Maria Nikolaeva Todorova (Bulgarian: Мария Николаева Тодорова) (born 5 January 1949, Sofia) is a Bulgarian historian who is best known for her influential book, Imagining the Balkans, in which she applies Edward Said's notion of "Orientalism" to the Balkans. She is the daughter of historian and politician Nikolai Todorov, who was Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (July 1990 – 2 October 1991) and acting President of Bulgaria in July 1990. Source: Wikipedia (en)