Free Bulgaria
The first prince of Liberated Bulgaria was Alexander I of
Battenberg (1879-1886). The next to rule the country was
Stefan Stambolov (1887-1894). During his regency Bulgaria
was recognized as a European country. King Ferdinand of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1887-1918) and his son Boris III (1918-1943)
were monarchs whose names we associate with the battles
won and lost during the first half of the 20 th century.
After them the territory of the country was reduced to its
present state. The effort of the Bulgarian army to liberate
Macedonia and joint it to Bulgaria was in vain. The national
catastrophe deepened after concluding the Neouin treaty
in1919. Alexander Stamboliiski was the Prime Minister at
that time and as a brilliant statesman stabilized national
economy and army.
Bulgaria until today
The period when Georgi Dimitrov was elected Prime Minister
by the National Assembly was marked by the so-called cult
of personality, which is another name of dictatorship. The
long period of totalitarism during the administration of
Todor Zhivkov (1950-1989) was the time when political government
and party interests completely merged. The national economy
stabilized during the 70s but was soon after that on the
decline. Bulgaria has finally entered the period of democracy.
In the new situation of real parliamentary democracy, the
Bulgarian people have chosen their leaders. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
has been the Prime Minister of the country since 2001 and
Georgi Parvanov has been the President of Bulgaria since
2002.