![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/president-stoyanov-antonina-stoqnova.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1591612513054-4fbf32a2-2a11″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]President Stoyanov and Mrs. Antonina Stoyanova in front of the main entrance of the Presidential Administration Office in 2 Dondukov Blvd. in Sofia.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nTeddy Weyr, Associated Press, on the events of February 4, 1997.<\/h4>\n\nNew Bulgarian President differs starkly from his predecessor<\/strong><\/p>\nTeddie Weyr AP<\/strong><\/p>\nBulgaria’s new president, Petar Stoyanov, couldn’t appear more different from his predecessor. He is Western in his outlook and goals and has no time for hand-wringling or philosophizing. Bulgarians have placed their faith in the man who, they hope, will kill the double-headed dragon of former Communists and economic misery.<\/p>\n
While his predecessor Zhelyu Zhelev – a former Communist turned dissident – railed ineffectually against the incompetence of successive governments, Stoyanov set a course of action even before taking office on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He outlined his policies, said he will not shy from difficult decisions and gathered experts and intellectuals from all walks of life to advise them.<\/p>\n
By choosing Brussels – seat of the EU and NATO – for his first official trip abroad less than a week after taking office, he made his priorities clear.<\/p>\n
“I know which way Bulgaria must go,” he told supporters who walked with him on the streets after a formal ceremony marking his inauguration. “We must mobilize all our forces to lay the foundations for Bulgaria’s full-scale integration in the EU and NATO.”<\/p>\n
That will be an extremely difficult task.<\/p>\n
First Stoyanov must break the deadlock between the ruling Socialist Party of former Communists – accused of worsening economic misery – and the democratic opposition over whether to hold early elections or allow the Socialists to continue governing.<\/p>\n
Zhelev never managed to overcome the political polarization that has paralyzed Bulgaria for some seven years.<\/p>\n
He took office in 1990 and won popular election in 1992 at a time when Bulgarians were waiting for a government to enact reforms like elsewhere in Eastern Europe. They never materialized in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
Now, the need to act is overwhelming, with inflation topping 300 percent last year, wages dipping to the equivalent of $15 and an acute shortage of funds to allow instalments of $ 1.5 billion due this year on a $10 billion foreign debt.<\/p>\n
Failure to resolve the political crisis before Stoyanov goes to Brussels would be a colossal embarrassment and make a mockery of his bid to present Bulgaria as a serious partner in need of aid.<\/p>\n
Even in his demeanor, Stoyanov conveys a substantially different picture than Zhelev, a diminutive man with perpetually mussed grey hair who is deliberative and still dressed in the drab style of the past.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Stoyanov is energetic, statesman-like and Western in his carriage and dress. While Zhelev speaks some French, the language of literature, Stoyanov speaks fluent German, the language of business. Zhelev became increasingly aloof from the people and in the end lost their respect because he was so hesitant.<\/p>\n
For him, upholding moral values was primary. He refused in his final week to give the Socialists a mandate to form a new government after luckless Premier Zhan Videnov resigned.
\nStoyanov, a former lawyer, now will have to use his negotiating skills to seek consensus among the political rivals and the people without losing their trust.<\/p>\n
That is a tall order for a president who has few official powers. If he fails, Stoyanov could find himself as discredited as all others in government.<\/p>\n
Already, Stoyanov has sought to win people\u2019s confidence by being outspoken and available. And expectations are high.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to approach Europe,\u201d said Elena Ivanova, a pensioner. \u201cI\u2019m convinced he can do it. Together with his people, he\u2019ll succeed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1591611128894-1a86f958-dfaa”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1591611128987-3e516734-dfea”]
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/toni-blear.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1591611129099-b4a25b09-e358″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With Prime Minister Tony
\nBlair in 10 Downing Street,
\nLondon.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nAvenire, Rome, on the events of February 4th, 1997<\/h4>\nIt was impossible to ignore the rights of the people – there are occasions when even former communists surrender… The main figure in this unexpected development is President Petar Stoyanov.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843217579-19844b62-c735″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843217657-0707ffdb-6bb6″]
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/17_papa-1024x716.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843217752-43e07a5c-fa4e”][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With His Holiness Pope John
\nPaul II.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nDER SPIEGEL, February 1997<\/h4>\nBulgarians see President Petar Stoyanov as the saviour from the crisis because they live in the only country of the former socialist camp that has failed to manage the change.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843280477-cd8a306a-a430″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843280574-21f434f1-7309″]
