3 GeoFroggy

Country Name

Conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria

Conventional short form: Bulgaria

Administrative Divisions

28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

Independence

3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

National Holiday

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Constitution

Adopted 12 July 1991

Legal System

civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International Law Organization Participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)

Head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), and Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly

Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly

Election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87%

Legislative Branch

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005)

Election results: percent of vote by party - NMS2 42.74%, UDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2005 - NMS2 98, CfB 49, UtDF 28, MRF 20, UDF 14, New Time 13, BANU 11, independents 7

Judicial Branch

Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary)

Political Parties and Leaders

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by DSB)

Political Pressure Groups and Leaders

Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

Flag Description

Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control)

National Anthem

Year

Government Type

  • Parliamentary democracy

Capital

    Sofia

Diplomatic Representation in the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA
  • Chancery
    1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  • Telephone
    [1] (202) 387-0174
  • FAX
    [1] (202) 234-7973
  • Consulate(s)
    New York

Diplomatic Representation from the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador James William PARDEW
  • Embassy
    16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407
  • Mailing Address
    American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740
  • Telephone
    [359] (2) 937-5100
  • FAX
    [359] (2) 937-5230

International Organization Participation

  • ACCT
  • Australia Group
  • BIS
  • BSEC
  • CE
  • CEI
  • CERN
  • EAPC
  • EBRD
  • EU (applicant)
  • FAO
  • G- 9
  • IAEA
  • IBRD
  • ICAO
  • ICCt
  • ICFTU
  • ICRM
  • IFC
  • IFRCS
  • IHO (pending member)
  • ILO
  • IMF
  • IMO
  • Interpol
  • IOC
  • IOM
  • ISO
  • ITU
  • MIGA
  • NAM (guest)
  • NATO
  • NSG
  • OAS (observer)
  • OPCW
  • OSCE
  • PCA
  • PFP
  • UN
  • UNCTAD
  • UNESCO
  • UNIDO
  • UNMEE
  • UNMIK
  • UNMIL
  • UPU
  • WCL
  • WCO
  • WEU (associate affiliate)
  • WFTU
  • WHO
  • WIPO
  • WMO
  • WToO
  • WTO
  • ZC