Bulgarian contemporary personalities Bulgarian contemporary personalities Todor Jivkov

Bulgarian contemporary personalities Bulgarian contemporary personalities

Todor Jivkov Early life Born: 7 September 1911(1911 -09 -07) Pravets, Bulgaria Died: 5 August 1998 (aged 86) Sofia, Bulgaria Nationality: Bulgarian Political party: Bulgarian Communist Party Spouse(s): Mara Maleeva Religion Atheism: (formerly Bulgarian Orthodoxy) Zhivkov was born in the Bulgarian village of Pravets into a peasant family. In 1928, he joined the Bulgarian National Youth Union (BSNM), an organisation closely linked with the Bulgarian Workers Party (BRP) – later the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP). The following year he obtained a post at the Darzhavna pechatnitsa, the official government publisher in Sofia. In 1932, he joined the BRP proper, later serving as secretary of its Second Borough Committee and as a member of its Sofia County Committee.

Georgi Parvanov Born: 28 June 1957 (1957 -06 -28) (age 52) Sirishtnik, Bulgaria Political party: Independent (2002 –present) Other political affiliations: Communist Party (1981– 1990) Socialist Party (1990– 2002) Spouse(s): Zorka Parvanova Alma mater: Sofia University Early years Georgi Parvanov was born in the village of Sirishtnik, Pernik Province on June 28, 1957. He grew up in the nearby village of Kosacha. In 1975 he graduated from a secondary school in Pernik and in 1981 he graduated from Sofia University as a history major, specializing in the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party. In 1988 he defended a doctorate thesis in history with the title "Dimitar Blagoev and the Bulgarian national question 1879 -1917".

Boyko Borisov Born: 13 June 1959 (1959 -06 -13) (age 50) Bankya, Bulgaria Political party: Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (2006–present) Other political affiliations: National Movement Simeon II (2001 -2005) Spouse(s): Stela Borisova (Divorced) Domestic partner: Tsvetelina Borislavova Chief Secretary and Mayor of Sofia Borisov was born in 1959 in Bankya. Between 1982 and 1990, he assumed different positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a firefighter and later as a professor at the Police Academy in Sofia. Borisov founded a new political party, GERB in 2006 (in English Coat of Arms, while also being an acronym for "Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria"). GERB won the first Bulgarian European Parliament elections on 20 May 2007. Borisov is not the official leader of GERB, but is considered as an "informal leader", while the formal one is Tsvetanov, who served under Borisov at the Ministry of Interior, and later as a vice-mayor of Sofia.

Hristo Stoichkov Full name: Hristo Stoichkov Date of birth: February 8, 1966 (1966 -02 -08) (age 43) Place of birth: Plovdiv, Bulgaria Height: 1. 78 m (5 ft 10 in) Playing position: Winger / Second striker Hristo Stoichkov alternatively spelt Stoitchkov a. k. a. The Dagger born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv is a football manager and former striker who was a member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Apart from his footballing talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. He was honoured as European Footballer of the Year in 1994. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony in 2004. His nickname in Bulgarian means literally "The Dagger", but is also a dialect for "the goal", referring to the posts and the net as a whole; "the goal" in the literal Bulgarian is called "door".

Dimitar Berbatov Personal information Full ØName: Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ØDate of birth: (30 January 1981 01 -30) (age 28) ØPlace of birth: Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria ØHeight: (1. 88 m) ØPlaying position: Striker Ø Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United of England is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Bulgarian national team. He has won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award six times, surpassing the number of wins by Hristo Stoichkov.

• Veselin Topalov Full name: Veselin Topalov Country: Bulgaria Born: 15 March 1975 (1975 -0315) (age 34) Rousse, Bulgaria Title: Grandmaster World Champion: 2005– 2006 (FIDE) FIDE rating: 2805 (No. 2 on the January 2010 FIDE ratings list) Peak rating: 2813 (October 2006, July 2009) Veselin Topalov born on 15 March 1975, is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world chess champion. He currently has the second highest rating in the world. Topalov became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2006 match against Vladimir Kramnik, during which he accused his opponent of cheating. He defeated Gata Kamsky between 16– 28 February 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria to earn the right to be the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2010. Topalov won the 2005 Chess Oscar.

Raina Kabaivanska (December 15, 1934) is a Bulgarian opera singer, one of the leading lirico-spinto sopranos of her generation, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini, although she sang a wide range of roles. • Born Raina Jakimowa in Burgas, Bulgaria, she studied in Sofia with Prokopowa and Jossifow, and made her debut at the Bulgarian National Opera in Sofia as Tatjana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in 1957. The following year, she left for Italy for further studies with Zina Fumagalli-Riva in Milan and with Giulia Tess in Vercelli. Two years later she made a breakthrough in Fano, Italy, as Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. In 1961, she gave her first performance at La Scala in Milan, as Agnese in Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda, opposite Dame Joan Sutherland.

Lili Ivanova has released 65 albums (two of them - gold (15, 000+). In Bulgaria, she has released 89 singles. Lili has also released singles and albums in Romania, Turkey, Germany, Spain and other countries. She is also very popular in Russia and she has sold many albums in the former Soviet Union. She performs in many languages, including Russian, English, German, French, Turkish, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew. Lili Ivanova has had many tours abroad, mainly in the former USSR (and Russia in the 90 s). She has had successful concerts in Germany, Cuba, Japan, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Portugal, etc. , as well as several tours in the US and Canada singing for Bulgarian immigrants there. • Lili Ivanova Birth name: Lilyana Ivanova Petrova Born: April 24, 1939 (1939 -04 -24) (age 70 years) Kubrat, Bulgaria Music: pop, pop music Period Seen from the late: 50's years on the 20 th century until today

Emil Dimitrov Born December 23, 1940 Pleven, Bulgaria Died March 30, 2005 (64 years) Sofia, Bulgaria Music Pop Music Period Activity 1960 -1999 • Emil Dimitrov December 23, 1940, Pleven - March 30, 2005, Sofia was a popular Bulgarian singer. He made his debut in 1960 and recorded about 30 albums altogether. In the 60 s Lili Ivanova and Emil Dimitrov were the most popular singers of modern songs. During the last years of his life he exhibited a talent for drawing as well.