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/12_helmut_kol-1024x716.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843280658-eef0d0a3-b2b1″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With Helmut Kohl –
\nChancellor of the Federal
\nRepublic of Germany.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nMilena Boyadzhieva, Democracy newspaper, May 3rd, 1997<\/h4>\nThe first hundred days of the presidency, completed yesterday, were without exaggeration the strongest days of governance Bulgaria has seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843421538-e31bb8e5-4caf”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843421628-248986d9-865d”]
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/15_shirak-1024x716.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843421718-59ff81e4-b368″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With French President
\nJacques Chirac at the
\nElysee Palace, Paris.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nThe Economist, June 15, 2000<\/h4>\n\n[…] Bulgaria is lucky to have \u0430 president, Petar Stoyanov, who, though he has less power over most things than his prime minister, has managed b\u0443 dint of personality and exhortation to make Bulgarians feel better about themselves, which is no small achievement in \u0430 part of the world where there has been little cause for merriment since communism collapsed \u0430 decade ago.<\/p>\n
[…] \u201c\u041c\u0443 most intimate fear\u201d, says Mr. Stoyanov with passion, \u201cis corruption. If our reforms are accompanied \u042c\u0443 corruption, democracy itself will b\u0435 threatened.\u201d \u041d\u0435 likens himself to \u0430 gladiator fighting against the forces of darkness and dishonesty. Spartacus, Bulgarians like to tell you, was \u0430 Bulgarian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text]
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/the-economist-721x1024.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n[…] \u041d\u0435 is plainly clever. His open style is quite different from that of the hidebound, obedient, Soviet-style apparatchiks who are still thick on the ground in Sofia…<\/p>\n
[…] With the possible exception of Poland\u2019s Alexander Kwasniewski, Mr Stoyanov may b\u0435 the most popular president in Eastem or Central Europe.<\/p>\n
His main weapon, in any event, is moral authority…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Letter from Bill Clinton to Petar Stoyanov on the occasion of their joint work in the Clinton Global Initiative, October 15, 2009<\/h4>\n\nDear Petar:<\/p>\n
I want to express my profound gratitude for your support of the Clinton Global lnitiative (CGI). The participation of esteemed world leaders like you enhances the impact the Annual Meeting has on our communities, and I’m honored that you took time out of your schedule to attend.<\/p>\n
[…] I was inspired by your ideas, your initiative, and, most importantly, you hope. Our work is fueled by an unfaltering faith in the ability to influence progress, and I appreciate the role you play in advancing this common mission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text]
\n\t\n\t
New Bulgarian President differs starkly from his predecessor<\/strong><\/p>\n Teddie Weyr AP<\/strong><\/p>\n Bulgaria’s new president, Petar Stoyanov, couldn’t appear more different from his predecessor. He is Western in his outlook and goals and has no time for hand-wringling or philosophizing. Bulgarians have placed their faith in the man who, they hope, will kill the double-headed dragon of former Communists and economic misery.<\/p>\n While his predecessor Zhelyu Zhelev – a former Communist turned dissident – railed ineffectually against the incompetence of successive governments, Stoyanov set a course of action even before taking office on Wednesday.<\/p>\n He outlined his policies, said he will not shy from difficult decisions and gathered experts and intellectuals from all walks of life to advise them.<\/p>\n By choosing Brussels – seat of the EU and NATO – for his first official trip abroad less than a week after taking office, he made his priorities clear.<\/p>\n “I know which way Bulgaria must go,” he told supporters who walked with him on the streets after a formal ceremony marking his inauguration. “We must mobilize all our forces to lay the foundations for Bulgaria’s full-scale integration in the EU and NATO.”<\/p>\n That will be an extremely difficult task.<\/p>\n First Stoyanov must break the deadlock between the ruling Socialist Party of former Communists – accused of worsening economic misery – and the democratic opposition over whether to hold early elections or allow the Socialists to continue governing.<\/p>\n Zhelev never managed to overcome the political polarization that has paralyzed Bulgaria for some seven years.<\/p>\n He took office in 1990 and won popular election in 1992 at a time when Bulgarians were waiting for a government to enact reforms like elsewhere in Eastern Europe. They never materialized in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n Now, the need to act is overwhelming, with inflation topping 300 percent last year, wages dipping to the equivalent of $15 and an acute shortage of funds to allow instalments of $ 1.5 billion due this year on a $10 billion foreign debt.<\/p>\n Failure to resolve the political crisis before Stoyanov goes to Brussels would be a colossal embarrassment and make a mockery of his bid to present Bulgaria as a serious partner in need of aid.<\/p>\n Even in his demeanor, Stoyanov conveys a substantially different picture than Zhelev, a diminutive man with perpetually mussed grey hair who is deliberative and still dressed in the drab style of the past.