Skopje, 1 August 2022 (MIA) - Former foreign minister and SDSM lawmaker Ilinka Mitreva has died, the ruling party SDSM said in a press release offering condolences to Mitreva's family and loved ones. Being one of the founders of the party, it added, Mitreva had paved the way to what SDSM is today - a responsible and nation-building party. "Mitreva's body of work remains a permanent legacy for the Macedonian diplomacy and an example for responsible, statesman-like attitude toward the post, the country and the future of the citizens," SDSM said in a Facebook post. Born in 1950 in Skopje, Mitreva was a renowned French language and literature professor at the Skopje Faculty of Philology, who had written many papers, from 1974 until 2001. She was elected as member of Parliament in 1994 and her term ended in 2001. Mitreva served as foreign minister from May 13 until November 2001 and again from 2002 until 2006. She was decorated by the French Republic three times in 1998, 2016 receiving the highest recognition, Knight of the Legion of Honor, in 2021.