UMD Met Congressman Bentivolio of Michigan to Discuss U.S.-Macedonia Relations

On Monday, April 28, 2014, UMD President Metodija A. Koloski and International Policy and Diplomacy Fellow Lidija Velichkovska met with Congressional Caucus of Macedonia and Macedonian-Americans member Congressman Kerry Bentivolio of the 11th District of Michigan. UMD thanked Congressman Bentivolio for his strong friendship of Macedonia, advancing the U.S.-Macedonia relationship, and for being one of the original co-sponsors of H. Res. 543, which affirms U.S. support for Macedonia’s NATO membership.

Congressman Bentivolio represents the 11th Congressional District of Michigan, including the cities of Troy, Bloomfield Hills, and White Lake where many Americans of Macedonian heritage reside. Michigan is home to over 120,000 Americans of Macedonian heritage.

For over 20 years, Congressman Bentivolio proudly served with the Michigan Army National Guard where he worked tirelessly to protect and defend the United States of America. He served with the military police on the home front during Desert Storm and in Iraq in 2007, at age 56, with an Artillery Unit in an administrative capacity.