<\/p>\n In contrast, Stoyanov is energetic, statesman-like and Western in his carriage and dress. While Zhelev speaks some French, the language of literature, Stoyanov speaks fluent German, the language of business. Zhelev became increasingly aloof from the people and in the end lost their respect because he was so hesitant.<\/p>\n For him, upholding moral values was primary. He refused in his final week to give the Socialists a mandate to form a new government after luckless Premier Zhan Videnov resigned. That is a tall order for a president who has few official powers. If he fails, Stoyanov could find himself as discredited as all others in government.<\/p>\n Already, Stoyanov has sought to win people\u2019s confidence by being outspoken and available. And expectations are high.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to approach Europe,\u201d said Elena Ivanova, a pensioner. \u201cI\u2019m convinced he can do it. Together with his people, he\u2019ll succeed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1591611128894-1a86f958-dfaa”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1591611128987-3e516734-dfea”] [\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843217579-19844b62-c735″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843217657-0707ffdb-6bb6″] [\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843280477-cd8a306a-a430″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843280574-21f434f1-7309″] [\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1594843421538-e31bb8e5-4caf”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843421628-248986d9-865d”] […] Bulgaria is lucky to have \u0430 president, Petar Stoyanov, who, though he has less power over most things than his prime minister, has managed b\u0443 dint of personality and exhortation to make Bulgarians feel better about themselves, which is no small achievement in \u0430 part of the world where there has been little cause for merriment since communism collapsed \u0430 decade ago.<\/p>\n […] \u201c\u041c\u0443 most intimate fear\u201d, says Mr. Stoyanov with passion, \u201cis corruption. If our reforms are accompanied \u042c\u0443 corruption, democracy itself will b\u0435 threatened.\u201d \u041d\u0435 likens himself to \u0430 gladiator fighting against the forces of darkness and dishonesty. Spartacus, Bulgarians like to tell you, was \u0430 Bulgarian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text] […] \u041d\u0435 is plainly clever. His open style is quite different from that of the hidebound, obedient, Soviet-style apparatchiks who are still thick on the ground in Sofia…<\/p>\n […] With the possible exception of Poland\u2019s Alexander Kwasniewski, Mr Stoyanov may b\u0435 the most popular president in Eastem or Central Europe.<\/p>\n His main weapon, in any event, is moral authority…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Dear Petar:<\/p>\n I want to express my profound gratitude for your support of the Clinton Global lnitiative (CGI). The participation of esteemed world leaders like you enhances the impact the Annual Meeting has on our communities, and I’m honored that you took time out of your schedule to attend.<\/p>\n […] I was inspired by your ideas, your initiative, and, most importantly, you hope. Our work is fueled by an unfaltering faith in the ability to influence progress, and I appreciate the role you play in advancing this common mission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text]
\nStoyanov, a former lawyer, now will have to use his negotiating skills to seek consensus among the political rivals and the people without losing their trust.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1591611129099-b4a25b09-e358″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With Prime Minister Tony
\nBlair in 10 Downing Street,
\nLondon.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nAvenire, Rome, on the events of February 4th, 1997<\/h4>\n
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843217752-43e07a5c-fa4e”][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With His Holiness Pope John
\nPaul II.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nDER SPIEGEL, February 1997<\/h4>\n
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843280658-eef0d0a3-b2b1″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With Helmut Kohl –
\nChancellor of the Federal
\nRepublic of Germany.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nMilena Boyadzhieva, Democracy newspaper, May 3rd, 1997<\/h4>\n
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1594843421718-59ff81e4-b368″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With French President
\nJacques Chirac at the
\nElysee Palace, Paris.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nThe Economist, June 15, 2000<\/h4>\n
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[vc_column_text]<\/p>\nLetter from Bill Clinton to Petar Stoyanov on the occasion of their joint work in the Clinton Global Initiative, October 15, 2009<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img11-728x1024.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[vc_row_inner dahz_id=”1593601534836-77794793-ea2f”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1593601534910-a71581d1-af31″]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/amerika-1024x582.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1593601534998-bf098ab3-05f2″][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]With US President Bill![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.petarstoyanov.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/4fevruari-1024x582.jpg\")
\t<\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ dahz_id=”1593601686130-7dab5714-e55c”][vc_column_text el_class=”pt-top”]Following the resolution of the political