Zhelyu Zhelev
| Zhelyu Zhelev Желю Желев | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd President of Bulgaria | |
| 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 (1 August 1990 - 22 January 1992) Blaga Dimitrova (22 January 1992–6 July 1993) |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Todorov (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Petar Stoyanov |
| Chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces | |
| In office 1989 - 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Petar Beron |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 March 1935 Veselinovo, Bulgaria |
| Political party | Union of Democratic Forces |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Zheleva |
| Children | Yordanka Stanka |
| Profession | Philosopher |
| Signature |  |
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev (Bulgarian: Желю Митев Желев) (born March 3, 1935) is a Bulgarian politician and former dissident who served as the first non-Communist President of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997.[1] He was elected as President by the 7th Grand National Assembly, and was then elected directly by the people in 1992. He lost his party's nomination for his 1996 reelection campaign after losing a tough primary race to Petar Stoyanov. He then largely stepped out of the spotlight of public life.
Biography
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.
Dissident
Zhelev was a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party, but was expelled from it for political reasons in 1965. He was also expelled from Sofia the following year and was unemployed for six years since all employment in Bulgaria was state-regulated.
In 1982 he published his controversial work The Fascism (Bulgarian: Фашизмът; Fashizmat). Three weeks after publication in 1982, the book was banned and removed from bookstores and libraries as it likened Bulgaria's socialist state to the country's fascist administration of World War II.
SDS
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 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.
MP and a President
Zhelev was elected MP in the 7th Grand National Assembly (July 1990); the Assembly's main goal was to create a new democratic Constitution of Bulgaria. He was elected by the Assembly as President of the Republic of Bulgaria on August 1, 1990. Under the new constitution adopted in July 1991, the president was to be elected directly by voters, for a maximum of two terms. The first of such elections was held in January.
Presidential election 1992
In January 1992 the first presidential elections were held. Zhelev won on the runoff against Velko Valkanov (who was endorsed by the Scocialists) with 52.8% of the votes. Zhelev became the first Bulgarian Head of State to be democratically elected directly by the electorate, serving his full five-year term until January 1997.
Presidential election 1996
Zhelev lost his party's nomination for the 1996 presidential race to Petar Stoyanov who went on to win the next presidential elections.
Later political career
After his defeat in the 1996 UDF primaries and after the end of his presidency in 1997, Zhelev remained in politics, but on a much smaller scale. He became Honorary Chair of the Liberal Democratic Union and Honorary Chair of the Liberal International and in 1997 went on to establish and preside over a foundation named after him. Zhelev was the initiator and president of the Balkan Political Club, a union of former political leaders from Southeast Europe.
Author
Zhelev has written a number of books and publications, the most notable one being his controversial 1981 work The Fascism. The book was removed from the bookshelves and destroyed a few weeks after it was published. This caught the attention of Bulgarian readers and as a result this became the best-read book between 1981 and 1989. A few people were arrested by the secret police for possessing it. The author was confined to his hometown, Shumen, and banned from public life.
The book analyzes the three classic fascist societies—Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Francoist Spain—and establishes five elements of a Fascist political system:
- Single party system with strong personality cult.
- Merger of the party apparatus with the state apparatus.
- Total espionage.
- Censorship.
- System of repression (secret police with extraordinary authority and death camps).
The book does not pose any criticism of the Communist system in the former Soviet bloc and deals exclusively with well-known facts. However, the analysis of the abovementioned five elements of fascist countries clearly shows that the system of Communist countries is a mirror image of the fascist systems in sharp contrast with democratic countries, such as the United States and those in Western Europe.
World Justice Project
Zhelyu Zhelev serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project (ABA). The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.
References
- ↑ Zhelyu Zhelev - The dissident president at the Sofia Echo, by Ivan Vatahov, Apr 17 2003 (retrieved January 27, 2010)
| ||||||||||
|