Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework.
The abolition of monarchy is a legislative or revolutionary movement to abolish monarchical elements in government, usually hereditary. The abolition of an absolute monarchy in favour of limited government under a constitutional monarchy is a less radical form of anti-monarchism that has succeeded in some nations that still retain monarchs, such as Sweden, Spain, and Thailand.
Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a referendum, forcing Simeon into exile. Following the fall of communism in Bulgaria, Simeon returned to his home country in 1996, and founded the National Movement for Stability and Progress party. After winning the 2001 election as its leader, Simeon proceeded to govern Bulgaria as prime minister of the Republic of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.
Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics.
Bulgaria elects on the national level a head of state—the president—and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term directly by the people. The National Assembly has 240 members elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies with a 4% threshold. Bulgaria has a multi-party system in which often no party receives a required majority and parties must collaborate to form governments, generally via confidence and supply or coalition agreements.
The National Assembly is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.
The Democratic Party is a centre-right political party in Bulgaria led by Alexander Pramatarski. The party was a member of the European People's Party (EPP).
The People's Republic of Bulgaria was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union. Bulgaria was closely allied and one of the most loyal satellite states of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, sometimes being called the 16th Soviet Republic rather than an independent country. Bulgaria was also part of Comecon as well as a member of the Warsaw Pact. The Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II deposed the Tsardom of Bulgaria administration in the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 which ended the country's alliance with the Axis powers and led to the People's Republic in 1946.
The Tsardom of Bulgaria, also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom, sometimes translated as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on 5 October [O.S. 22 September] 1908, when the Bulgarian state was raised from a principality to a tsardom.
The Tarnovo Constitution was the first constitution of Bulgaria.
The 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, also known as the 9 September coup d'état, was a coup that overthrew the government of Kingdom of Bulgaria carried out on the eve of 9 September 1944. During the People's Republic of Bulgaria it was called using the propaganda term People's Uprising of 9 September – on the grounds of the broad unrest and Socialist Revolution – as it was a turning point politically and the beginning of radical reforms towards Soviet-style socialism.
A referendum on retaining the republic was held in Greece on 8 December 1974. After the collapse of the military junta that ruled the country since 1967, the issue of the form of government remained unsolved. The Junta had already staged a referendum held on 29 July 1973, which resulted in the maintenance of the Republic. However, after the fall of the military regime, the new government, under Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis, decided to hold another one, as Junta constituent acts were considered void. Constantine II, the former king, was banned by the new government from returning to Greece to campaign in the referendum, but the Karamanlis government allowed him to make a televised address to the nation. A total of 69.2% of voters favoured retaining the republic with a turnout of 75.6%.
Constituent Assembly elections were held in Bulgaria between 1 and 30 January 1879, although only 117 of the 231 members of the Assembly were elected during this period. It followed the country's liberation from the Ottoman Empire, and saw the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party emerge as the two main parties. The Assembly was opened on 10 February, and convened in Veliko Tarnovo to ratify the country's first constitution, known as the Tarnovo Constitution, on 16 April. The parliament was later transferred to Sofia, which became the capital of the country.
Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Bulgaria on 27 October 1946, electing members of the sixth Grand National Assembly, which was tasked with adopting a new constitution. The Fatherland Front, an anti-fascist coalition dominated by the Bulgarian Communist Party, had come to power in 1944 following a coup. Now that World War II was over and the monarchy abolished, the communists wanted to adopt a new constitution. They won a large majority, with 54% of the vote and 278 of the 465 seats. Voter turnout was 93%. This would be the lowest vote share that the Communists or the Fatherland Front would claim during the 43 years of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. In subsequent years, the Fatherland Front would claim to win elections with unanimous or near-unanimous support. This would be the last truly multi-party elections until 1990.
Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 27 June 1971, the first held under the new Zhivkov Constitution, which had been approved in a referendum held a month earlier. The Fatherland Front, dominated by the Bulgarian Communist Party, was the only organisation to contest the election; all candidate lists had to be approved by the Front. The Front nominated one candidate for each constituency. Of the 400 candidates 268 were members of the Communist Party, 100 were members of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the remaining 32 were unaffiliated. Voter turnout was reportedly 99.9%.
The National Liberal Party was a political party in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian monarchs used the titles kanasubigi, khan, knyaz and tsar (emperor). When acceding to the throne in the First and Second Bulgarian Empire the occasion was marked with a coronation, conducted by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. During the Third Bulgarian State accession was marked by an oath on the constitution.
The 1940s in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the People's Republic of Bulgaria.
The Royal Palace, in fact called Prince's Palace and later Tsar's Palace, is an architectural landmark of national historical and cultural significance, situated at Battenberg Square in the heart of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
