Topic: Georgi Parvanov

Communist Party (1981–1990)

Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov (Bulgarian: Георги Седефчов Първанов, IPA: ) (born June 28, 1957) is the current President of Bulgaria; he has been elected after defeating his predecessor Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the presidential elections in November 2001 and he came into office on January 22, 2002. Georgi Parvanov started his second presidential mandate following victory in the 2006 presidential elections. Parvanov supports membership of Bulgaria in NATO and the European Union. According to Bulgarian law Bulgarian president is not allowed to be a member of a political party thus Parvanov is independent and he left the Socialist Party after his success in the presidential elections, although of course he identified as a socialist. Parvanov often declares being a 'social president' as his election platform was such — focusing on social care for the "unemployed, disadvantaged and poor."

Georgi Parvanov was born in the village of Sirishtnik, Pernik Province on June 28, 1957 and he grew up in the nearby village of Kosacha. In 1975 Parvanov graduated the secondary school in Pernik and in 1981 he finished his undergraduate education at the Sofia University, by gaining a major in history, specializing in the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party. In 1988 Parvanov defended his doctoral thesis in history, which is titled "Dimitar Blagoev and the Bulgarian national question 1879-1917".