Simeon II of Bulgaria
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Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, (born June 16, 1937) was the last Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946, and is the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria, using the name Simeon Sakskoburggotski. He is often known outside Bulgaria as Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which is the English form of his family's original German name Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. He is the only monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office (see Norodom Sihanouk and Napoleon III for similar histories).
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Royal History
Simeon is the son of Tsar Boris III and Tsarina Giovanna (of the House of Savoy). He was baptized with water taken from the River Jordan and flown to Bulgaria by an air force major. He became Tsar on August 28 1943 upon the sudden, and suspicious death of his father, shortly after a dinner meeting with Adolph Hitler. Surrounded by Axis-friendly countries, Tsar Boris had relectantly sided with the Nazis during World War II but had refused to contribute troops to assist in the war effort. But did invade Macedonia, and Northern Greece, sending Jews from those lands to concentration camps, and massacring thousands of locals.
Since Tsar Simon was only six years old upon assuming the throne, his uncle, Prince Kyril of Bulgaria and two others were appointed regents, an unprecidented and potentially unconstitutional move. On the 9th September 1944, Kyril and the other regents were removed by an antifascist, Soviet-backed coup. Kyril was soon tried and executed, as were many members of Bulgaria's educated governing classes [1] (http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/infoBios/setimes/resource_centre/bios/saxe-coburg-gotha_simeon). Simeon was allowed to stay on the throne with regents appointed by the new Communist government. A rigged referendum in 1946 that claimed 95% approval voted to abolish the monarchy. The royal family was forced to leave the country without Simeon abdicating, a point made in the official Bulgarian online biography of Simeon [2] (http://www.government.bg/English/PrimeMinister/Biography/).
They initially went to Alexandria, Egypt, where Tsarina Giovanna's father Victor Emanuel III, ex-king of Italy, was living in exile. In July 1951 the Spanish government of Francisco Franco granted asylum to the exiled Bulgarian royal family. In Madrid Simeon graduated from the Lycée Francais and studied law and political science. In 1955, upon turning 18, he proclaimed himself the Tsar of Bulgaria, in accordance with the Turnovo Constitution. In 1958-1959 he enrolled at Valley Forge Military Academy in the United States, where he was known as “cadet Rylski” and graduated as second lieutenant. Once again in Spain, Simeon studied law and business administration, and went on to become a businessman.
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In 1962 he married a Spanish aristocrat, Dona Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela. They have five children – four sons (Kardam, Kyril, Kubrat, and Konstantin, in that order) and a daughter, Kalina, all of whom have married Spaniards as well. Unlike many 20th-century monarchs in exile, Simeon never lost sight of the serious business of monarchy, a heritage of one of Europe's most conscientious and serious ruling families (who have included progressive, high-minded Prince Albert and Leopold I of Belgium). He spent most of his adult life working as a businessman in sectors of concern to potential heads of state: thirteen years as chairman of the Spanish subsidiary of Thomson, a French defence and electronics group and as an advisor in the banking, hotel, electronics, and catering sectors.
Political return
In all his years of exile, Simeon never lost touch with Bulgaria and Bulgarians. He is fluent in Bulgarian, which he speaks in a slightly courtly and old-fashioned manner, as well as in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish; his Arabic and Portuguese are somewhat hesitant. In 1996 Simeon was finally permitted to return to Bulgaria on a private visit and was well received, with thousands in the streets cheering him and chanting "We want our king." A court returned to him the personal properties in Bulgaria that had been confiscated by the Communists. At first he declared that he was willing to donate "his" forests in Rila Mountain to the eponymous National Park but later reneged on that promise. Instead, Sakskoburggotski expressed his support for a controversial Super Borovetz project which aims to expand the ski resort of Borovetz at the expense of the neighbouring forests.
In 2001 he made a public statement that he wished to return for good, announced the formation of a broadly inclusive National Movement for Simeon II (NMSII), dedicated to reforms and political integrity. In election held June 17, 2001, the NMS won 120 out of 240 seats in Parliament, overturning both of Bulgaria's entrenched parties. Once Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on July 24, he turned for needed coalition support to the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Further emphasizing that his term would not revert to business-as-usual, he has assembled a cabinet composed mainly of technocrats and Western-educated economic specialists, with an eye towards eventual membership in the European Union. In 2005, he made a new coalition government consisting not only of NMSII and MRF but also of New Time, a splinter group from NMSII.
He has made no public commitment on whether he believes Bulgaria should restore the monarchy, saying it is a matter for the people of Bulgaria to decide. As he never formally abdicated he retains the claim to his royal title and has not renounced it. His oath to the Republican Constitution in 2001, however, is tantamount to a rejection of monarchy.
Some high-ranking NMSII members have recently claimed that the movement might make restoration of monarchy an issue during the June 25, 2005, parliamentary elections. High-ranking representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (which was given a boost during Sakskoburggotski's term as Prime Minister) declared that they would join an eventual discussion about the restoration of monarchy.
Simeon's quick ascend to power has made him vulnerable to some miscalculated promises. The famous 800 days the government promised it needed to change Bulgaria’s fortunes turned out a daunting task not so easily fulfilled. His government has also failed to stamp out corruption; in fact it participated in the process of acquiring former state enterprises with not so clear and transparent according to western standards procedures. A typical example is the main southern highway 'Trakia' that was secretly forced into a Portuguese concession that will introduce a toll very expensive for the local population.
Children
- Kardam II of Bulgaria, Prince of Tirnovo (born 1962). Married Doña Miriam Ungria y López. They have two sons, Boris and Beltran.
- Kyrill of Bulgaria, Prince of Preslav (born 1964). Married Doña Rosario Nadal y Fuster-Puigdorfila. They have two daughters, Mafalda and Olimpia, and one son, Tassilo.
- Kubrat of Bulgaria, Prince of Panagiúrishte (born 1965). Married Doña Carla Maria Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu and have three sons: Mirko, Lukás and Tirso.
- Konstantin-Assen of Bulgaria, Prince of Vidin (born 1967). Married Doña María Garcia de la Rasilla y Gortazar and have twins, Umberto and Sofia.
- Kalina of Bulgaria (born 1972). Married Don Antonio "Kitín" Muñoz Valcárcel.
Their courtesy titles are downplayed by Simeon since he became Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
| Preceded by: Ivan Kostov | Prime Minister of Bulgaria 2001–present | Succeeded by: incumbent See also
External links
da:Simeon Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha de:Simeon Sakskoburggotski es:Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha fr:Siméon II de Bulgarie gl:Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha nl:Simeon II van Bulgarije ja:シメオン・サクスコブルクゴツキ no:Simeon av Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha pl:Symeon II ro:Simion al II-lea al Bulgariei fi:Simeon Sakskoburggotski sv:Simeon Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha zh:西美昂·萨克斯科布尔格茨基 |