List of heads of government of Bulgaria facts for kids

Have you ever wondered who leads a country? This article tells you all about the people who have been in charge of the government in modern Bulgaria. These leaders, often called Prime Ministers or Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, have guided Bulgaria from when it became a principality a long time ago, all the way up to today. You'll learn about the different eras and the important figures who shaped the nation.

Bulgaria's Leaders Through Time

Principality of Bulgaria: Early Leaders (1878–1908)

Bulgaria became a principality in 1878. During this time, the country was led by a Prince, but the government was run by a "Chairman of the Council of Ministers," similar to a Prime Minister today. These early leaders helped set up the new Bulgarian state.

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Party		Election	Cabinet	Prince (Reign)
			Started	Ended	Length of Service
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1879–1908
1		Todor Burmov (1834–1906)	17 July 1879	6 December 1879	142 days		Conservative Party	1879 (Jan)	Burmov	Alexander I (1879–1886)
2		Bishop Kliment of Branichevo (1841–1901)	6 December 1879	7 April 1880	123 days		Conservative Party	—	Kliment I
3		Dragan Tsankov (1828–1911)	7 April 1880	10 December 1880	247 days		Liberal Party	1879 (Sep–Oct) 1880	D. Tsankov I
4		Petko Karavelov (1843–1903)	10 December 1880	9 May 1881	150 days		Liberal Party	—	Karavelov I
5		Johan Ehrnrooth (1833–1913)	9 May 1881	13 July 1881	65 days		Imperial Russian Army	1881 (Jun)	Ehrnrooth
—		No Prime Minister: Prince ruled directly Alexander I (1857–1893)	13 July 1881	5 July 1882	357 days		—	—	—
6		Leonid Sobolev (1844–1913)	5 July 1882	19 September 1883	1 year, 76 days		Imperial Russian Army	1882	Sobolev
(3)		Dragan Tsankov (1828–1911)	19 September 1883	11 July 1884	296 days		Liberal Party (Tsankovists)	1884	D. Tsankov II–III
(4)		Petko Karavelov (1843–1903)	11 July 1884	21 August 1886	2 years, 41 days		Liberal Party (Karavelists)	—	Karavelov II
(2)		Metropolitan Kliment of Tarnovo (1841–1901)	21 August 1886	24 August 1886	3 days		Tsankovist Party	—	Kliment II
(4)		Petko Karavelov (1843–1903)	24 August 1886	28 August 1886	4 days		Liberal Party (Karavelist)	—	Karavelov III
7		Vasil Radoslavov (1854–1929)	28 August 1886	10 July 1887	316 days		Liberal Party (Stambolovists)	1886	Radoslavov I
										Ferdinand I (1887–1908)
8		Konstantin Stoilov (1853–1901)	10 July 1887	1 September 1887	53 days		Conservative Party	—	Stoilov I
9		Stefan Stambolov (1854–1895)	1 September 1887	31 May 1894	6 years, 272 days		People's Liberal Party	1887 1890 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Jul)	Stambolov
(8)		Konstantin Stoilov (1853–1901)	31 May 1894	30 January 1899	4 years, 244 days		People's Party	1894 1896	Stoilov II–III
10		Dimitar Grekov (1847–1901)	30 January 1899	13 October 1899	256 days		People's Liberal Party	1899	Grekov
11		Todor Ivanchov (1858–1905)	13 October 1899	25 January 1901	1 year, 104 days		Liberal Party (Radoslavists)	—	Ivanchov I–II
12		Racho Petrov (1861–1942)	25 January 1901	5 March 1901	39 days		Independent	1901	Petrov I
(4)		Petko Karavelov (1843–1903)	5 March 1901	4 January 1902	305 days		Democratic Party	—	Karavelov IV
13		Stoyan Danev (1858–1949)	4 January 1902	19 May 1903	1 year, 135 days		Progressive Liberal Party	1902	Danev I–III
(12)		Racho Petrov (1861–1942)	19 May 1903	5 November 1906	3 years, 170 days		Independent	1903	Petrov II
14		Dimitar Petkov (1858–1907)	5 November 1906	11 March 1907†	126 days		People's Liberal Party	—	Petkov
15		Dimitar Stanchov (1863–1940) Acting	12 March 1907	16 March 1907	4 days		Independent	—	Stanchov
16		Petar Gudev (1863–1932)	16 March 1907	29 January 1908	319 days		People's Liberal Party	—	Gudev
17		Aleksandar Malinov (1867–1938)	29 January 1908	5 October 1908	250 days		Democratic Party	1908	Malinov I

Tsardom of Bulgaria: Kings and Prime Ministers (1908–1946)

In 1908, Bulgaria became a Tsardom, meaning it was ruled by a Tsar (King). The head of government was still called the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. This period saw Bulgaria involved in major world events.

