Zhelyu Zhelev
| Zhelyu Zhelev Желю Желев |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 1st President of Bulgaria | |
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In office 1 August 1990 – 22 January 1997 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Andrey Lukanov Dimitar Popov Philip Dimitrov Lyuben Berov Reneta Indzhova (Acting) Zhan Videnov |
| Vice President |
Atanas Semerdzhiev Blaga Dimitrova |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Todorov (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Petar Stoyanov |
| Chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces | |
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In office 1989 - 1990 |
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| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Petar Beron |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev 3 March 1935 Veselinovo, Bulgaria |
| Died | 30 January 2015 (aged 79) Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Political party |
Bulgarian Communist Party (1960-1965) Union of Democratic Forces (1989-1990) Independent (1990-2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Zheleva (1961-2013, her death) |
| Children | Mitko (died 80 days after birth) Yordanka (died in 1993) Stanka |
| Profession | Philosopher |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
| Signature |  |
Bulgarian Communist Party (1960-1965)
Union of Democratic Forces (1989-1990)
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev (Bulgarian: Желю Митев Желев; 3 March 1935 – 30 January 2015) was a Bulgarian politician and former dissident who served as the first non-Communist President of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997. He was elected as President by the 7th Grand National Assembly, and was then elected directly by the people in Bulgarian presidential election, 1992 as the first democratically elected President of Bulgaria. He lost his party's nomination for his 1996 reelection campaign after losing a tough primary race to Petar Stoyanov.
Zhelyu Zhelev was born March 3, 1935 in Veselinovo village, Shumen. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in 1958, and later earned a Ph.D. in 1974.
Zhelev was a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party, but was expelled from it for political reasons in 1965. He was unemployed for six years since all employment in Bulgaria was state-regulated.
In 1982 he published his controversial work, "The Fascism" (Фашизмът). Three weeks after the volume's publication in 1982, it was banned and removed from the bookstores and libraries throughout the nation, as it likened Bulgaria's socialist state to the country's fascist administration during World War II.
In 1988, just before the Fall of Communism, Zhelev founded the Ruse Committee, and in 1989 he became a founding member and chairman of the Club for Support of Openness and the Reform (a time when many such democratic clubs were formed), which helped him to achieve the position of Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgarian: СДС, SDS) party.
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