Republic of Bulgaria

Bulgaria, 1990 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Communist Party was forced to give up its political monopoly on 10 November 1989 under the influence of the Revolutions of 1989. Zhivkov resigned and Bulgaria embarked on a transition to a parliamentary democracy. The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the Communist Party, now rebranded as the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Since adopting a democratic constitution in 1991, Bulgaria has been a parliamentary republic composed of 28 provinces, with a high degree of political, administrative, and economic centralisation.

Seat of power: Sofia

Rulers

Zhelyu Zhelev

President of Bulgaria, 1990–1997

Zhelev served as the first democratically elected and non-Communist president of Bulgaria, from 1990 to 1997. Zhelev was one of the most prominent figures of the 1989 Bulgarian Revolution, which ended the 35 year rule of President Todor Zhivkov. He was elected as president by the 7th Grand National Assembly.

Portrait of Zhelyu Zhelev: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Petar Stoyanov

President of Bulgaria, 1997–2002

Petar Stoyanov served as the president of Bulgaria from 1997 to 2002. A member of the Union of Democratic Forces, he won the second democratic election in modern Bulgarian history. Throughout Stoyanov's presidency, Bulgaria made substantial progress in its efforts of joining NATO and the European Union.

Portrait of Petar Stoyanov: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 2.5 bg, file

Georgi Parvanov

President of Bulgaria, 2002–2012

Parvanov was the president of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was reelected in 2006 with 75.9% of the vote, becoming the first Bulgarian president to serve two terms. Parvanov supported and promoted Bulgaria's accession to NATO (2004) and the EU (2007).

Portrait of Georgi Parvanov: Katarzyna Czerwińska, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, file

Rosen Plevneliev

President of Bulgaria, 2012–2017

Plevneliev served as the president of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Affiliated with the GERB party, he previously served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works from 2009 to 2011.

Portrait of Rosen Plevneliev: Administration to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Rumen Radev

President of Bulgaria, 2017–2026

Radev served as president of Bulgaria from 2017 until his resignation in 2026. He won the 2016 Bulgarian presidential election as an independent candidate supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), defeating GERB candidate Tsetska Tsacheva in the runoff. He secured a second term in the 2021 Bulgarian general election, with 66% of the vote in the runoff.

Portrait of Rumen Radev: Government of Bulgaria, CC BY 4.0, file

Iliana Iotova

President of Bulgaria, 2026 to today

Iotova has served as president of Bulgaria since 23 January 2026. She is the first woman to hold the office. Iotova previously served as vice president under Rumen Radev from 2017 to 2026, when she became the first Bulgarian vice president to assume the presidency intra-term due to Radev's resignation.

Portrait of Iliana Iotova: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 2.5 bg, file

Culture

It became a member of NATO in 2004 and participated in the War in Afghanistan.
After several years of reforms, it joined the European Union and the single market in 2007, despite EU concerns over government corruption.
Bulgaria hosted the 2018 Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia.
The Bulgarian National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.

Picture

The National Assembly is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of Bulgaria.

Image: User:Vortic Anvilring, Public domain, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.