The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized UN agency in the field of telecommunications, based in Geneva. It was founded in 1865 when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris. It established the International Union for Telegraphic Communications, which later grew into the ITU. Today, 194 countries are members of the ITU, through the administrations responsible for ICTs/telecommunications in the countries concerned and more than 1000 are its sector members and associated members - private sector organizations, the academic community, international and national telecommunication organizations, etc.
The Republic of Bulgaria (then the Principality of Bulgaria) joined the ITU on 18 September 1880, immediately after the signing of the International Telegraph Convention. According to the current legislation Bulgaria is represented in the ITU by the Minister of Transport and Communications. The supreme governing body of the ITU is the Plenipotentiary Conference (PCP), which is held every 4 years. In the interim period between two Plenipotentiary Conferences, the ITU is governed by the Council, whose members are elected by the PP. Bulgaria has been a member of the ITU Council since 1989, and since then it has not ceased to be a member of this governing body, with the exception of the period 2019 - 2022.
The ITU Constitution and the ITU Convention are the basic acts governing the ITU activities. They were adopted in Geneva in 1992.