Government and society

Constitutional framework

In July 1991 the National Assembly adopted a new constitution establishing a parliamentary government and guaranteeing direct presidential elections, separation of powers, and freedom of speech, press, conscience, and religion. New laws allowed for the return of the properties that had been confiscated by the previous communist governments. Other laws aimed at meeting EU standards were passed, including those regarding competition, foreign investment, intellectual property rights, and a commercial code.

Under the terms of the 1991 constitution, Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic, i.e., the prime minister is elected by the majority party (or coalition of parties) in the National Assembly (parliament). The president, who is elected for a five-year term, is the head of state. The president schedules national referenda and elections for the National Assembly, serves diplomatic and other functions, and promulgates and can veto laws.

According to the constitution, the nation’s governing body, the Council of Ministers, is proposed by the president in consultation with the various groups of the National Assembly and with the majority party’s candidate for prime minister. Comprising the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and ministers, the Council of Ministers is charged with coordinating and overseeing the implementation of policies on both domestic and foreign issues in accordance with the constitution and laws of Bulgaria.

The National Assembly, a unicameral, representative body composed of 240 members, constitutes the legislative branch of the government. It passes and amends laws, ratifies treaties, levies taxes, and retains the power to pass a motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers or the prime minister, thereby compelling the resignation of the council. Members of the National Assembly serve four-year terms.

Local government

Township councils embody state power at the local government level. The members of the township councils are elected by the inhabitants of the township to four-year terms. Executive power at the level of local government lies with the elected mayor of a township. Between the township and state levels of government is the oblast, or province, government.

Justice

The court system consists of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, local courts, courts of appeal, and military courts. The constitution provides that specialized courts may also be established. At the head of the prosecutorial structure is the prosecutor general.

The High Judicial Council, consisting of 25 members, appoints judges, prosecutors, and investigators. The members of this council are appointed by the National Assembly and judicial authorities. The Constitutional Court, composed of 12 justices (each of whom serves a nine-year term), is charged with interpreting the constitution and ruling on the legality of measures passed by the National Assembly. The parliament, the president, and the supreme courts each appoint four justices.

Political process

Prior to the overthrow of the veteran Communist Party leader Todor Zhivkov in November 1989, the ruling party had been the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bŭlgarska Komunisticheska Partiya; BKP), founded in 1891 as the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party. After Zhivkov’s fall, the party gave up its guaranteed right to rule, adopted a new manifesto, streamlined its leadership, and changed its name to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). Despite these reforms, the opposition Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) won leadership of the Bulgarian government by a small margin over the BSP in elections held in 1991 and 1997. The National Movement for Simeon II (NDSV), a new party centred on the former king of Bulgaria (but not seeking restoration of the crown), controlled the government from 2001 to 2005, after which a coalition headed by the BSP took power. In 2009 a new populist centre-right party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (Grazhdani za Evropeisko Razvitie Balgariya; GERB), swept into power.

Scores of minor political parties and other organizations, including labour, religious, environmental, and ethnic groups, were also active. Notable among the other political parties were the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, backed mainly by ethnic Turks, and Ataka, a nationalist Euroskeptic party that supported closer ties with Russia.

Security

The president is the commander in chief of the Bulgarian armed forces, whose main defense capabilities lie in a ground force, an air force, and a navy. With the demise of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) in 1991, Bulgaria assumed responsibility for its own defense policies. A radical military reform program was implemented to meet the requirements for accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004. The military and the police are under civilian control. The streamlining of the armed forces has resulted in considerable downsizing.

Health and welfare

Before World War II a rather developed system of welfare and medical insurance existed in the country. With the establishment of the communist regime, social and medical insurance were abolished, medical care was entirely nationalized and offered at no cost, and all social funds were absorbed by the state budget. However, in spite of the highly educated medical personnel, the quality of medical care deteriorated considerably owing to organizational chaos.

Reforms in medical care and social welfare followed the fall of communism but did not gain momentum until the late 1990s. Free medical care remains, but a wider range of options is now available because of the reintroduction of medical insurance and the return of private medical practice.

Social welfare laws reestablished funding for social concerns. Separate from, though for a time supported by, the state budget, these funds are governed by a special National Social Insurance Institute. Its moneys derive from social and retirement insurance and health insurance payments from employers, as well as nontax revenues, loans, and additional voluntary payments by the insured. They provide coverage for illness, work-related injuries, maternity compensation, retirement, and death.

Housing

With the establishment of the communist regime after World War II, a vast number of properties, including apartments and houses, were nationalized, though, owing to a strong traditional desire among the population to live in private homes, private ownership of houses was permitted within narrow limits and was often carried out surreptitiously. Rapid urbanization led to a severe and protracted housing shortage.

After 1990 a widespread restitution returned homes to many people. The restrictions imposed on the right of ownership were abolished, and a large number of renters of state-owned apartments were given the chance to buy them. Individual housing construction was also stimulated. As a result, by the turn of the century, most of the population lived in privately owned homes.

Education

Primary and secondary education are the responsibility of a hierarchy of educational councils. Higher education is governed by the Ministry of Public Education. Education is free at all levels, and an eight-year elementary program is obligatory for children. Since 1959 general education has included polytechnical subjects and vocational training.

“St. Clement of Ohrid” University of Sofia (founded in 1888 as the Sofia Higher Institute and named for the 9th-century Christian scholar) is the oldest body of higher learning in Bulgaria and was the only university until 1971, when teacher-training institutes in Plovdiv and Veliko Tŭrnovo were elevated to university status. Among the universities licensed at the end of the century are the American University in Blagoevgrad and the New Bulgarian University in Sofia. There are numerous technical institutes as well as schools for the arts.