Chairman (President) of Bulgaria

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The Chairman (President) of the Republic of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Председателят (Президентът) на Републиката)^[1] was the head of state of Bulgaria from 3 April 1990 to 22 January 1992. The office was known as the Chairman (President) of the People's Republic of Bulgaria until the word "People's" was dropped from the country's name on 15 November 1990. From that point on, the office was simply the Chairman (President) of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Much like the

In 1971 a new constitution was approved by a referendum and came into force on 18 May 1971. In the constitution a new state organ was formed: the State Council. This new organ effectively eclipsed the role of the National Assembly as it had both legislative and executive power. The State Council could issue decrees with full legal authority when the National Assembly was not in session, with no provision for later approval by the full legislative body.^[2] The chairman of the State Council served as de facto head of state.

Following a wave of democratization in Eastern Europe in 1989, dictator Todor Zhivkov was forced to resign on 10 November, succeeded by Petar Mladenov. The following month the Communist Party announced it was giving up power and began a series of round table talks with the opposition on the transition to democracy. It was decided that the State Council would have to be abolished and the office of the Chairman (President) of the Republic would have to be inaugurated.

Powers and duties

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The powers and duties of the office were outlined in Chapter 5 of the 1971 constitution,^[3] as amended in 1990. They were broader than those of the modern-day President of Bulgaria, but not as broad as the State Council's before 1990.

The chairmanship (presidency) was an executive post similar to the presidency of the Soviet Union, which itself was based on a mixture of the US and French presidencies.^[4]

Prior to the creation of the post of Chairman (President), the de jure

The chairman (president) was elected by the National Assembly by a two-thirds majority, for the same term as the Assembly which elected him.

The chairman (president)'s powers were:

• Commander in chief of the armed forces
• The ability to propose the Prime Minister (who would then have to be elected by the National Assembly)
• The ability, during the National Assembly's recess, to appoint and dismiss government ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister (subject to subsequent confirmation by the Assembly)
• The nation's top representative abroad, with the ability to sign international treaties
• The ability to call for national referendums on important issues
• The ability to assign military ranks and honorary titles
• The power to restore citizenship to exiles or internal dissidents
• The ability to overrule government decisions that violated the constitution or endangered citizens rights and freedoms

Office Holders

Head of State			Term of office			Duration	Political party
Nº	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Election	Took office	Left office
Chairman of the State Council
1		Todor Zhivkov Тодор Живков (1911–1998)	—	7 July 1971	17 November 1989	18 years, 133 days	Bulgarian Communist Party
2		Petar Mladenov Петър Младенов (1936–2000)	—	17 November 1989	3 April 1990	137 days	Bulgarian Communist Party
Chairman (President) of the Republic
1		Petar Mladenov Петър Младенов (1936–2000)	(Apr) 1990	3 April 1990	6 July 1990	94 days	Bulgarian Socialist Party
—		Stanko Todorov Станко Тодоров (1920–1996)	—	6 July 1990	17 July 1990	11 days	Bulgarian Socialist Party
—		Nikolai Todorov Николай Тодоров (1921–2003)	—	17 July 1990	1 August 1990	15 days	Independent
2		Zhelyu Zhelev Желю Желев (1935–2015)	(Jul-Aug) 1990	1 August 1990	15 November 1990	106 days	Union of Democratic Forces

On 3 April 1990 Petar Mladenov, having previously served as the Chairman of the State Council, was elected as the first Chairman (President) of the Republic, serving until his resignation in July. His resignation came after a video surfaced suggesting the use of tanks against anti-government demonstration in December 1989.

Stanko Todorov was selected to serve as acting Chairman of the Republic until a successor could be chosen. He too, had to be replaced by another acting chairman, Nikolai Todorov, following his resignation due to health reasons. Finally, on 1 August a compromise was reached and Zhelyu Zhelev, until then leader of the opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces, was elected chairman.^[5] Zhelev was in office until he was sworn in on 22 January 1992 as President of Bulgaria, under the new constitution, following his direct election by the public three days before.

References