A referendum on becoming a republic was held in

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 Macedo ...

on 8 September 1946. Although considered unconstitutional according to the

Tarnovo Constitution The Tarnovo Constitution ( bg, Търновска конституция) was the first constitution of Bulgaria. It was adopted on 16 April 1879 ( O.S.) by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of ...

still active at the time, the result was 95.6% in favour of the change, with voter turnout reported to be 91.7%. The country was declared to be the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

on 15 September 1946, formally putting an end to the

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. On the following day the ''de jure''

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 representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

, King Simeon II and his mother, Queen

Giovanna Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Jane, Joanna, Jeanne, etc. In Brazil, the feminine name Giovann ...

, were forced to leave the country, although the queen wanted to leave Bulgaria after the execution of Prince

Kiril The male name Kiril (or Кирил or Кирилл) is a common first name in the Orthodox Slavic world, in particular in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Russia. It is also well known in Greece but in different forms like Kyriakos. (Note that in m ...

on 1 February 1945. After the referendum, a republican constitution (known as the

Dimitrov Constitution The Dimitrov Constitution was the second Constitution of Bulgaria, in effect from 1947 to 1971.Konstantinov, EmilConstitutional Foundation of Bulgaria (Historical Parallels). Rigas Network, 2002. It formed the legal basis for Communist rule in B ...

) was introduced the following year.Nohlen & Stöver, p355 According to the Tarnovo Constitution, no such referendum was admissible, as it did not envisage a change of the state system. The only way it could be changed was by convening a Grand National Assembly, and this could only take place by a decision of the monarch.

Results

References

{{Bulgarian elections

1946 in Bulgaria Referendums in Bulgaria Constitutional referendums Monarchy referendums September 1946 events in Europe