Georgi Parvanov

Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov (Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012.

Georgi Parvanov was born in Sirishtnik, Pernik Province on 28 June 1957 and he grew up in nearby Kosacha.

In 1975 Parvanov graduated from secondary school in Pernik and in 1981 finished his undergraduate education at Sofia University, gaining a major in history, specializing in the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party.

Parvanov joined the Institute for History of the Bulgarian Communist Party as a researcher in 1981.

His main interest was the Bulgarian national issue and the early history of social democracy in Bulgaria.

In 1981 Parvanov joined the Bulgarian Communist Party.

In 1988 Parvanov defended his doctoral thesis in history, which is titled "Dimitar Blagoev and the Bulgarian national question 1879-1917".

In 1989 he was promoted to a senior research associate.

In 1989 Parvanov formed the nationalist organization "Nationwide Committee for the Defense of National Interests" (Bulgarian: Общонароден комитет за защита на националните интереси).

In April 1990 the party was transformed into the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

In 1994 he became Deputy Chairman of the BSP national Council.

Parvanov was chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Friendship with Greece and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Radio and Television from 1994 to 1997.

Because of a severe financial crisis, the Prime Minister and leader of the BSP, Zhan Videnov, resigned in December 1996.

Georgi Parvanov was elected as his successor that month.

It was also in that year that he was elected to the National Assembly; he was reelected in 1997 and 2001.

However, after large protests against the socialist government in January 1997, Parvanov and Nikolay Dobrev (the nominated Prime Minister) returned the mandate to form a government.

In the early parliamentary elections that ensued, the Socialist Party went into opposition, swept away by the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS).

In 2000 Parvanov was reelected as Chairman of the National Council of the BSP.

He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the November 2001 presidential election.

According to Bulgarian law, a Bulgarian president is not allowed to be a member of a political party, thus Parvanov left the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) after his election in 2001.

Although he identified as a socialist, Parvanov often called himself a 'social president'.

After completing his second term as president, Parvanov returned to the Socialist Party, prompting a dispute over the party leadership.

In May 2001 he became a member of the Internet Society of Bulgaria.

Parvanov led his party to its worst electoral performance in 2001.

Both the BSP and the SDS suffered greatly from the rise of the newly founded National Movement for Simeon II.

In the first round of the 2001 presidential election, Parvanov won 36.4% of the votes, finishing ahead of the incumbent SDS candidate, Petar Stoyanov, who polled 34.9% of the votes.

The voter turnout was the lowest to date: only 41.8%.

Parvanov emerged victorious in the runoff, winning 54.1% of the votes.

Voter turnout was significantly higher in the second round: 55.1%.

Following his victory, Sergei Stanishev took over the party leadership.

He took office on 22 January 2002.

Parvanov took office on 22 January 2002, becoming the first ex-Communist to win the presidency since 1990.

He has been credited with altering the geopolitical orientation of the party, paving the way for Bulgaria's joining of NATO in 2004.

He was reelected in a landslide victory in 2006, becoming the first Bulgarian president to serve two terms.

Parvanov supported Bulgaria's entry into NATO and the European Union.

In 2006 he ran for re-election.

He was backed by the ruling triple coalition, who won 70% of the seats in parliament the year before.

He won first round on 22 October with 64 per cent of the vote.

In January 2014 Parvanov restarted his Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) project, announcing he would be fielding his own candidates for the 2014 European parliamentary elections.

On 15 January 2017, he stepped down as party leader and was replaced by Konstantin Prodanov.