Stefan Sofiyanski
Stefan Sofiyanski | |
|---|---|
Стефан Софиянски | |
Petur Stoyanov | |
| Preceded by | Zhan Videnov |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Kostov |
| Mayor of Sofia | |
| In office 19 November 1995 – 29 June 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Yanchulev |
| Succeeded by | Boyko Borisov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 November 1951 Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Political party | Union of Free Democrats (2001-present) Union of Democratic Forces (until 2001) |
| Alma mater | University of National and World Economy |
Stefan Antonov Sofiyanski (
Mayor of Sofia. He was a leading member of the Union of Democratic Forces
.
Sofiyanski was born in
Filip Dimitrov and became one of the leading members of the UDF. He was elected Mayor of Sofia in 1995 and served in this position, being re-elected twice - in 1999 and 2003, until 2005 when he resigned to become a parliamentary deputy. He was appointed as caretaker Prime Minister by President Petar Stoyanov in 1997 until such time as Ivan Kostov
could form a government.
In 2001 he announced that he was to leave the UDF and form his own party. He ultimately formed the Union of Free Democrats and, although it initially remained a part of the UDF, Sofiyanski and his party threw in their lot in with the Bulgarian People's Union. On January 1, 2007 he joined the European Parliament as one of Bulgaria's interim members until the elections in May of the same year.
In June 2008 Sofiyanski drew criticism from human rights advocates for his
gay pride parade. In an interview for Darik Radio Sofiyanski said he "would never have authorized the parade," had he still been Sofia's mayor. With regard to the LGBT community, he stated that "those people have their rights to personal choice and privacy, however, homosexuality is condemned by the Bible and is unnatural, and has no right to publicity. It is as if thieves had a parade — because those people are thieves of morality."[1]
References
- ^ Georgieva, Iskra (2008). "Депутатите да са 150, предлага ССД". dariknews.bg. Retrieved 4 July 2008.