List of heads of government of Bulgaria facts for kids

Bulgaria is a country in Europe with a long and interesting history. Like many nations, it has a leader who helps run the government. This leader is often called the Prime Minister. This article lists all the people who have led the government of Bulgaria, from when it first became a principality in 1878 until today. These leaders have played a big part in shaping Bulgaria's journey through different eras, including when it was a principality, a kingdom (Tsardom), a people's republic, and now a modern republic.

Leaders of Bulgaria's Government

Princes and Early Leaders (1878–1908)

During this time, Bulgaria was a principality, and its leaders were called Chairmen of the Council of Ministers. They worked alongside the Prince of Bulgaria.

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Political party	Election	Prince (Reign)
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1879–1908
1		Todor Burmov	17 July 1879	6 December 1879	Conservative Party	1879 (Jan)	Alexander I (1879–1886)
2		Bishop Kliment of Branichevo	6 December 1879	7 April 1880	Conservative Party	—
3		Dragan Tsankov	7 April 1880	10 December 1880	Liberal Party	1879 (Sep–Oct) 1880
4		Petko Karavelov	10 December 1880	9 May 1881	Liberal Party	—
5		Johan Ehrnrooth	9 May 1881	13 July 1881	Imperial Russian Army	1881 (Jun)
—		Prince Alexander I ruled directly	13 July 1881	5 July 1882	—	—
6		Leonid Sobolev	5 July 1882	19 September 1883	Imperial Russian Army	1882
(3)		Dragan Tsankov 2nd time	19 September 1883	11 July 1884	Liberal Party (Tsankovists)	1884
(4)		Petko Karavelov 2nd time	11 July 1884	21 August 1886	Liberal Party (Karavelists)	—
(2)		Metropolitan Kliment of Tarnovo 2nd time	21 August 1886	24 August 1886	Tsankovist Party	—
(4)		Petko Karavelov 3rd time	24 August 1886	28 August 1886	Liberal Party (Karavelist)	—
7		Vasil Radoslavov	28 August 1886	10 July 1887	Liberal Party (Stambolovists)	1886
							Ferdinand I (1887–1908)
8		Konstantin Stoilov	10 July 1887	1 September 1887	Conservative Party	—
9		Stefan Stambolov	1 September 1887	31 May 1894	People's Liberal Party	1887 1890 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Jul)
(8)		Konstantin Stoilov 2nd time	31 May 1894	30 January 1899	People's Party	1894 1896
10		Dimitar Grekov	30 January 1899	13 October 1899	People's Liberal Party	1899
11		Todor Ivanchov	13 October 1899	25 January 1901	Liberal Party (Radoslavists)	—
12		Racho Petrov	25 January 1901	5 March 1901	Independent	1901
(4)		Petko Karavelov 4th time	5 March 1901	4 January 1902	Democratic Party	—
13		Stoyan Danev	4 January 1902	19 May 1903	Progressive Liberal Party	1902
(12)		Racho Petrov 2nd time	19 May 1903	5 November 1906	Independent	1903
14		Dimitar Petkov	5 November 1906	11 March 1907†	People's Liberal Party	—
15		Dimitar Stanchov Acting	12 March 1907	16 March 1907	Independent	—
16		Petar Gudev	16 March 1907	29 January 1908	People's Liberal Party	—
17		Aleksandar Malinov	29 January 1908	5 October 1908	Democratic Party	1908

Kings and Prime Ministers (1908–1946)

Bulgaria became a kingdom (Tsardom) in 1908. The head of government was still called the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, working with the Tsar.

Governments

•       Democratic Party
•       NP–PLP alliance
•       Liberal Concentration
•       Democratic Alliance
•       Popular Bloc
•       Nonpartisan
•       Fatherland Front
•       Mixed coalition

