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Petar Stefanov Stojanov ( bg, Петър Стефанов Стоянов ; born 25 May 1952) is a Bulgarian politician who was
President of Bulgaria The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the head of state of Bulgaria and the commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Army. The official residence of the president is at Boyana Residence, Sofia. After the completion of the second round of votin ...
from 1997 to 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). He did not succeed in the next presidential elections and after leaving office refrained from politics for a while, but, later became an MP in 2005 and was Chairman of UDF from 1 October 2005 to 22 May 2007.


Biography

Stoyanov was born on 25 May 1952, in
Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the ...
, Bulgaria.The Honorable Petar Stoyanov
,
AUB Aub () is a city in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southeast of Würzburg, and northwest of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and, nearby the border of Baden-Württemberg. The river Gollach is the main body of water. ...
After graduating from secondary school, Stoyanov entered the Saint Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia law faculty where he graduated with honors in 1976.His Excellency Petar Stoyanov, President Of Bulgaria
,
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...
He practiced civil law in Plovdiv through the next fifteen years. Stoyanov also speaks
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 ...
and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
in addition to his mother tongue Bulgarian. Quickly after the political changes in Bulgaria at the end of 1989 from communism to democratic rule Stoyanov embarked on a political career (1990), co-founding and chairing a Democracy Club in Plovdiv. Later in the same year, he became spokesman of the Plovdiv Coordinating Council of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), a new Bulgarian coalitional opposition to the former ruling political parties ( BKP and BZNS). When in 1991 UDF formed first non-communist government after the political changes in Bulgaria, President Stoyanov served as Deputy Minister of Justice. In 1993, UDF government fell out of power due to parliamentary voting of approval that did not reach enough votes. Thenafter, in May 1993, Stoyanov became a President of the UDF Legal Council. In 1994, he was elected Member of Parliament and he was Deputy Chairman of the UDF Parliamentary Group, also Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Youth, Sports, and Tourism. In 1995 he was Deputy Chairman of UDF responsible for domestic policy.


President

On 1 June 1996 Petar Stoyanov won the Union Democratic Forces presidential primary, 1996 with 66% of the 870,000 votes cast and was nominated as the presidential candidate of the UDF. In the presidential elections he received more votes than the socialist candidate
Ivan Marazov Ivan Rousev Marazov ( bg, Иван Русев Маразов) born 15 March 1942 in Pirne, near Aytos, is a Bulgarian artist, culturologist, thracologist and politician. In 1996, Marazov was a candidate to become President of Bulgaria for the B ...
and
George Ganchev George Ganchev (born Georgi Petrushev) ( bg, Жорж Ганчев , born ; August 29, 1939 – August 19, 2019) was a Bulgarian politician and founder of the now-defunct political parties Bulgarian Business Bloc and George Ganchev's Bloc. ...
, founder and leader of
Bulgarian Business Bloc The Bulgarian Business Bloc ( bg, Български бизнес блок, Bulgarski biznes blok, BBB) was a political party in Bulgaria. History The party first participated in national elections in 1991, when it received 1.3% of the national v ...
, in the first round. He then defeated Marazov in a runoff by winning 59,73% of the votes cast. He was elected President of Bulgaria with the support of diverse opposition parties on 3 November 1996. On 19 January 1997, he was sworn in as President and on 22 January 1997 stepped into office. He was the first Bulgarian Head of State after the Second World War, who had never been a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. Right from the beginning of his tenure Petar Stoyanov faced the most dramatic crisis in the new history of Bulgaria. For more than a month, tens of thousands were protesting against the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) government. After the resignation of the Socialist Prime Minister Jean Videnov, the President of BSP, Georgi Parvanov and the newly appointed Prime Minister, Nikolay Dobrev, paid a visit to the newly elected Head of State with a Cabenit line-up of the new BSP Council of Ministers. Since they had absolute majority in the 37th National Assembly, the BSP (the former Communist Party) had the absolute majority to vote the new Cabinet. President Stoyanov refused to propose the BSP Cabinet to be voted in Parliament and on the same day, 4 February 1997, he summoned the National Security Consultative Council, including representatives of all political forces. It is during this Consultative Council that the BSP were forced to concede their mandate to form a new cabinet, and so with the decisive role of the newly-elected Head of State the political crisis was ended. President Stoyanov appointed a Caretaker Government headed by Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski, who was elected by the Union of Democratic Forces, and appointed new parliamentary elections which were won by the UDF with full majority. Term of Office At the request of President Stoyanov, the Caretaker Government officially submitted a request for Bulgaria's membership in NATO. Petar Stoyanov also played an important role in resolving the Kosovo crisis, strongly supporting the Alliance. Bulgaria entered into active negotiations for accession to the European Union, which was key to the country's subsequent accession to the EU. Bulgaria ratified the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In 1999, for the first time, a US President visited Bulgaria. At Stoyanov's invitation, Bill Clinton made a historic three-day visit between 21 and 23 November. During his term of office Stoyanov became the first Head of state in the world to sign a law with an electronic signature. Petar Stoyanov has been a member of the Internet Society - Bulgaria, since 21 July 2000. The original of  ''
Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya ''Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' ( Original Cyrillic: Истори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ corrected from Їстори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ; ) is a book by Bulgarian scholar and clergyman Saint Paisius of Hilen ...
'' was returned to the monastery library of the Zograf Monastery on 12 January 1998 at his decision.


