Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

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Simeon II / Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Former Tsar of Bulgaria (Royal), Chairman of the Coalition (Political)
Image:Simeon de Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.jpg
Simeon Sakskoburggotski as Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Reign	28 August, 1943 - 15 September, 1946
Born	16 June, 1937
	Sofia, Bulgaria
Predecessor	Boris III of Bulgaria
Successor	Kingdom abolished
Consort	Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela
Issue	Kardam, Prince of Turnovo Kyrill, Prince of Preslav Kubrat, Prince of Panagiurishte Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin Princess Kalina of Bulgaria
Royal House	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father	Boris III
Mother	Giovanna of Italy

Simeon of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born June 16, 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who was also the last Tsar of Bulgaria, Tsar Simeon II, from 1943 to 1946. He served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 until August 2005 under the name Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски). He is also known in the English speaking world as Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which is an English form of his family's original German name Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha.

Simeon is one of the last living heads of state from the pre-World War II-era and he is also one of the few monarchs in history who regained political power through democratic election to a different office (see Norodom Sihanouk for another example).

1 Royal history
2 Marriage and family
3 Political return
4 Political defeat
5 Views on restoration of the Bulgarian monarchy
6 Quotes
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Royal history

Simeon is the son of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Giovanna (of the House of Savoy). He became Tsar on August 28 1943 upon the death of his father, shortly after returning to Bulgaria from a meeting with Adolf Hitler. Since Tsar Simeon was only six years old upon assuming the throne, his uncle Prince Kyril of Bulgaria and two others were appointed regents. On the 9th September 1944, Kyril and the other regents were removed by a Soviet-backed coup. Prince Kyril and the former Prime Minister Professor Bogdan Filov were subsequentl executed.

Styles of King Simeon II of The Bulgarians

Reference style	His Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

Simeon remained on the throne with Regents appointed by the new Communist government. On 15 September, 1946 the monarchy was abolished after a typically Soviet-style referendum that resulted in 95% approval for abolition. All political parties supported the abolition. The royal family initially travelled to Alexandria, Egypt, where Tsaritsa Giovanna's father Victor Emanuel III, former king of Italy, was living in exile. In July 1951 the Spanish government of Francisco Franco granted asylum to the exiled family. In Madrid Simeon graduated from the Lycée Francais and studied law and political science. In 1955, upon turning eighteen, he proclaimed himself the Tsar of Bulgaria, in accordance with the Tarnovo Constitution. In 1958 he enrolled at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in the United States, where he was known as "Cadet Rylski", and graduated as a second lieutenant. Once again in Spain, Simeon studied law and business administration, and went on to become a businessman.

[edit] Marriage and family

In 1962 Simeon married a member of the Spanish aristocracy, Doña Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela. The couple had five children — four sons (Kardam, Kyril, Kubrat and Konstantin, in that order) and a daughter, Kalina, all of whom subsequently married Spaniards. Simeon spent most of his adult life working as a businessman: 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.

**Titular Bulgarian Royal Family**
Image:Bulgaria-state-arms-1883-1925.gif
HM The Tsar HM The Tsaritsa HRH The Prince of Turnovo HRH The Princess of Turnovo HRH Prince Boris HRH Prince Beltran HRH The Prince of Preslav HRH The Princess of Preslav HRH Princess Mafalda HRH Princess Olimpia HRH Prince Tassilo HRH The Prince of Panagiurishte HRH The Princess of Panagiurishte HRH Prince Mirko HRH Prince Lukás HRH Prince Tirso HRH The Prince of Vidin HRH The Princess of Vidin HRH Prince Umberto HRH Princess Sofia HRH Princess Kalina HRH Princess Marie Louise Pedigree: Bulgarian ancestry of royals of Bulgaria

Kardam (born 1962) married Doña Miriam Ungria y López. They have two sons, Boris and Beltran.
Kyrill (born 1964) married Doña Rosario Nadal y Fuster-Puigdorfila. They have two daughters, HRH Mafalda and Olimpia, and one son, Tassilo.
Kubrat (born 1965) married Doña Carla Maria Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu. They have three sons: Mirko, Lukás and Tirso.
Konstantin-Assen (born 1967) married Doña María Garcia de la Rasilla y Gortazar have twins, Umberto and Sofia.
Kalina (born 1972) married Don Antonio "Kitín" Muñoz Valcárcel.

[edit] Political return

In 1996 Simeon visited Bulgaria for the first time since his childhood and was met with thousands of Bulgarians, cheering: “We want our King!"[1] At this time, however, he did not make any political pronouncements or take political moves.

