Rosen Plevneliev

At a glance

Source: Wikipedia: Rosen Plevneliev¹

Early life

Rosen Plevneliev was born in Gotse Delchev on 14 May 1964. His mother, Slavka, was a teacher, and his father, Asen, was an activist of the Communist Party. He moved with his parents to Blagoevgrad at the age of 10. His family descended from Bulgarian refugees who resettled from what is now Petrousa in Greek Macedonia in 1913.¹

He graduated from Blagoevgrad Mathematical and Natural Sciences High School in 1982 and from the Higher Mechanical-Electrotechnical Institute in Sofia in 1989. After the political changes of 1990, he started a private building company, which worked on projects including Sofia Business Park. He speaks Bulgarian, English and German.¹

Political career

Plevneliev became Minister of Regional Development and Public Works on 27 July 2009, serving under Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov. GERB announced him as its presidential candidate in September 2011. He won the second round of the presidential election on 30 October with 52.58% of the vote, defeating Bulgarian Socialist Party candidate Ivaylo Kalfin.¹

He took the presidential oath on 19 January 2012 and assumed office on 22 January. His stated priorities included administrative reform, energy efficiency and independence, and removing Bulgarian ambassadors who had served as secret agents during the Communist regime. In 2013, after several parties declined mandates to form a government, he appointed a caretaker cabinet led by Marin Raykov. He appointed another caretaker government in August 2014.¹

Later activity

In 2013, amid protests over oligarchic influence in politics and government, Plevneliev organised the “Dialogue with citizens” initiative. It held three debates on the market economy, the judicial system and media freedom. He also advocated closer relations between Bulgaria and China and frequently criticised immigration policy in the United Kingdom under then Prime Minister David Cameron.¹

In October 2022, GERB invited Plevneliev to lead a contact group for cabinet talks, and he accepted. The group met pro-European and democratic forces in the 48th National Assembly, but the talks ended without agreement. In September 2023, he and other public figures issued a statement proposing that Bulgaria’s EU and NATO membership be included in the country’s Constitution.¹