A trial lawyer, a former diplomat, a retired athlete, a hotel manager and a crepe shop owner: All five have little in common except for one thing — they are volunteer representatives working for foreign governments in the Sacramento area. Bulgaria, Denmark, New Zealand, Zambia and France each have an honorary consul in the Capital Region. But what exactly do they do? And why, of all places, are they here? 

The short answer is that when a foreign government wants to station a diplomat in an area, but the demand is too low and the cost is too high, they’ll sometimes appoint a volunteer called an honorary consul. Attorneys or entrepreneurs with business ties to the country are typically picked for this part-time position. Their limited responsibilities vary from person to person. The vast majority of honorary consuls in California live in Los Angeles or San Francisco. 

Even though France has a professional diplomat, called a consul general, stationed nearby in the Bay Area, it also has Catherine Bonnefoy as an honorary consul in Sacramento. “It’s pretty unusual,” she says. 

Related: Why Did This Small European Nation Open a Consulate in Sacramento?

The framework for honorary consuls was established following the signing of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in 1963, and soon after, France was the first to appoint one to Sacramento. The reason is demand. Bonnefoy provides services to 1,600 French citizens living across Northern California and to visiting tourists. “It’s a lot of French constituents, a lot of territory, and it’s also the capital,” she says. 

Bonnefoy was born in France and became a dual U.S. citizen in 2002. She has a “career job, a fun job and a volunteer job.” She manages the American subsidiary of a French company, The Cedar Buying Group, Inc., and owns Catherine’s Crêperie, which recently moved into a storefront in Folsom. She became an honorary consul in 2022 after her predecessor, Guy Michelier, reached the mandatory retirement age and recommended her as a possible replacement. It was an opportunity Bonnefoy couldn’t turn down.

“Anyone who’s an honorary consul is feeling very honored to have that role. It’s not given out to just anyone,” Bonnefoy says. “So we take it very seriously.”

On Tuesdays, Bonnefoy hosts office hours at Alliance Française de Sacramento, a French language school downtown at the CLARA, which features a large metal Eiffel Tower outside the building. French citizens can stop by to pick up passports, ID cards and other documents. Bonnefoy also verifies proof of life for retirement benefits and can approve the shipment of human remains back to France. Her other main responsibilities include representing the country at events like the local French film festival and communicating with citizens in crises, such as natural disasters or imprisonment.

A Danish knight in the capital

Wright was born in Denmark and gained dual U.S. citizenship in 2016. For two decades, she worked around the globe for the Danish Foreign Service and later became an assistant to attorney Finn Martensen. He co-founded the Sacramento law firm Martensen Wright PC, which helps Scandinavian businesses operate in the United States, with her husband, Edward Wright. 

Martensen was honorary consul for Denmark in San Francisco. When he moved back to Denmark, he recommended Wright as a possible replacement for the consulship. She agreed because “I had always enjoyed working in the Foreign Service. I like helping people.” Wright was appointed in 2009 and three years later moved her official headquarters from the firm’s satellite office in the Bay Area to its main office in Sacramento, thus changing the position’s official designation.

Things have changed since 2018, when Denmark officially stationed a consul general in Palo Alto. Wright used to have two workers assisting with consul duties, but now it’s just her due to the drop in demand. Periodically, she has hosted a pop-up voting center at her office in Sacramento. In the last election, only one person stopped by, compared to 60 at the Palo Alto consulate. 

Wright said she was kept on due to her experience. She holds a Danish knighthood and is one of the few American honorary consuls to Denmark fluent in the language, making her a go-to for help with Danish citizenship applications. She isn’t sure if she’ll be replaced when she retires, which isn’t new for Sacramento. Both Italy and Austria previously had honorary consuls in the city for decades before the volunteers retired. 

New Zealand also has an honorary consul in Sacramento: Starr Walton Hurley, a former Olympic alpine skier and torchbearer whose husband, Dr. Edward J. Hurley, previously held the position for a decade until he died in 2007. His obituary in the Sacramento Bee described him as a prominent faculty member at UC Davis who became honorary consul after befriending government officials in New Zealand during his frequent fly fishing trips to the country. Walton Hurley did not respond to interview requests, and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade declined to comment for this article.

Bringing investment to Africa

The Zambian government asked Ranchhod to apply for the position after his predecessor moved out of state. He agreed because he felt qualified for the job, being well known among the business community for his investments in the country. For example, he owns a mine in West Lunga and is involved in a media company. 

Ranchhod was born and raised in Zambia. His grandfather immigrated there from India in 1926 and started Lusaka Steam Laundry, his town’s first industrial laundromat and commercial dry cleaner. Ranchhod moved to the U.S. 40 years ago and gained citizenship in 2012. His family founded American Hospitality Services, a company in Sacramento that owns and operates hotel franchises. His brother Rohit Ranchhod is president and CEO, while he serves as vice president of maintenance and operations. 

As honorary consul, Ranchhod said his main responsibilities are to promote the country and attract investors. He recently began hosting an annual Zambian Independence Day party at one of his hotels. Last year, he participated in the first-ever Zambia Investment & Innovation Roadshow, a series of events aimed at creating economic partnerships between citizens of the two countries. He plans to be part of a smaller roadshow launching sometime in the near future. 

“A lot of people don’t know about Zambia, right? It’s my job to enlighten them, find investments, take them to Zambia, and see what they can do,” Ranchhod says.

For the old country

Gavrilov said his selection was a bit unusual, explaining that the Bulgarian government typically appoints non-nationals to expand its influence. But he is a prominent lawyer who represents politicians and large companies. Two years ago, the Sacramento County Bar Association named him “Attorney of the Year.”

Gavrilov is also well known in the local Bulgarian community, serving as president of the Bulgarian Foundation for Art, Culture and Education. He said this made him an attractive choice, even though there were more candidates in Silicon Valley, calling the appointment of someone in Sacramento “happenstance.”

Bulgarian officials asked Gavrilov to apply, and he replaced global trade consultant Brooks Ohlson of Sacramento and tech executive Bogomil Balkansky of San Francisco. For whatever reason, Balkansky and Ohlson were relieved of duty and their positions combined under Gavrilov.

Since his appointment, Gavrilov has represented Bulgaria at various diplomatic events, such as the annual Consular Corps Reception hosted by the California Chamber of Commerce. Two years ago, he accompanied the state treasurer and the county district attorney to meet the Bulgarian prime minister during the first visit to Los Angeles. And when consul general Boyko Hristov visited Sacramento, Gavrilov introduced him to several local officials. 

“It’s a great honor, because you’re the representative of a whole nation,” Gavrilov says. While the work is unpaid, it’s enjoyable — plus, he gets an official ID card from the U.S. State Department. “I get prestige, and I have a diplomatic card, but generally speaking, it’s to help the old country, in my case.” 

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