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Party		Government Composition	Election	Tsar (Reign)
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1908–1946
17		Aleksandar Malinov	5 October 1908	29 March 1911		Democratic Party	Malinov I–II DP	—	Ferdinand I (1908–1918)
18		Ivan Evstratiev Geshov	29 March 1911	14 June 1913		People's Party	Geshov NP–PLP	1911 (Jun) 1911 (Sep)
(13)		Stoyan Danev	14 June 1913	17 July 1913		Progressive Liberal Party	Danev IV PLP–NP	—
(7)		Vasil Radoslavov	17 July 1913	21 June 1918		Liberal Party (Radoslavists)	Radoslavov II–III LP (r.)–NLP–MLP	1913 1914
(17)		Aleksandar Malinov	21 June 1918	28 November 1918		Democratic Party	Malinov III–IV DP– RP until October 1918 NP–BZNS–BRSDP–BZNS from October 1918	—
									Boris III (1918–1943)
19		Teodor Teodorov	28 November 1918	6 October 1919		People's Party	Teodorov I–II NP–BZNS–DP–RP–BRSDP–PLP	—
20		Aleksandar Stamboliyski	6 October 1919	9 June 1923 (Deposed)		Bulgarian Agrarian National Union	Stamboliyski I–II BZNS– NP–PLP until February 1923	1919 1920 1923 (Apr)
21		Aleksandar Tsankov	9 June 1923	4 January 1926		Democratic Alliance	A. Tsankov I–II DA–NLP–BRSDP–DP–RP–ONPP	1923 (Nov)
22		Andrey Lyapchev	4 January 1926	29 June 1931		Democratic Alliance	Lyapchev I–III DA	1927
(17)		Aleksandar Malinov	29 June 1931	12 October 1931		Democratic Party	Malinov V DP–BZNS–NLP–RP	1931
23		Nikola Mushanov	12 October 1931	19 May 1934 (Deposed)		Democratic Party	Mushanov I–III DP–BZNS–NLP–RP	—
24		Kimon Georgiev	19 May 1934	22 January 1935		Independent	Georgiev I Nonpartisan	—
25		Pencho Zlatev	22 January 1935	21 April 1935		Bulgarian Army	Zlatev Nonpartisan	—
26		Andrey Toshev	21 April 1935	23 November 1935		Independent	Toshev Nonpartisan	—
27		Georgi Kyoseivanov	23 November 1935	16 February 1940		Independent	Kyoseivanov I–IV Nonpartisan	1938 1939
28		Bogdan Filov	16 February 1940	9 September 1943		Independent	Filov I–II Nonpartisan	—
									Simeon II (1943–1946)
—		Petar Gabrovski Acting	9 September 1943	14 September 1943		Independent	Filov II Nonpartisan	—
29		Dobri Bozhilov	14 September 1943	1 June 1944		Independent	Bozhilov Nonpartisan	—
30		Ivan Ivanov Bagryanov	1 June 1944	2 September 1944		Independent	Bagryanov Nonpartisan	—
31		Konstantin Muraviev	2 September 1944	9 September 1944 (Deposed)		Bulgarian Agrarian National Union	Muraviev BZNS–DP	—
(24)		Kimon Georgiev	9 September 1944	15 September 1946		Zveno	Georgiev II–III Zveno–BKP–BZNS–RP–BRSDP	1945

Communist Era Leaders (1946–1990)

After World War II, Bulgaria became a People's Republic. The government was led by the Communist Party, and the head of government was still called the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Governments

•       Fatherland Front

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Party		Government Composition	Election	Head of State (Tenure)
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1946–1990
(24)		Kimon Georgiev	15 September 1946	23 November 1946		Zveno	Georgiev III Zveno–BKP–BZNS–RP–BRSDP	—	Vasil Kolarov (1946–1947)
32		Georgi Dimitrov	23 November 1946	2 July 1949†		Bulgarian Communist Party	Dimitrov I–II BKP–Zveno–BZNS–BRSDP	1946
									Mincho Neychev (1947–1950)
33		Vasil Kolarov	2 July 1949 Acting until 20 July 1949	23 January 1950†		Bulgarian Communist Party	Kolarov I–II BKP–BZNS	1949
34		Valko Chervenkov	23 January 1950 Acting until 3 February 1950	17 April 1956		Bulgarian Communist Party	Chervenkov BKP–BZNS	1953
									Georgi Damyanov (1950–1958)
35		Anton Yugov	17 April 1956	19 November 1962		Bulgarian Communist Party	Yugov I–III BKP–BZNS	1957
									Dimitar Ganev (1958–1964)
36		Todor Zhivkov	19 November 1962	7 July 1971		Bulgarian Communist Party	Zhivkov I–II BKP–BZNS	1962 1966
									Georgi Traykov (1964–1971)
37		Stanko Todorov	7 July 1971	16 June 1981		Bulgarian Communist Party	Todorov I–II BKP–BZNS	1971 1976	Todor Zhivkov (1971–1989)
38		Grisha Filipov	16 June 1981	21 March 1986		Bulgarian Communist Party	Filipov BKP–BZNS	1981
39		Georgi Atanasov	21 March 1986	3 February 1990		Bulgarian Communist Party	Atanasov BKP–BZNS	1986
									Petar Mladenov (1989–1990)
40		Andrey Lukanov	3 February 1990	15 November 1990		Bulgarian Communist Party	Lukanov I–II
						Bulgarian Socialist Party			Zhelyu Zhelev (1990)

Modern Bulgaria's Prime Ministers (1990–Present)

Since 1990, Bulgaria has been a republic with a President as head of state and a Prime Minister as head of government.

