Rumen Radev

About

Rumen Georgiev Radev (born 18 June 1963) is a Bulgarian politician and former Bulgarian Air Force officer who is the prime minister of Bulgaria. He previously served as president of Bulgaria from 2017 until his resignation in 2026.
Born in Dimitrovgrad, Radev served as commander of the Bulgarian Air Force before joining politics, holding the rank of major general. He won the 2016 Bulgarian presidential election as an independent candidate supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), defeating GERB candidate Tsetska Tsacheva in the runoff. The first term of Radev’s presidency often saw him in conflict with then prime minister Boyko Borisov of GERB. He secured a second term in the 2021 Bulgarian general election, with 66% of the vote in the runoff.
During his second term, Radev presided over the five-year Bulgarian political crisis. Following his resignation in January 2026, he established the Progressive Bulgaria (PB) party to contest the 2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election. PB went on to receive 44.6% of the vote and an absolute majority of seats, effectively ending the political crisis. This made Radev the first person in Bulgaria’s history to serve as both President and Prime…