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Constitution 1879 1947 1971 1991
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This is a list of the heads of the modern Bulgarian state, from the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria to the present day.

It also lists the general secretaries of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1948–1990. From 1948 onwards, the general secretary was the country's de facto chief executive.

Principality of Bulgaria (1878–1908)

Prince				Reign			Claim
Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	House	Reign start	Reign end	Duration
1		Alexander I 1857–1893 (Lived: 36 years)	Battenberg	29 April 1879	7 September 1886 (Abdicated)	7 years, 131 days	Elected by the First Grand National Assembly
2		Ferdinand I 1861–1948 (Lived: 87 years)	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry	7 July 1887	5 October 1908	21 years, 90 days	Elected by the Third Grand National Assembly

Kingdom of Bulgaria (1908–1946)

Tsar				Reign			Claim
Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	House	Reign start	Reign end	Duration
(2)		Ferdinand I 1861–1948 (Lived: 87 years)	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry	5 October 1908	3 October 1918 (Abdicated)	9 years, 363 days	Proclaimed himself as Tsar
3		Boris III 1894–1943 (Lived: 49 years)		3 October 1918	28 August 1943 † (Died)	24 years, 329 days	Son of Ferdinand I
4		Simeon II Born 1937 (86 years old)		28 August 1943	15 September 1946 (Monarchy abolished)	3 years, 18 days	Son of Boris III
—		Kiril, Prince of Preslav 1895–1945 (Lived: 49 years)			9 September 1944 (Deposed)	1 year, 12 days	First Regency Council For Simeon II
—		Bogdan Filov 1883–1945 (Lived: 61 years)	—
—		Lt. General Nikola Mihov 1891–1945 (Lived: 53 years)
—		Todor Pavlov 1890–1977 (Lived: 87 years)	—	9 September 1944	15 September 1946 (Monarchy abolished)	2 years, 6 days	Second Regency Council For Simeon II
—		Venelin Ganev 1880–1966 (Lived: 86 years)
—		Tsvetko Boboshevski 1884–1952 (Lived: 68 years)

People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990)

Status

Head of State			Term of office			Duration	Political party
Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Election	Took office	Left office
Chairman of the Provisional Presidency
—		Vasil Kolarov 1877–1950 (Lived: 72 years)	—	15 September 1946	9 December 1947	1 year, 85 days	BCP
Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly
5		Mincho Neychev 1887–1956 (Lived: 69 years)	—	9 December 1947	27 May 1950	2 years, 169 days	BCP
6		Georgi Damyanov 1892–1958 (Lived: 66 years)	—	27 May 1950	27 November 1958 †	8 years, 184 days
—		Georgi Kulishev 1885–1974 (Lived: 89 years)	—	27 November 1958	30 November 1958	3 days
—		Nikolay Georgiev 1906–1988 (Lived: 81 years)	—				BANU
7		Dimitar Ganev 1898–1964 (Lived: 65 years)	—	30 November 1958	20 April 1964 †	5 years, 142 days	BCP
—		Georgi Kulishev 1885–1974 (Lived: 89 years)	—	20 April 1964	23 April 1964	3 days
—		Nikolay Georgiev 1906–1988 (Lived: 81 years)	—				BANU
8		Georgi Traykov 1898–1975 (Lived: 76 years)	—	23 April 1964	7 July 1971	7 years, 75 days	BANU
Chairman of the State Council
9		Todor Zhivkov 1911–1998 (Lived: 86 years)	—	7 July 1971	17 November 1989	18 years, 133 days	BCP
10		Petar Mladenov 1936–2000 (Lived: 63 years)	—	17 November 1989	3 April 1990	137 days
Chairman (President) of the Republic
(10)		Petar Mladenov 1936–2000 (Lived: 63 years)	(Apr) 1990	3 April 1990	6 July 1990	94 days	BSP
—		Stanko Todorov 1920–1996 (Lived: 76 years)	—	6 July 1990	17 July 1990	11 days
—		Nikolai Todorov 1921–2003 (Lived: 82 years)	—	17 July 1990	1 August 1990	15 days
11		Zhelyu Zhelev 1935–2015 (Lived: 79 years)	(Jul–Aug) 1990	1 August 1990	15 November 1990	106 days	UDF

General Secretaries of the Bulgarian Communist Party (1948–1990)

General Secretary			Term of office			Notes
Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Georgi Dimitrov 1882–1949 (Lived: 67 years)	27 December 1948	2 July 1949	187 days	Also Prime Minister (1946–1949)
2		Valko Chervenkov 1900–1980 (Lived: 80 years)	2 July 1949	4 March 1954	4 years, 245 days	Also Prime Minister (1950–1956)
3		Todor Zhivkov 1911–1998 (Lived: 86 years)	4 March 1954	10 November 1989	35 years, 251 days	Also Prime Minister (1962–1971), and Chairman of the Council of State (1971–1989)
4		Petar Mladenov 1936–2000 (Lived: 63 years)	10 November 1989	2 February 1990	84 days	Also Chairman of the Council of State (1989–1990)

Republic of Bulgaria (1990–present)

President			Term of office			Duration	Political party
Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Election	Took office	Left office
Chairman (President) of the Republic
(11)		Zhelyu Zhelev 1935–2015 (Lived: 79 years)	(Jul-Aug) 1990	15 November 1990	22 January 1992	1 year, 68 days	SDS
President of the Republic
(11)		Zhelyu Zhelev 1935–2015 (Lived: 79 years)	1992	22 January 1992	22 January 1997	5 years	SDS
12		Petar Stoyanov Born 1952 (71 years old)	1996	22 January 1997	22 January 2002	5 years
13		Georgi Parvanov Born 1957 (66 years old)	2001 2006	22 January 2002	22 January 2012	10 years	BSP
14		Rosen Plevneliev Born 1964 (59 years old)	2011	22 January 2012	22 January 2017	5 years	GERB
15		Rumen Radev Born 1963 (60 years old)	2016 2021	22 January 2017	Incumbent	6 years, 304 days	Independent

Timeline from 1946

Head of state titles

State	Years	Title
Principality of Bulgaria	1879–1908	Prince of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria	1908–1946	Tsar of Bulgaria
People's Republic of Bulgaria	1946–1947	Chairman of the Provisional Presidency
	1947–1971	Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly
	1971–1990	Chairman of the State Council
	1990	Chairman (President) of the Republic
Republic of Bulgaria	1990–1992
	1992–present	President of the Republic