Governments

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

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Party		Government Main Parties	Election	Tsar (Reign)
			Started	Ended	Length of Service
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1908–1946
17		Aleksandar Malinov (1867–1938)	5 October 1908	29 March 1911	2 years, 175 days		Democratic Party	Malinov I–II DP	—	Ferdinand I (1908–1918)
18		Ivan Evstratiev Geshov (1849–1924)	29 March 1911	14 June 1913	2 years, 77 days		People's Party	Geshov NP–PLP	1911 (Jun) 1911 (Sep)
(13)		Stoyan Danev (1858–1949)	14 June 1913	17 July 1913	33 days		Progressive Liberal Party	Danev IV PLP–NP	—
(7)		Vasil Radoslavov (1854–1929)	17 July 1913	21 June 1918	4 years, 339 days		Liberal Party (Radoslavists)	Radoslavov II–III LP (r.)–NLP–MLP	1913 1914
(17)		Aleksandar Malinov (1867–1938)	21 June 1918	28 November 1918	160 days		Democratic Party	Malinov III–IV DP and others	—
										Boris III (1918–1943)
19		Teodor Teodorov (1869–1924)	28 November 1918	6 October 1919	312 days		People's Party	Teodorov I–II NP and others	—
20		Aleksandar Stamboliyski (1879–1923)	6 October 1919	9 June 1923 (Removed from power)	3 years, 246 days		Bulgarian Agrarian National Union	Stamboliyski I–II BZNS and others	1919 1920 1923 (Apr)
21		Aleksandar Tsankov (1879–1959)	9 June 1923	4 January 1926	2 years, 209 days		Democratic Alliance	A. Tsankov I–II DA and others	1923 (Nov)
22		Andrey Lyapchev (1866–1933)	4 January 1926	29 June 1931	5 years, 176 days		Democratic Alliance	Lyapchev I–III DA	1927
(17)		Aleksandar Malinov (1867–1938)	29 June 1931	12 October 1931	105 days		Democratic Party	Malinov V DP and others	1931
23		Nikola Mushanov (1872–1951)	12 October 1931	19 May 1934 (Removed from power)	2 years, 219 days		Democratic Party	Mushanov I–III DP and others	—
24		Kimon Georgiev (1882–1969)	19 May 1934	22 January 1935	248 days		Independent	Georgiev I Nonpartisan	—
25		Pencho Zlatev (1881–1948)	22 January 1935	21 April 1935	89 days		Bulgarian Army	Zlatev Nonpartisan	—
26		Andrey Toshev (1867–1944)	21 April 1935	23 November 1935	216 days		Independent	Toshev Nonpartisan	—
27		Georgi Kyoseivanov (1884–1960)	23 November 1935	16 February 1940	4 years, 85 days		Independent	Kyoseivanov I–IV Nonpartisan	1938 1939
28		Bogdan Filov (1883–1945)	16 February 1940	9 September 1943	3 years, 205 days		Independent	Filov I–II Nonpartisan	—
										Simeon II (1943–1946)
—		Petar Gabrovski (1898–1945) Acting	9 September 1943	14 September 1943	5 days		Independent	Filov II Nonpartisan	—
29		Dobri Bozhilov (1884–1945)	14 September 1943	1 June 1944	261 days		Independent	Bozhilov Nonpartisan	—
30		Ivan Ivanov Bagryanov (1891–1945)	1 June 1944	2 September 1944	93 days		Independent	Bagryanov Nonpartisan	—
31		Konstantin Muraviev (1893–1965)	2 September 1944	9 September 1944 (Removed from power)	7 days		Bulgarian Agrarian National Union	Muraviev BZNS and DP	—
(24)		Kimon Georgiev (1882–1969)	9 September 1944	15 September 1946	2 years, 6 days		Zveno	Georgiev II–III Zveno and other parties	1945

People's Republic of Bulgaria: Communist Era (1946–1990)

After World War II, Bulgaria became a People's Republic. During this time, the country was largely 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 (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Party		Government Main Parties	Election	Head of State (Tenure)
			Started	Ended	Length of Service
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1946–1990
(24)		Kimon Georgiev (1882–1969)	15 September 1946	23 November 1946	69 days		Zveno	Georgiev III Zveno and other parties	—	Vasil Kolarov (1946–1947)
32		Georgi Dimitrov (1882–1949)	23 November 1946	2 July 1949†	2 years, 221 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Dimitrov I–II BKP and other parties	1946
										Mincho Neychev (1947–1950)
33		Vasil Kolarov (1877–1950)	2 July 1949 Acting until 20 July 1949	23 January 1950†	205 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Kolarov I–II BKP and BZNS	1949
34		Valko Chervenkov (1900–1980)	23 January 1950 Acting until 3 February 1950	17 April 1956	6 years, 85 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Chervenkov BKP and BZNS	1953
										Georgi Damyanov (1950–1958)
35		Anton Yugov (1904–1991)	17 April 1956	19 November 1962	6 years, 216 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Yugov I–III BKP and BZNS	1957
										Dimitar Ganev (1958–1964)
36		Todor Zhivkov (1911–1998)	19 November 1962	7 July 1971	8 years, 230 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Zhivkov I–II BKP and BZNS	1962 1966
										Georgi Traykov (1964–1971)
37		Stanko Todorov (1920–1996)	7 July 1971	16 June 1981	9 years, 344 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Todorov I–II BKP and BZNS	1971 1976	Todor Zhivkov (1971–1989)
38		Grisha Filipov (1919–1994)	16 June 1981	21 March 1986	4 years, 278 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Filipov BKP and BZNS	1981
39		Georgi Atanasov (1933–2022)	21 March 1986	3 February 1990	3 years, 319 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Atanasov BKP and BZNS	1986
										Petar Mladenov (1989–1990)
40		Andrey Lukanov (1938–1996)	3 February 1990	15 November 1990	285 days		Bulgarian Communist Party	Lukanov I–II
							Bulgarian Socialist Party			Zhelyu Zhelev (1990)

