looking forward to helping a Brandeis alum, and becoming more active in personal long term pursuits.

"I want to make sure a former Brandeis student succeeds and do everything I can to help him be successful," Petri said. "This is very much my line of long-time research so it seemed to be a natural fit."

Although he does not yet know when his job with the Bulgarian government will begin, Petri is still excited to take on the task, according to his response on novinite.com.

"My first task will be to learn from them to understand better what they feel are the country's biggest economic challenges," Petri said. "But, overall, I favor creating a 'market friendly' economic environment, one in which policies are stable, taxes are low and people are willing to invest and work hard because they have confidence that they will benefit from good economic results," he added.

According to professor Can Erbil (ECON), who specializes in international trade, Petri is a wonderful candidate for the position.

"Dean Petri, who has extensive experience in academics and international institutions, could offer them perspectives that the current government would fail to see," Erbil said. "Furthermore, his connections all over the world would also make Dean Petri a valuable source of information for almost any practical questions that the Bulgarian government might face (such as privatization).