THE FACES OF THE REPUBLIC
The people, terms and transitions that have shaped the government of modern Bulgaria.
Explore the timelineCURRENT OFFICEHOLDERS
Two institutions. Different responsibilities. A shared history.
The head of stateThe presidency and its terms of office.
Leading the governmentElected and caretaker governments in one timeline.
THROUGH THE YEARS
Follow the succession.
Find out who held office in a given year.
Includes the Chairman (President) of the Republic and the acting heads of state in 1990.
Military pilot and former commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. President from 2017 to January 2026; elected prime minister on 8 May 2026.
Portrait: Government of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Economist. Appointed caretaker prime minister by presidential decree on 19 February 2026.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Vice president from 2017. Assumed the presidency on 23 January 2026 following the early termination of Rumen Radev’s presidential term.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Lawyer and former Chairman of the National Assembly. Led the government from January 2025 to February 2026.
Portrait: Daina Le Lardic - European Parliament · Wikimedia Commons · European Parliament. Image fitted to the frame.
Former Chairman of the National Assembly and of the Bulgarian National Audit Office. Led two caretaker governments in 2024–2025.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Scientist and member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Prime minister from June 2023 to April 2024.
Portrait: Unknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Former Minister of Labour and Social Policy. Led two successive caretaker governments in 2022–2023.
Military pilot and former commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. President from 2017 to January 2026; elected prime minister on 8 May 2026.
Portrait: Government of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Co-founder of We Continue the Change. Led the coalition government in 2021–2022.
Portrait: Government of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Military officer and politician. Led two successive caretaker governments in 2021.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Leader of GERB. Headed three separate governments between 2009 and 2021.
Portrait: European People's Party · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Lawyer and former Chairman of the National Assembly. Led the caretaker government in 2017.
Portrait: Press Service of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria / Press Service of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Professor of constitutional law. Served as caretaker prime minister in 2014.
Portrait: president.bg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Economist and former Minister of Finance. Prime minister from 2013 to 2014.
Portrait: Ministry of Finance of Republic of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Image fitted to the frame.
Diplomat. Served as caretaker prime minister in the spring of 2013.
Portrait: MFA Bulgaria from България · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Engineer and former Minister of Regional Development. Elected president in 2011, with Margarita Popova as vice president.
Portrait: Administration to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Historian. The first Bulgarian president to be re-elected for a second consecutive five-year term.
Portrait: Katarzyna Czerwińska · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 pl. Image fitted to the frame.
BSP leader. Led the coalition government of the BSP, NDSV and MRF from 2005 to 2009.
Portrait: © European Union, 1998 – 2026 · Wikimedia Commons · European Parliament. Image fitted to the frame.
Former tsar of Bulgaria and leader of the National Movement Simeon II (NDSV). Led the NDSV–MRF coalition government from 2001 to 2005.
Portrait: EU2018BG Bulgarian Presidency · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Economist and UDF leader. Prime minister of the United Democratic Forces government from 1997 to 2001.
Portrait: Gabriel VanHelsing · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Mayor of Sofia and a politician from the Union of Democratic Forces. Appointed caretaker prime minister in February 1997.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Lawyer. Won the presidential election in 1996 and took office on 22 January 1997.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 bg. Image fitted to the frame.
Chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). Led the government elected after the 1994 parliamentary election.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Economist. Bulgaria’s first female prime minister, leading a caretaker government in 1994–1995.
Portrait: Kinematografski Izbor · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Economist and academic. Led a government formed in December 1992 under a mandate held by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF).
Portrait: Christian Lambiotte / European Communities · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Philosopher and co-founder of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). Elected by the Grand National Assembly in 1990, he became the first directly elected president in 1992.
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Image fitted to the frame.
Lawyer and leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). Headed the government following the 1991 parliamentary election.
Portrait: Aleksdonev · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Lawyer and judge. Led a coalition government that included representatives of different political parties.
Led two successive governments in 1990, at the beginning of the transition to a multiparty system.
Portrait: European Communities · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0. Image fitted to the frame.
Chairman of the Seventh Grand National Assembly. Served as acting head of state until the election of Zhelyu Zhelev.
Portrait: R. Lesage · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 igo. Image fitted to the frame.
As Chairman of the National Assembly, he temporarily performed the duties of head of state in July 1990.
Portrait: Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist Party official pictures - public domain · Wikimedia Commons · CC0. Image fitted to the frame.
Chairman (President) of the Republic at the beginning of the transition. Elected by the National Assembly on 3 April 1990.
Portrait: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo · Wikimedia Commons · CC0. Image fitted to the frame.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1986. His government also held office at the beginning of 1990.
Try another name, a year between 1990 and 2026, or a different institution.
ABOUT THIS SECTION
This first edition covers 1990–2026. Governments from 1879–1989 are outside its scope. Georgi Atanasov’s government is included because it was still in office at the beginning of 1990.
Section totals count people, including acting officeholders. Individual terms are listed in each profile. Searching by year shows everyone who held the post during that year; end dates indicate the handover of office.
Last reviewed:
Current officeholders are listed as of this date. Each profile includes detailed references and portrait licences.
