Bulgaria Government - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria

conventional short form: Bulgaria

local long form: Republika Bulgaria

local short form: Bulgaria

former: Kingdom of Bulgaria, People's Republic of Bulgaria

etymology: named after the Bulgar tribes who settled the lower Balkan region in the 7th century A.D.

Government type

parliamentary republic

Capital

name: Sofia

geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E

time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology: named after the Saint Sofia Church in the city, parts of which date back to the 4th century A.D.

Administrative divisions

28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Sofia-Grad (Sofia City), Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

Independence

3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Constitution

history: several previous; latest drafted between late 1990 and early 1991, adopted 13 July 1991

amendments: proposed by the National Assembly or by the president of the republic; passage requires three-fourths majority vote of National Assembly members in three ballots; signed by the National Assembly chairperson; note - under special circumstances, a "Grand National Assembly" is elected with the authority to write a new constitution and amend certain articles of the constitution, including those affecting basic civil rights and national sovereignty; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in each of several readings; amended several times, last in 2015

Legal system

civil law

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Bulgaria

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Rumen RADEV (since 22 January 2017); Vice President Iliana IOTOVA (since 22 January 2017)

head of government: Prime Minister Gulub DONEV (since 2 August 2022); note - Prime Minister DONEV leads a caretaker government until snap elections are held on 2 October 2022

cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly

elections/appointments: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 14 and 21 November 2021 (next to be held in fall 2026); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly

election results: 2021: Rumen RADEV reelected president in second round; percent of vote in the first round - Rumen RADEV (independent) 49.4%, Anastas GERDZHIKOV (independent) 22.8%, Mustafa KARADAYI (DPS) 11.6%, Kostadin KOSTADINOV (Revival) 3.9%, Lozan PANOV (independent) 3.7%, other 8.6%; percent of vote in the second round - Rumen RADEV 66.7%, Anastas GERDZHIKOV 31.8%, neither 1.5%

2016: Rumen RADEV elected president in second round; percent of vote in the second round - Rumen RADEV (independent, supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party) 59.4%, Tsetska TSACHEVA (GERB) 36.2%, neither 4.5%

2011: Rosen PLEVNELIEV elected president in the second round; percent of vote in the second round - Rosen PLEVNELIEV (independent) 52.6%, Ivailo KALFIN (BSP) 47.4%

Legislative branch

description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 2 October 2022 (next election to be held in 2026)

election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - GERB-SDS 24.5%, PP 19.5%, DPS 13.3%, Revival 9.8%, BSP for Bulgaria 9%, DB 7.2%, BV 4.5%, other 12.2%; seats by party/coalition GERB-SDS 67, PP 53, DPS 36, Revival 27, BSP for Bulgaria 25, DB 20, BV 12; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of a chairman and approximately 72 judges organized into penal, civil, and commercial colleges); Supreme Administrative Court (organized into 2 colleges with various panels of 5 judges each); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 justices); note - Constitutional Court resides outside the judiciary

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative judges elected by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC (consists of 25 members with extensive legal experience) and appointed by the president; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court justices elected by the National Assembly and appointed by the president and the SJC; justices appointed for 9-year terms with renewal of 4 justices every 3 years

subordinate courts: appeals courts; regional and district courts; administrative courts; courts martial

Political parties and leaders

Agrarian People's Union or ZNS [Roumen YONCHEV]
BSP for Bulgaria [Korneliya NINOVA] (alliance of BSP, PKT, New Dawn, Ecoglasnost)
Bulgaria of the Citizens or DBG [Dimitar DELCHEV]
Bulgarian Agrarian People’s Union or BZNS [Nikolay NENCHEV]
Bulgarian Rise or BV [Stefan YANEV]
Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Korneliya NINOVA]
Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISOV] (alliance with SDS) 
Democratic Bulgaria or DB (alliance of Yes! Bulgaria, DSB, and The Greens) [Atanas ATANASOV, Hristo IVANOV]
Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Atanas ATANASOV]
Ecoglasnost [Emil GEORGIEV]
Green Movement or The Greens [Borislav SANDOV, Vladislav PENEV]
Middle European Class or SEC [Konstantin BACHIISKI]
Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS [Mustafa KARADAYI]
Movement 21 or D21 [Tatyana DONCHEVA]
New Dawn [Mincho MINCHEV]
Political Club Thrace or PKT [Stefan NACHEZ]
Political Movement "Social Democrats" or PDS  [Elena NONEVA]
Revival [Kostadin KOSTADINOV]
Stand Up.BG or IS.BG [Maya MONOLOVA]
Stand Up.BG, We Are Coming! or IBG-NI [Maya MONOLOVA, Nikolay HADZHIGENOV] (coalition of IS.BG, D21, DBG, ENP, and ZNS)
There is Such a People or ITN [Slavi TRIFONOV]
United People's Party or ENP [Valentina VASILEVA-FILADELFEVS]
Union of Democratic Forces or SDS [Rumen HRISTOV] (alliance with GERB) 
Yes! Bulgaria [Hristo IVANOV]
Volt Bulgaria or Volt [Nastimir ANANIEV]
We Continue the Change of PP [Kiril PETKOV and Asen VASILEV] (electoral alliance of PP, PDS, SEC, and Volt)

International organization participation

Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Georgi Velikov PANAYOTOV (since 7 June 2022)

chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174; [1] (202) 299-0273, [1] (202) 483-1386

FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973

email address and website:
office@bulgaria-embassy.org; Embassy.Washington@mfa.bg

https://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/en/homepage/

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Herro MUSTAFA (since 18 October 2019)

embassy: 16, Kozyak Street, Sofia 1408

mailing address: 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC  20521-5740

telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100

FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320

email address and website:
acs_sofia@state.gov

https://bg.usembassy.gov/

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue

note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed

National symbol(s)

lion; national colors: white, green, red

National anthem

name: "Mila Rodino" (Dear Homeland)

lyrics/music: Tsvetan Tsvetkov RADOSLAVOV

note: adopted 1964; composed in 1885 by a student en route to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 10 (7 cultural, 3 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Boyana Church (c); Madara Rider (c); Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (c); Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo (c); Rila Monastery (c); Ancient City of Nessebar (c); Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari (c); Srebarna Nature Reserve (n); Pirin National Park (n); Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n)

NOTE: The information regarding Bulgaria on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bulgaria 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bulgaria 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.