Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was
President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent
Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the
November 2001 presidential election. He took office on 22 January 2002. He was reelected in a landslide victory in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, becoming the first Bulgarian president to serve two terms. Parvanov supported Bulgaria's entry into
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
.
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
The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...
(BSP) after his election in 2001. Although he identified as a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
, 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 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 January 15, 2017, he stepped down as party leader and was replaced by
Konstantin Prodanov.
Biography
Early years
Georgi Parvanov was born in
Sirishtnik,
Pernik Province
Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Its main city is Pernik, and other municipalities are Breznik, Kovachevtsi, Radomir, Tran, and Zemen.
Population
Pernik province had a population of 133,750 according ...
on 28 June 1957 and he grew up in nearby
Kosacha. In 1975 Parvanov graduated from secondary school in
Pernik
Pernik ( bg, Перник ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both bank ...
and in 1981 finished his undergraduate education 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 ...
, gaining a major in history, specializing in the history of the
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
. In 1988 Parvanov defended his doctoral thesis in history, which is titled "
Dimitar Blagoev
Dimitar Blagoev Nikolov (, mk, Димитар Благоев Николов; 14 June 1856 – 7 May 1924) was a Bulgarian political leader and philosopher. He was the founder of the Bulgarian left-wing political movement and of the first social- ...
and the Bulgarian national question 1879-1917".
Professional career
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 1989 he was promoted to a senior research associate.
In May 2001 he became a member of th
Internet Society of Bulgaria
Political career
Early political career
In 1981 Parvanov joined the
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
. In April 1990 the party was transformed into 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 ...
. In 1989 Parvanov formed the nationalist organization "Nationwide Committee for the Defense of National Interests" (Bulgarian: Общонароден комитет за защита на националните интереси). In 1994 he became Deputy Chairman of the BSP national Council. It was also in that year that he was
elected to the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
; he was reelected in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
and
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
. 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.
Leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party
Because of a severe
financial crisis
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
, the Prime Minister and leader of the BSP,
Zhan Videnov
Zhan Vasilev Videnov ( bg, Жан Василев Виденов ; born 22 March 1959), sometimes spelled in English as Jean Videnov, was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 25 January 1995 until 13 February 1997, a term remembered for the most severe ...
, resigned in December 1996. Georgi Parvanov was elected as his successor that month.
[Since the Bulgarian Socialist Party was the leader of the coalition "Democratic Left", and then the "]Coalition for Bulgaria
The BSP for Bulgaria ( bg, БСП за България, BSP za Bŭlgariya), or the Coalition for Bulgaria ( bg, Коалиция за България, Koalitsiya za Bŭlgariya) until 2017, is a left-wing electoral alliance in Bulgaria led by t ...
", Parvanov became its chairman as well. However, after large protests against the socialist government in January 1997, Parvanov and
Nikolay Dobrev
Nikolay Kirilov Dobrev ( bg, Николай Кирилов Добрев) (19 October 1947 – 17 April 1999) was a Bulgarian politician who served as Minister of the Interior of Bulgaria between 10 May 1996 and 12 February 1997.
Biography
Do ...
(the nominated Prime Minister) returned the mandate to form a government. In the early parliamentary
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
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 has been credited with altering the geopolitical orientation of the party, paving the way for Bulgaria's joining of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
in 2004.
Parvanov led his party to its worst electoral performance in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
. Both the BSP and the SDS suffered greatly from the rise of the newly founded
National Movement for Simeon II.
2001 presidential election
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
Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev ( bg, Сергей Дмитриевич Станишев ; born 5 May 1966) is a Bulgarian politician who is serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He previously served as President of the Party of Eu ...
took over the party leadership. Parvanov took office on 22 January 2002, becoming the first ex-Communist to win the presidency since 1990.
2006 presidential election
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. Because the turnout was less than 50%, he faced the nationalist
Volen Siderov at the
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
on 29 October. Parvanov won with 76 per cent of the vote. This made Parvanov the first President to be reelected in Bulgaria.
Second mandate
![Parvanov-Bush](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Parvanov-Bush.jpg)
In the second mandate of Georgi Parvanov as a President of Bulgaria, two governments changed: that of Sergei Stanishev and the current one of Boiko Borisov. As for the government of Stanishev Parvanov is often accused of not taking position about important matters, the critics even made Parvanov admit he actually proposed resignation of Stanishev as a PM before the end of Stanishev government's mandate in oder that the Socialist Party has more chances in the
following parliamentary elections. At the beginning of the
First Borisov Government
The eighty-seventh Cabinet of Bulgaria (in office from July 27, 2009 to March 13, 2013) was a minority government chaired by Boyko Borisov. The government was formed after Borisov's party, GERB, won the 2009 parliamentary election. It remained in ...
, Parvanov faced regular argues with Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and later with Minister of Defence Aniu Anev, and indirectly with Minister of Education Sergei Ignatov. Arguments and tapes send to media reached such point that a proposal for impeachment reached in Bulgarian Parliament which had enough signed representers but in the last moment was not voted by the RZS party and thus failed parliamentary approval. Following the attempt for impeachment Parvanov quickly gained back his personal authority.