Elections for president in 2001

Petar Stoyanov lost the presidential elections in 2001. In the first round of the 2001 voting he finished in second place, as the socialist candidate
Georgi Parvanov 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 Sto ...
received 36.3%, Stoyanov received 34.9% and
Bogomil Bonev Bogomil Angelov Bonev (born September 18, 1957) is a Bulgarian politician, Minister of Interior of Bulgaria between 1997 and 1999.

Later political career

In September 2004, Stoyanov was appointed as Special Envoy for
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
of the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
Chairman-in-Office. In 2005, Stoyanov returned to active politics. He was elected as a member of the 40th National Assembly, where he became a member of the European Integration Committee and a member of State Administration Affairs Committee. Because of the UDF's inadequate result in these elections (8.4% of the popular vote, and 20 out of 240 seats), he blamed the party leader
Nadezhda Mihailova Nadezhda Neynsky,Name after her second marriage after she divorced with her previous husband. previously known as Nadezhda Nikolova Mihaylova ( bg, Надежда Николова Михайлова) (born 9 August 1962 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian ...
, criticizing her policy. On October 1, 2005 the UDF National Conference elected him as Chairman. On 20 May 2007 at the first Bulgarian elections for EU Parliament, Stoyanov – who led the UDF list – failed to get elected since UDF fell 1% short of the 5.66% electoral threshold. This resulted in his resignation from the chairmanship of the Union of Democratic Forces on 22 May 2007.


Other

Stoyanov serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the
World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment ...
. The
World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment ...
works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the
Rule of Law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
for the development of communities of opportunity and equity. In 2002, as a fellow of The German Marshall Fund, Petar Stoyanov delivered lectures in the US at John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
,
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...
(Washington, DC) and other universities.


Membership

Stoyanov is member of the Bulgarian
Internet Society The Internet Society (ISOC) is an American nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1992 with local chapters around the world. Its mission is "to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people ...
since 2000, and has been a regular Internet user.


Family

He is married to Antonina Stoyanova and has a daughter Fany (born 1990) and a son Stefan (born 1979). His younger brother,
Emil Stoyanov Emil Stoyanov ( Bulgarian: Емил Стоянов) (born 12 July 1959 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian politician, publisher and television executive. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the GERB party from his election in 200 ...
, is a former MEP from
GERB GERB ( bg, ГЕРБ, translation=coat of arms, acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) is a conservative, Populism, populist List of political parties in Bulgaria, political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria betwee ...
.


Honours and awards

* : Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (1997) * : 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 forei ...
* : Grand Cross with Sash of the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
(1998) * : Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1999) * : Knight of the
Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...
(2000)


References


External links


Personal website of Petar Stoyanov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoyanov, Petar 1952 births Bulgarian conservatives 20th-century Bulgarian lawyers Living people Presidents of Bulgaria Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Collars of the Order of Civil Merit First Class of the Order of the Star of Romania