Governments

•       BSP/Democratic Left
•       United Democratic Forces
•       GERB
•       Mixed coalition
•       Caretaker

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Party		Government Composition	Election	President (Tenure)
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1990–1991
(40)		Andrey Lukanov	15 November 1990	7 December 1990		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Lukanov II BSP	N/A	Zhelyu Zhelev (1990–1997)
41		Dimitar Popov	7 December 1990	8 November 1991		Independent	Popov BSP–SDS–BZNS	1990
Prime Ministers 1991–onwards
42		Philip Dimitrov	8 November 1991	30 December 1992		Union of Democratic Forces	Dimitrov SDS–RDP–DP	1991
43		Lyuben Berov	30 December 1992	17 October 1994		Independent supported by Movement for Rights and Freedoms	Berov
44		Reneta Indzhova	17 October 1994	25 January 1995		Independent	Indzhova
45		Zhan Videnov	25 January 1995	13 February 1997		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Videnov BSP–BZNS-AS–Ecoglasnost	1994
									Petar Stoyanov (1997–2002)
46		Stefan Sofiyanski	13 February 1997	21 May 1997		Union of Democratic Forces	Sofiyanski SDS
47		Ivan Kostov	21 May 1997	24 July 2001		Union of Democratic Forces	Kostov SDS–DP–BZNS	1997
48		Simeon Sakskoburggotski	24 July 2001	16 August 2005		National Movement Simeon II	Sakskoburggotski NDSV–DPS	2001
									Georgi Parvanov (2002–2012)
49		Sergey Stanishev	16 August 2005	27 July 2009		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Stanishev BSP–NDSV–DPS	2005
50		Boyko Borisov	27 July 2009	13 March 2013		GERB	Borisov I GERB	2009
									Rosen Plevneliev (2012–2017)
51		Marin Raykov	13 March 2013	29 May 2013		Independent	Raykov
52		Plamen Oresharski	29 May 2013	6 August 2014		Independent supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party	Oresharski BSP–DPS	2013
53		Georgi Bliznashki	6 August 2014	7 November 2014		Independent	Bliznashki
(50)		Boyko Borisov	7 November 2014	27 January 2017		GERB	Borisov II GERB–RB–ABV	2014
									Rumen Radev (2017–present)
54		Ognyan Gerdzhikov	27 January 2017	4 May 2017		Independent	Gerdzhikov
(50)		Boyko Borisov	4 May 2017	12 May 2021		GERB	Borisov III GERB–OP	2017
55		Stefan Yanev	12 May 2021	16 September 2021		Independent	Yanev I	2021 (Apr)
			16 September 2021	13 December 2021			Yanev II	2021 (Jul)
56		Kiril Petkov	13 December 2021	1 August 2022		We Continue the Change	Petkov PP–BSP–ITN–DB	2021 (Nov)
57		Galab Donev	2 August 2022	2 February 2023		Independent	Donev I
			2 February 2023	6 June 2023			Donev II	2022
58		Nikolay Denkov	6 June 2023	9 April 2024		We Continue the Change	Denkov PP–DB–GERB	2023
59		Dimitar Glavchev Caretaker	9 April 2024	27 August 2024		Independent	Glavchev I
			27 August 2024	16 January 2025			Glavchev II	2024 (Jun)
60		Rosen Zhelyazkov	16 January 2025	11 December 2025		GERB	Zhelyazkov GERB–BSP–ITN	2024 (Oct)

Timeline of Bulgarian Government Leaders

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Primeros ministros de Bulgaria para niños

• Government of Bulgaria
• History of Bulgaria
• Politics of Bulgaria
• List of Bulgarian monarchs
• President of Bulgaria
• List of heads of state of Bulgaria
• List of presidents of Bulgaria (1990-present)
• Prime Minister of Bulgaria