The estates of his family in Bulgaria that had been nationalised under Communism were returned to him. At first he declared that he was willing to donate forests returned to him in Rila Mountain to the eponymous National Park but later reneged. Instead, he 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 Simeon, now using the name Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, saying that he wished to return for good, announced the formation of a new political party, the National Movement for Simeon II ("NMSII"), dedicated to "reforms and political integrity." Simeon himself promised a period of 800 days, after which the Bulgarian people would start feeling the positive effects of his government's rule and they would have a higher standard of living. These promises worked and in an election held June 17, 2001, the NMS won 120 out of 240 seats in Parliament, overturning both of Bulgaria's pre-existing political parties. Sakskoburggotski was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on July 24, forming a coalition with the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms ("MRF"). He assembled a cabinet composed mainly of technocrats and Western-educated economic specialists. In 2002 his good works were recognised by his receiving the 2002 Path to Peace Award from the Path to Peace Foundation [2]. In 2005, he formed a new coalition government consisting not only of NMSII and MRF but also of New Time, a splinter group from NMSII.

Simeon's popularity faded during his four year rule as prime minister. In particular the 800 days economic quick fix program did not meet popular expectations. However, the development of Bulgaria's capital markets have moved forward, with the first Eurolev issue in 2004 -- a feat which Romania has yet to match. Allegations that his government was involved in corrupt privatisation have not led to any official conclusion.^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Political defeat

At the June 25, 2005 elections, Sakskoburggotski's party polled only 20% of the vote, being overtaken by the Socialists with 31%, although no single party won a majority of seats. After nearly a month of political uncertainty, Sergey Stanishev of the Bulgarian Socialist Party undertook on July 20 to form a Cabinet. When Sakskoburggostski refused to take part in a coalition government, on July 27 the BSP formed a coalition with the MRF. Stanishev's Cabinet, however, was rejected by the Parliament. After another three weeks of deadlock, Sakskoburggotski agreed on 15 August to join a three-party coalition government headed by Stanishev, including BSP, NMSII and MRF. Simeon was given the unofficial ceremonial post of Chairman of the Coalition. Bulgaria is now set to join the EU in 2007.

[edit] Views on restoration of the Bulgarian monarchy

Sakskoburggotski has declined to comment on whether he believes Bulgaria should restore the monarchy, saying it is a matter for the people of Bulgaria to decide. His oath to the Republican Constitution in 2001 was seen as a rejection of monarchy. High-ranking representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church declared that they would join an eventual discussion about the restoration of monarchy although it seems unlikely that the majority of Bulgarians would support the idea in a plebiscite.

Sakskoburggotski has always refused to take part in political debates. This has been largely to his desire to be seen as King of his entire people, regardless of political affiliation.^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Quotes

Upon winning the 2001 elections: "Although I am pragmatic and realistic, I will take the liberty of dreaming of a richer, stronger, more secure, fairer and more moral Bulgaria. The road will be hard but my government and I are confident in our success."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

Royalty in Exile by Charles Fenyvesi, London, 1981, pps:153-171 - "Czar Simeon of the Bulgars". ISBN 0-86051-131-6
Boris III of Bulgaria 1894-1943, by Pashanko Dimitroff, London, 1986, ISBN 0-86332-140-2
Crown of Thorns by Stephane Groueff, Lanham MD., and London, 1987, ISBN 0-8191-5778-3
The Betrayal of Bulgaria by Gregory Lauder-Frost, Monarchist League Policy Paper, London, 1989.
The Daily Telegraph, Obituary for "HM Queen Ioanna of the Bulgarians", London, 28 February 2000.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

The first website about Simeon II of Bulgaria focuses on his pre-1995 history
Financial Times July 2001 Biography
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's address, February 10, 2005 concerning amending the constitution to bring it in line with EU requirements
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's statement, July 5, 2002 concerning Bulgaria's candidacy for NATO membership: "The role of the international community should be gradually transformed from crisis response to integration. Palliative measures intended to mitigate yet another crisis cannot bring stability and prosperity. The best solution is the region's integration into the European and Euroatlantic institutions."
[3] NMSII website
[4] MRF website
[5] New Time website

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Born: 16 June 1937; Died:
Regnal Titles
Preceded by: Boris III	Tsar of Bulgaria 1943–1946	Monarchy abolished
Preceded by: Boris III	Bulgarian Head of State 1943–1946	Succeeded by: Vasil Kolarov
Titles in pretence
New Title	* NOT REIGNING * Tsar of Bulgaria (1946–Present)	Incumbent Designated heir: Prince Kardam
Political offices
Preceded by: Ivan Kostov	Prime Minister of Bulgaria 2001–2005	Succeeded by: Sergey Stanishev