Republic of Bulgaria: Modern Leaders (1990–Present)

Since 1990, Bulgaria has been a democratic republic with a President as Head of State and a Prime Minister leading the government. This period has seen many changes and different political parties working together.

Governments

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

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Party		Government Main Parties	Election	President (Tenure)
			Started	Ended	Length of Service
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers 1990–1991
(40)		Andrey Lukanov (1938–1996)	15 November 1990	7 December 1990	22 days		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Lukanov II BSP	N/A	Zhelyu Zhelev (1990–1997)
41		Dimitar Popov (1927–2015)	7 December 1990	8 November 1991	336 days		Independent	Popov BSP and others	1990
Prime Ministers 1991–onwards
42		Philip Dimitrov (born 1955)	8 November 1991	30 December 1992	1 year, 52 days		Union of Democratic Forces	Dimitrov SDS and others	1991
43		Lyuben Berov (1925–2006)	30 December 1992	17 October 1994	1 year, 291 days		Independent supported by Movement for Rights and Freedoms	Berov
44		Reneta Indzhova (born 1953)	17 October 1994	25 January 1995	100 days		Independent	Indzhova
45		Zhan Videnov (born 1959)	25 January 1995	13 February 1997	2 years, 19 days		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Videnov BSP and others	1994
										Petar Stoyanov (1997–2002)
46		Stefan Sofiyanski (born 1951)	13 February 1997	21 May 1997	97 days		Union of Democratic Forces	Sofiyanski SDS
47		Ivan Kostov (born 1949)	21 May 1997	24 July 2001	4 years, 64 days		Union of Democratic Forces	Kostov SDS and others	1997
48		Simeon Sakskoburggotski (born 1937)	24 July 2001	16 August 2005	4 years, 23 days		National Movement Simeon II	Sakskoburggotski NDSV and DPS	2001
										Georgi Parvanov (2002–2012)
49		Sergey Stanishev (born 1966)	16 August 2005	27 July 2009	3 years, 345 days		Bulgarian Socialist Party	Stanishev BSP and other parties	2005
50		Boyko Borisov (born 1959)	27 July 2009	13 March 2013	3 years, 229 days		GERB	Borisov I GERB	2009
										Rosen Plevneliev (2012–2017)
51		Marin Raykov (born 1960)	13 March 2013	29 May 2013	77 days		Independent	Raykov
52		Plamen Oresharski (born 1960)	29 May 2013	6 August 2014	1 year, 69 days		Independent supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party	Oresharski BSP and DPS	2013
53		Georgi Bliznashki (born 1956)	6 August 2014	7 November 2014	93 days		Independent	Bliznashki
(50)		Boyko Borisov (born 1959)	7 November 2014	27 January 2017	2 years, 81 days		GERB	Borisov II GERB and other parties	2014
										Rumen Radev (2017–2026)
54		Ognyan Gerdzhikov (born 1946)	27 January 2017	4 May 2017	97 days		Independent	Gerdzhikov
(50)		Boyko Borisov (born 1959)	4 May 2017	12 May 2021	4 years, 8 days		GERB	Borisov III GERB and OP	2017
55		Stefan Yanev (born 1960)	12 May 2021	16 September 2021	215 days		Independent	Yanev I	2021 (Apr)
			16 September 2021	13 December 2021				Yanev II	2021 (Jul)
56		Kiril Petkov (born 1980)	13 December 2021	1 August 2022	231 days		We Continue the Change	Petkov PP and other parties	2021 (Nov)
57		Galab Donev (born 1967)	2 August 2022	2 February 2023	308 days		Independent	Donev I
			2 February 2023	6 June 2023				Donev II	2022
58		Nikolai Denkov (born 1962)	6 June 2023	9 April 2024	308 days		We Continue the Change	Denkov PP–DB and GERB	2023
59		Dimitar Glavchev (born 1963) Caretaker	9 April 2024	27 August 2024	282 days		Independent	Glavchev I
			27 August 2024	16 January 2025				Glavchev II	2024 (Jun)
60		Rosen Zhelyazkov (born 1968)	16 January 2025	19 February 2026	1 year, 34 days		GERB	Zhelyazkov GERB and other parties	2024 (Oct)
										Iliana Iotova (2026–present)
61		Andrey Gyurov (born 1975) Caretaker	19 February 2026	Incumbent	65 days		Independent	Gyurov

Timeline of Bulgarian Prime Ministers

This timeline shows when each leader served and which political party they belonged to. It helps us see how leadership has changed over the years in Bulgaria.

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