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

Dorthe Wright is the honorary consul of Denmark in Sacramento.
(Courtesy photo)

Dorthe Wright, honorary consul of Denmark
in Sacramento, has an office with gold-plated signage and a lobby
featuring a Danish flag, the country’s coat of arms and portraits
of the royal family. Here, Wright responds to calls and emails
from Danish citizens, sometimes referring them to her employed
attorneys for legal advice. For a time, Denmark had no consul
general on the West Coast, so the embassy granted her the power
to issue emergency passports to allow visiting Danes passage back
home. “It’s not typical at all. It was an exception,” Wright
says.

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.

About 140,000 Danish people live in California. (Shutterstock
photo)

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

Rajen Ranchhod is the honorary consul to Zambia in Sacramento.
(Courtesy photo)

Zambia is the newest country to join the
Sacramento Consular Corps. The central African nation appointed
Sacramento-based entrepreneur and former polo player Rajen
Ranchhod as honorary consul in late 2025, succeeding Robert
Sichinga Jr. of Los Angeles. Ranchhod said the position covers
all of California, where over 400 Zambian citizens live. “It’s
very important that one interacts with them and looks after their
needs,” he says.

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. 

Zambia is known for stunning vistas like the Victoria Falls on
the border with Zimbabwe. (Shutterstock photo)

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

Ognian Gavrilov is the honorary consul for Bulgaria in
Sacramento. (Courtesy photo)

In 2023, Ognian Gavrilov was appointed
honorary consul for Bulgaria. He was born in Bulgaria, became a
dual U.S. citizen in 2012, and is the managing partner of
Gavrilov & Brooks, a law firm in Sacramento. On paper, his
consulship is based in Northern California, but he performs
duties throughout the state in coordination with the consul
general in Los Angeles.

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.”

There are over 13,000 Bulgarians living in California.
(Shutterstock photo)

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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