Democratic Party (Bulgaria)

The first stage (1880-1947)

It was founded in 1880 by members of the centrist wing of the Liberal Party , headed by Petko Karavelov . During the reign of Stefan Stambolov was persecuted and after 1887 ceased its activities. Restored after 1894 , in 1896 it became known as the Democratic Party. In 1901, she won a majority in parliament and formed a coalition government along with the Progressive Liberal Party . In 1903, a split occurred in the party, as a result of which the Radical Democratic Party appeared . In the same year after the death of Karavelov, the Democratic Party was headed by Alexander Malinov . In 1908, the Democrats formed their own government, headed by Malinov. In September, it declared the complete independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire . The Malinov government remained in power until the beginning of 1911 .

In June 1918, Malinov and the radical democrats, Stoyan Kosturkova, formed a government with the goal of pulling Bulgaria out of the First World War . In September of the same year, a delegation led by Democrat Andrei Lyapchev signed the Solunsky Armistice . After that, the government of the so-called. The "broad coalition" , which in addition to the Democrats, included representatives of the People's Party , the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union (BZNS) and the Social Democrats . In May 1919, Democrats were expelled from the government. Subsequently, the Democratic Party became the largest opposition force in the country. In 1922, most party leaders were arrested by the BZNS government and released only after the coup on June 9, 1923 .

After the coup, the Democratic Party split. Some Democrats, led by Lyapchev, joined the Democratic Agreement party . But most of the party members, led by Malinov and Alexander Girginov, retained their autonomy and more than once participated in the coalition governments of the People’s Bloc led by Nikola Mushanov . The last of them was overthrown during the coup on May 19, 1934 . Despite the ban of political parties, the Democrats continued their activities, moving to a semi-legal position.

The Democratic Party opposed an alliance with the Third Reich , although it refused to enter the Patriotic Front together with the Communists . On September 2, 1944, representatives of the Democratic Party were included in the government of Konstantin Muraviev , who announced the withdrawal of Bulgaria from the 1940 Berlin Pact . On September 8–9, the Muraviev government was overthrown by communists and officers - supporters of Damyan Velchev - with the active participation of Minister of War Ivan Marinov . At the end of 1947, the Democratic Party was banned by the communist authorities along with other parties.

Second Stage (after 1989)

The Democratic Party was restored on December 19, 1989 . The first president of the party was Boris Kurkchiev, and in 1990 the party was headed by Stefan Savov (later became chairman of the National Assembly ). At that time, the party was a member of the Union of Democratic Forces coalition. Representatives of the Democrats were included in the first non-communist government of Bulgaria after the end of World War II (4 ministerial portfolios). In the fall of 1994, the Democratic Party, leaving the SDS, formed a new coalition together with the BPSC, the People’s Union . In the elections to the National Assembly, the bloc received 18 seats.

In 1996, Democrats joined the Union of Democratic Forces coalition together with the SDS and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms . In the same year, UDR candidate Peter Stoyanov won the presidential election. In the early elections of April 19, 1997, the UDF won the elections to the National Assembly, gaining 137 seats out of 240 (including 6 Democrats). After that, representatives of the Democratic Party were included in the government of Ivan Kostov , having received 5 seats in it, incl. post of deputy prime minister.

In the elections to the People’s Assembly in 2001, the Democratic Party participated in the coalition “United Democratic Forces” (SDS, PD and BZNS-NS ), which won 51 seats, including 2 places in the Democrats. In the 2005 elections to the National Assembly as a part of the coalition “United Democratic Forces” (SDS, DP, “St. George's Day Movement”, BZNS, “National Association - Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union”, “Order, Law and Justice” and the Bulgarian . "Movement for an equal model" ) won 3 places. After the party leader Alexander Pramatarski was expelled from the UDF due to the conflict, the party leadership refused to support the Blue Coalition in the 2009 elections and recommended voting for the Leader party, which caused dissatisfaction among many members. In response to this, in the fall, Pramatarski made the exclusion of the leader of the dissatisfied Martin Zaimov, a municipal adviser and financier, whom many considered as the main contender for the party’s president ^[1] .

Since 1991, the Democratic Party is a member of the Centrist Democratic International , and since 1996 - a member of the European People's Party . The Youth Union of the Democratic Party has been a member of the Youth of the Centrist Democratic International organization since 1991, and in 1997 became the founder of the Youth of the European People's Party association.

• 1886 - 1903 - Petko Karavelov
• 1903—1938 - Alexander Malinov
• 1938-1947 - Nikola Mushanov
• 1989 - 1990 - Boris Kurkchiev
• 1990—2000 - Stefan Savov
• 2000 - present - Alexander Pramatarski

History of the Democratic Party (Bulgarian)