Sakskoburggotski Government facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sakskoburggotski Government
85 Cabinet of Bulgaria
Date formed	24 July 2001
Date dissolved	17 August 2005
People and organisations
Head of state	Petar Stoyanov (2001- 22 January 2002) Georgi Parvanov (22 January 2002 - 2005)
Head of government	Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Deputy head of government	See list Nikolai Vasilev (Economy) Lydia Shuleva (Labour and Social Policy) Kostadin Paskalev (2001-2002) (Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works) Plamen Panaiotov (2002-2005)
Member parties	National Movement Simeon II Movement for Rights and Freedoms New Time (2005)
Status in legislature	Coalition Government
History
Election(s)	2001
Legislature term(s)	39th National Assembly
Outgoing formation	Electoral Defeat (2005)
Predecessor	Kostov Government
Successor	Stanishev Government

The 85th government of Bulgaria, also known as the Tsar's government, was in charge from July 24, 2001, to August 17, 2005. Even though the National Movement Simeon II won many seats in the 2001 election, they decided to team up with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. This team-up is called a 'coalition government'. Some members from the Bulgarian Socialist Party also joined the government, even though their party wasn't officially part of the coalition. They served as independent members.

What the Government Did

Joining Big Groups

A big goal for this government was to help Bulgaria join important groups like NATO and the European Union (EU). NATO is a group of countries that work together for safety. In 2002, Bulgaria was officially invited to join NATO. On March 29, 2004, Bulgaria became a full member of NATO.

The government also worked hard for Bulgaria to join the EU. The EU is a group of European countries that work together on many things, like trade and laws. Bulgaria wasn't part of the first group of ten countries that joined the EU in 2004. But by 2005, Bulgaria had met most of the requirements to join. An agreement was signed on April 25, 2005. This agreement set the date for Bulgaria to join the EU as January 1, 2007. It also planned for financial help for Bulgaria and listed reforms the country needed to make.

Economy and Changes

The government also made many changes to the economy. They sold off many state-owned businesses to private companies. This process is called privatization. Some of these sales caused disagreements and made people lose trust in the government. Critics said that some businesses were sold for too little money. They also felt that the sales were not always open and fair.

Even with these issues, Bulgaria's economy grew quite a bit during this time. However, there were still some problems. Bulgaria bought more goods from other countries than it sold, which is called a negative trade balance. Also, private companies and banks started to owe more money to others.

Political Changes

The four years of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's government brought big changes to Bulgaria's political scene. In early 2002, the Bulgarian Socialist Party stopped supporting the government. They became the main opposition party. This party then won the presidential and local elections.

Many political parties existed in Bulgaria, showing that the political leaders faced challenges. In 2004, some members left the Tsar's party to form a new party called New Time. Even with this split and many attempts by other parties to force new elections, the government finished its full four-year term.

In the 2005 elections, Simeon's party lost and became the second-largest party. This happened because people were disappointed. They had very high hopes for the government, and some felt these hopes were not met.

Government Members

Original Team

Note: The two independent ministers were from the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

Changes in the Government

Over time, some changes were made to the government team:

• December 22, 2001: The energy agency became a ministry, and Milko Kovachev (NDSV) became its minister.
• May 29, 2002: Meglena Kuneva, who was in charge of talks with the European Union, became the Minister of European Affairs.
• October 11, 2002: The youth and sport agency became a ministry, and Vasil Ivanov-Luchano (NDSV) was appointed its minister.
• December 18, 2002: Kostadin Paskalev left the government. Valentin Tserovski took over as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.
• July 17, 2003: Several ministers changed roles or left. This was done to make the government work better.
  • Plamen Panaiotov (NDSV) became a Deputy Prime Minister.
  • Nikolai Vasilev moved to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
  • Lydia Shuleva moved to the Ministry of Economy.
  • Hristina Hristova (NDSV) became the Minister of Labour and Social Policy.
  • Bozhidar Finkov (Health) and Vladimir Atanasov (Education) were replaced by their deputies, Slavcho Bogoev (NDSV) and Igor Damyanov (NDSV).
  • Filiz Khyusmenova (DPS) became a Minister without Portfolio.
• February 23, 2005: A new political party, New Time, formed from members who left the NDSV. To keep the government strong, the NDSV-DPS team made an agreement with New Time. As part of this deal, Miroslav Sevlievski (New Time) became Minister of Energy and Energy Resources.
  • Lidia Shuleva left the government, and Milko Kovachev became the Minister of Economy.
  • Mekhmed Dikme was replaced as Agriculture Minister by his deputy, Nihat Kabil (DPS).
  • Bozhidar Abrashev left his post as Minister of Culture. The tourism agency was added to this ministry, and Nina Chilova (NDSV) took over.

See also

• History of Bulgaria since 1989