site.btaAugust 1, 1990: Bulgaria's First Democratically Elected President, Zhelyu Zhelev, Voted into Office

Zhelyu Zhelev (1935-2015) was the first democratically elected president of Bulgaria, voted into office by the 7th Grand National Assembly on August 1, 1990, months after the democratic changes of November 10, 1989.

Zhelev was a philosopher, dissident and politician. He served as President of Bulgaria between August 1, 1990, and January 22, 1992 (after being elected by the Grand National Assembly), and between January 22, 1992, and January 22, 1997 (after presidential elections).

He was born in Veselinovo, Shumen Region, Northeastern Bulgaria on March 3, 1935, to the family of Mityu Zhelev Mitev and Yordanka Nikolova Mitova. He had three brothers.

In 1949, he finished primary school in his native village, and in 1953, he completed his secondary education at the Nikola Y. Vaptsarov People's Boys' Secondary School in Shumen. In 1958, he graduated in philosophy from Sofia State University (today's St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia). He joined the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1961.

Between 1961 and 1964, after winning a competition, Zhelev worked as a post-graduate student at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Department of Dialectical and Historical Materialism at Sofia State University.

He authored the seminal scholarly book The Totalitarian State (also known as Fascism) in 1967 while staying in Grozden, Burgas Region, Southeastern Bulgaria. The book was not published until 15 years later. In 1975, Zhelev got a job at the Institute of Culture, where he headed the Culture and Personality Section from 1977 until 1982.

Zhelev was co-founder and first chair of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), established on December 7, 1989, as a loose association of dissident groups and revived prewar political parties dedicated to bringing about democratic reform in Bulgaria. He headed the UDF delegation to the National Round Table (January 3 - May 14, 1990), where the main parameters of the political transition were negotiated and a decision was made to conduct multi-party elections and to convene the 7th Grand National Assembly which would work out the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, still effective today.

Zhelev was elected a member of the 7th Grand National Assembly. In August 1990, after Petar Mladenov's resignation, the Grand National Assembly elected Zhelev as President of the Republic, with Armed Forces general and former interior minister Atanas Semerdzhiev as Vice President.

Zhelev did not want to be a rank-and-file member of the UDF after the end of his presidential term in January 1997. He established the Liberal Alternative party, which ran in the parliamentary elections in April 1997 and won 0.32% of the vote. Since then, he has not played an active role in Bulgarian politics.

Below are some highlights from BTA's original coverage of the events related to Zhelyu Zhelev's election as President of Bulgaria on August 1, 1990, translated from Bulgarian:

Sofia, July 31, 1990 - The presidential crisis may be a step away from a settlement, or it may be getting even worse. This can be inferred from today's first one-hour sitting of the Grand National Assembly.

Over a period of more than two weeks, the MPs failed to elect a President of the Republic after turning down four candidates.

Almost taking the presidential seat after yesterday's fifth round of voting, Viktor Valkov suddenly pulled out, acting upon a decision by the parliamentary group of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union.

(Nikodim Popov and Petar Dertliev also withdrew from the race.)

On behalf of the Parliamentary Union of Democratic Forces, Stoyan Ganev presented a new candidate, Dr Zhelyu Zhelev. Enjoying well-deserved prestige and trust among the Bulgarian intelligentsia, Dr Zhelev is a convinced democrat with a remarkable ability to maintain open and honest dialogue and to show tolerance for the opinions and views of others, Ganev said. The UDF Spokesperson presented the most important moments of Zhelev's life, noting that over the past 25 years he had been in constant conflict with the totalitarian government and had participated in various forms of personal and group protest and struggle. He was among the initiators and the active members of the public committee for eco protection of Ruse and the glasnost and perestroika club which he co-chaired. On December 7, 1989, he was elected to chair the UDF Coordination Council.

Sofia, July 31, 1990 - After a break, the MPs began to ask the new candidate questions (...) Many of the queries were about statements he had made during the election campaign, during and after the parliamentary elections, and concerned the issue of whether the development of the political situation changed or influenced some of his views (...)

A second group of questions concerned the need for radical legislative revisions in the field of agriculture and land ownership, environmental protection and healthcare, residence permits (...)

At tomorrow's sitting, Dr Zhelyu Zhelev will present his vision about the nation's future and the way to end the crisis, and will take MPs' questions.

FLASH - Sofia, August 1, 1990 - Zhelyu Zhelev has been elected President of the Republic.

Sofia, August 1, 1990 (BTA spec. corr. B. Dimitrova and V. Konstantinov) - Zhelyu Zhelev is the new President of Bulgaria. His nomination was supported today by 284 MPs.

Zhelev set out the principles of his future work as head of state in a political declaration which he read out at the beginning of the sitting of the Grand National Assembly.

He said: "The decision of the Union of Democratic Forces and my personal decision that I should bid for the post of President of the Republic ought to be viewed as a historic choice on our part in favour of a peaceful evolutionary transition of the nation towards democracy, with the political opposition holding a direct share in power by assuming direct political and moral responsibility to address national issues using the means of parliamentary democracy, as a political compromise and an effort to reach understanding among the forces of society. Essentially, this is a social contract among the main political forces. It ensures real separation of powers during the transition to democracy while also guaranteeing that the transition is irreversible. The UDF is becoming engaged in the practical governance of this country not only through Parliament but also through the institution of the President, which is linked to the executive government. Insofar as the President of the Republic is a supra-party institution constitutionally obligated to voice the national interests, he is a guarantor of concord among all political forces which have placed their confidence in him."