Georgi Parvanov

Who is Georgi Parvanov?

Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating the incumbent Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the November 2001 presidential election, and he took office on January 22, 2002. He was reelected in a landslide victory in 2006, becoming the first Bulgarian president to serve two terms. Parvanov was a supporter of Bulgaria's membership in NATO and the European Union.

According to Bulgarian law, a Bulgarian president is not allowed to be a member of a political party, thus Parvanov left the Bulgarian Socialist Party after his election in 2001. Although he identified as a socialist, Parvanov often called himself a 'social president'.

After completing his second term as President, Parvanov returned to the Socialist Party, prompting a dispute over the party leadership. In January 2014 Parvanov restarted his Alternative for Bulgarian Revival project, announcing he would be fielding his own candidates for the 2014 European parliamentary elections. As a result, Parvanov is no longer a member of the Socialist Party.