Aleksandar Trifonov Tomov ( bg, Александър Трифонов Томов) (born 27 April 1954) is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n politician, economist, and academic.
Biography
Education
In the 1970s, Tomov was a student at the
UNWE and
Leningrad University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. He completed his primary, secondary and university education with excellent marks.
In 1984, Tomov earned a
doctoral degree
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
in the field of
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
. Tomov has made specializations in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and
macroeconomics
Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.
For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...
in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Academic career
In addition to his political career, Tomov has also worked as a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
and lecturer in the
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
department (of which he is one of the founders in 1985) at
Sofia University
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...
. He has further taught courses at the Karl Marx Institute of Economics in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
. Tomov has authored six books.
In 1995, Tomov was appointed as the director of the EastWest Institute in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
for a period of three years.
Politics
In 1990, Tomov was elected to the 7th Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria as a member of the
Bulgarian Socialist Party
The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...
. He was also a member of the 36th and 38th
National Parliaments. Tomov served as Deputy-
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
in the
Dimitar Popov
Dimitar Nikolaev Popov ( bg, Димитър Николаев Попов; born 27 February 1970) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Career
In his career Popov played for Levski Sofia, Botev Plovdiv, Sparta ...
government, the first one since
the collapse of the communist system in 1989.
In 1993, he established the Citizens' Union for the Republic (Bulgarian: Гражданско обединение за републиката), which was initially not envisioned as a political party.
However, it evolved into the
Bulgarian Euro-Left
The Bulgarian Euro-Left ( bg, Българска Евролевица, translit=Bulgarska Evrolevitsa; BEL) is a pro-Western social-democratic political party in Bulgaria. The party was established on 22 February 1997 in Sofia. The party was for ...
in 1997.
Tomov was formerly vice-chairman of the supreme council (Bulgarian: Висш съвет) of the
Bulgarian Socialist Party
The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...
and was among the founders of the
Bulgarian Euro-Left
The Bulgarian Euro-Left ( bg, Българска Евролевица, translit=Bulgarska Evrolevitsa; BEL) is a pro-Western social-democratic political party in Bulgaria. The party was established on 22 February 1997 in Sofia. The party was for ...
in 1997, eventually being elected (and reelected in 2000) as its leader after receiving more votes than his main opponent
Elena Poptodorova. The Euro-Left officially became a political party in 1998. He has been critical of the delayed social democratization of the BSP party in the 1990s.
In
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, Tomov was a candidate to become
President of Bulgaria
The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or ...
(with Lyudmil Marinchevski as his running mate) and finished in fourth place, earning 3.16% of the votes cast.
Since 2003, Tomov has been the leader of the Bulgarian Social Democracy party. In 2013, his party expressed support for the "Bulgarian Spring" (Bulgarian: Българска пролет) protest movement.
Kremikovtzi AD
In 2009, Tomov came under legal scrutiny due to allegedly abusing his position during his time as chairman of the managerial board of
Kremikovtzi.
In early 2011, the Sofia City Court found Tomov guilty of allegedly siphoning off money (15 million
leva
Leva may refer to:
* Bulgarian lev, Bulgarian currency
* ''Leva'' (grasshopper), a genus of insects
* Levice
Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies o ...
) from Kremikovtzi, imposing a prison sentence. In 2013, the Appellate Court decided that the case needs a review and returned it to the court of first instance, with the trial recommencing in April 2014. In February 2015, the Sofia City Court declared Tomov not culpable.
Sport
Tomov is also well known for his involvement in various capacities with the
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
football club.
He was instrumental in bringing
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n businessman
Pramod Mittal
Pramod Mittal (born 1 September 1956) is an Indian businessman who was the chairman of Ispat Industries Limited (now JSW Ispat Steel).
Pramod Mittal is also the younger brother of Lakshmi Mittal.
He spent $82 million on his daughter's we ...
to
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
in relation to a number of
Kremikovtzi deals.
Mittal eventually became the owner of the "armymen" in December 2006 before selling the club to Titan Sport EAD in early 2009. Tomov served as the president of
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
between 5 December 2006 and 5 June 2008 as well as from July 2008 to 9 April 2009.
In the summer of 2008, Tomov was blamed by some sections of the reds' supporters due to the team not receiving a license for European club competitions. In the summer of 2013, he was credited with playing a vital role in preventing the team's likely bankruptcy. Tomov was the main
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
shareholder and de facto owner (with Lira Investment providing the main part of the financing) of the club between the second half of 2013 and April 2015. He has been against the idea of a deliberate declaration of insolvency and the creation of a new unofficial successor company as a solution to the debts accumulated by the club.
Personal life
Tomov has three children named Rada, Lidia and Alexander.
His wife Kalina is an expert on psychology. Tomov's sister, Tatyana, is an academic at
Sofia University
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...
whose area of expertise covers the social policies of European countries.
One of Tomov's great-grandfathers perished in the
April Uprising
The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...
.
In addition to his native
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
, he is also conversant in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
In an interview with the press, Tomov identified
drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
as one of his hobbies.
Since February 2015, Tomov has a profile on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
.
Honours
Churchill award (1999) - for his contribution to the development of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
-
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
relations.
References
;
Books
:
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomov, Aleksandar
1954 births
Living people
Politicians from Sofia
Bulgarian Socialist Party politicians
Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria)
Government ministers of Bulgaria
Academic staff of Sofia University
University of National and World Economy alumni
Karl Marx Higher Institute of Economics alumni
Candidates for President of Bulgaria