ABV (АБВ)
In summer 2010, Parvanov reached his platform
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
(Bulgarian: АБВ), the name constructed by the first three letters in Bulgarian alphabet, which he claimed was neither a political party nor a preparation for registering such. However, he visited many cities and had meetings with mayors which was a sign that some interpreted as a preparation for regional and further parliamentary elections. With the coming-out of the first sociological researches, it became clear ABV would not reach enough votes in the next elections and Parvanov moved his sight back to his party BSP. It was also suggested that ABV will move as a part of BSP at some point. While in 2013 virtually no media mentioned ABV in any context, in January 2014 Parvanov made what some media called "a disappointing attempt to restart the project", and others referred to ABV as an "officially frozen project".
Political stances
Although the office of the Bulgarian President is largely representative and executive power lies within the government, Georgi Parvanov has played an active political role. His political views, for example in the context of the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
, have been described as pro-Russian.
Criticisms
Collaboration with Committee for State Security
In 2006 Parvanov admitted that before 1989 there was a file on him at the
Communist Security Service (''Darzhavna Sigurnost'', or DS) under the nickname "Gotse" (for the revolutionary
Gotse Delchev) for his scientific assistance on Macedonian topics. The file like most other files of the Security Service hasn't been released to the public for a while (it is now available online). According to Parvanov's own statement, the file only shows that he had been consulted as a historian in conjunction with the writing of a memoir book about events related to the
Macedonian Question in the 19th century.
That was confirmed by two members of parliamentary commissions that had examined the files of the Security Service earlier — Bogomil Bonev and Veselin Angelov.
Two other members, Metodi Andreev and Evgeni Dimitrov, accused the former of lying and asserted that the historical research had only been a prelude, followed by Parvanov's consent to work as an agent and write a report about his institute.
Iraq Oil for Food program (1998)
The report of the Special Commission of the United Nations into the misconducts of the Iraqi "Oil for food" suggests that in 1998 Saddam Hussein took bribes from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, then led by Parvanov and companies close to the party. Parvanov denied these allegations explaining that the party's financing was transparent and legitimate.
No further evidence to support these claims was found.
Other
Bulgarian Christmas Charity Campaign (2003-present)
Georgi Parvanov initiated the "Bulgarian Christmas" campaign, a funds raised for the treatment of children and renovation of hospitals and health institutions. Bulgarian Christmas is a
musical event each year at the time of Christmas in which
Bulgarian performers sing their most popular songs in the audience of the President and his wife, and other VIP guests. The event is
TV-broadcast on the national channel
BNT
The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgaria ...
and funds are being raised by donations through
SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
and bank transfers.
Over the years, millions of
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
have been donated by private individuals such as Igor Parvanov and foreign companies, and Parvanov as closely related to the campaign warrants that the money be spent as prescribed.
Family
Parvanov has two children with his wife,
Zorka Parvanova
Zorka Petrova Parvanova ( bg, Зорка Петрова Първанова; born 4 May 1958, in Razlog) is a Bulgarian historian and former First Lady of Bulgaria from 2002 until 2012. She is the wife of Georgi Parvanov, the former President of ...
: Vladimir and Ivaylo. Parvanov has two grandchildren from his son Vladimir: Georgi (born 2011) and Victoria (born 2015).
Honours
Foreign honours
![A ceremony was held to decorate Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Ilham Aliyev with high awards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/A_ceremony_was_held_to_decorate_Bulgarian_President_Georgi_Parvanov_and_Ilham_Aliyev_with_high_awards.jpg)
* :
Heydar Aliyev Order
Heydar Aliyev Order ( az, "Heydər Əliyev" ordeni) is the supreme order of Azerbaijan. The order was ratified by legislation of Azerbaijan Republic by the Decree No. 896-IIQ on 22 April 2005. The Heydar Aliyev Order is given to the citizens of th ...
* : Grand Cordon of the
Leopold
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Southern Cross
Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 18 ...
* : Knight of the
Order of the Elephant (29 March 2006)
* : Collar of the
Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...
(30 May 2003)
* : 1st Class with Chain of the
Order of the Three Stars
Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...
* : Knight Grand Cross with Golden Chain of the
Order of Vytautas the Great
The Order of Vytautas the Great is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguished ...
(13 March 2009)
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Saint-Charles
The Order of Saint Charles (french: Ordre de Saint Charles) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858.
Award
This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be granted to foreign ...
(26 November 2004)
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Olav (29 August 2006)
* : Collar of the
Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...
(7 June 2003)
* : Grand Collar of the
Order of Prince Henry
The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...
(7 October 2002)
Notes
References
Bibliography
:
:
Publications
Parvanov is an author of dozens of scientific articles. His monographs and books:
* ''Dimitar Blagoev and the Bulgarian National Problem 1879–1917'', 1988
* ''From Bouzloudja to the Corona Theatre. An Attempt at a New Reading of Pages from the BSP's Social Democratic Period'', 1995
* ''The Bulgarian Social Democracy and the Macedonian Issue at the End of the 19th century up to 1918'', 1997
* ''Before and after the 10th'', 2001
External links
Official Presidential Website of the President of the Republic of BulgariaPersonal website of Georgi Parvanov 2006 presidential election campaign website of Georgi ParvanovBulgarian Presidential Office Pardoned 431 Criminals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parvanov, Georgi
1957 births
Living people
Presidents of Bulgaria
20th-century Bulgarian historians
Sofia University alumni
Alternative for Bulgarian Revival politicians
People from Pernik Province
Collars of the Order of Civil Merit
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles
Grand Crosses with Golden Chain of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
Recipients of the Heydar Aliyev Order