Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria

Government type parliamentary democracy

Capital Sofia

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 (from 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

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (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), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers 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; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister
election results: Georgi PARVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87%

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%, UHdDF 18.18%, CFB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UHdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of February 2002 - NMS2 115, UHdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21, independents 5

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 Radical Union [Evgeniy BAKURDZHIEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CFB (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHNOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV, Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UHdDF [Ekaterina MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces (consisting of UHdDF and People's Union) [Ekaterina MIKHAYLOVA]

Political pressure groups and leaders agrarian movement; Bulgarian Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

International organization participation ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA
consulate(s): New York
FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973
telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard M. MILES
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia
mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740
telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100
FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77

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)

NOTE: The information regarding Bulgaria on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bulgaria Government 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bulgaria Government 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.