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General Information
Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy. Conventional long form name:
Republic of Bulgaria.
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 (as an autonomous principality within the
Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the
Ottaman 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
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), and Lidiya
SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003)
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 PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi
PURVANOV 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%,
UtdDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120,
UtdDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2004 - NMS2
108, UtdDF 49, CfB 48, MRF 20, independents 15
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 Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei
STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties
dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Movement for Rights and
Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or
NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda
MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI];
United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and
other center-right parties)
Political pressure groups and leaders: agrarian movement;
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB;
Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and
national interest groups with various agendas
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, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO, ZC
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Bulgaria Translation