Executive branch:
chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002);
Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei STANISHEV (since 16 August
2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivaylo KALFIN, Daniel VULCHEV, and
Emel ETEM (since 16 August 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and
elected by the National Assembly
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
election last held 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011);
chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by
the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime
ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the
National Assembly
election results: Georgi PURVANOV reelected president; percent of
vote - Georgi PURVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV
elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 June 2005 (next to be held June 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - CfB 31.1%, NMS2 19.9%,
MRF 12.7%, ATAKA 8.2%, UDF 7.7%, DSB 6.5%, BPU 5.2%; seats by party
- CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13,
independents 4
Judicial branch:
Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation;
Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year
terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the
two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members;
responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and
investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the
Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by
the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary)
Political parties and leaders:
ATAKA (Attack Coalition) (coalition of parties headed by the Attack
National Union); Attack National Union [Volen Siderov]; Bulgarian
Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER];
Bulgarian People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU);
Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for
Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei
STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV];
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir
KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed
DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon
SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic
Forces or UDF [Petar STOYANOV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD
[Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition
of center-right parties dominated by UDF)
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB;
Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and
national interest groups with various agendas
International organization participation: ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John Ross BEYRLE embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, US Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; note -
the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe,
has been removed
Economy Bulgaria