Bulgaria's ex-president Radev set for landslide victory in general elections

Bulgaria's former president and Air Force commander is set for a landslide victory in Sunday's general elections, returning to power as the leader of the Progressive Bulgaria coalition, which he launched earlier this year. Rumen Georgiev Radev, who served as the country's president from 2017 until his resignation in 2026, was born in 1963 in Dimitrovgrad, southern Bulgaria.

Military career

Radev graduated from the Georgi Benkovski Bulgarian Air Force University in 1987 and then graduated from the US Air Force Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1992. He holds a Doctor of Military Sciences degree and graduated from Air War College at Maxwell AFB with a Master of Strategic Studies in 2003.

Presidency

Radev became Bulgaria's fifth president in 2017, winning 59.37% of the vote. He won a second term in 2021 with 66.7% of the vote. Following mass anti-government protests and controversy over his political stance, he announced his resignation in January to participate in snap parliamentary elections.

Election results

Bulgaria's exit polls suggest his bloc dominates Sunday's parliamentary elections. According to initial results with 97.5% of ballots processed, Progressive Bulgaria held 44.7% as of 0925GMT. He has promised to "root out the mafia and kick out the oligarchs," which he said was undermining the EU's least developed member state.

Foreign policy views

Radev has previously called the EU's support for Ukraine a "doomed cause" and expressed support for a diplomatic resolution to the war, telling Anadolu that all military and economic instruments were "exhausted" to solve the conflict. He is fluent in Russian, German, and English.