February 8, 2001 - The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria ruled that the country`s former king, Simeon II, cannot run for president because he hasn`t resided in the country long enough. According to Bulgarian law, presidential candidates must have lived in Bulgaria for five years prior to the election. Until recently Simeon lived in Spain, although he has been in Bulgaria since January and says he intends to remain for a long time. The Bulgarian monarchy was abolished in 1946, when the king was nine. The royal family went into exile and Simeon did not visit Bulgaria again until 1996. He has never abdicated.

April 6, 2001 - Simeon has found another way to participate in Bulgarian politics. He announced that he intends to found and lead a national movement for new ethics in politics and for new economic solutions, to be called the Simeon II National Movement. The goals of the movement are to eliminate corruption and raise the standards of living in Bulgaria. `I am determined to fulfil my historic duty to Bulgaria if I get an overwhelming support from you at the forthcoming parliamentary elections`, the king said.

April 28, 2001 – Bulgaria`s Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court`s ruling that former king Simeon II cannot register his new political movement for the June 17 parliamentary elections. The lower court ruled that Simeon`s movement does not meet several legal requirements for political parties. For instance, its statutes give Simeon the sole right to nominate candidates for political office. Simeon said he would run instead through two small existing political parties, the Party of Bulgarian Women and the Movement for National Revival Oborishte, which will register together for the election as the Simeon II National Movement for Simeon II.

May 2, 2001 – Bulgaria`s former king, Simeon II, has won approval from the electoral commission to participate in the June 17 parliamentary elections. The king formed a coalition of two small political parties to take the place of his own recently created party, which was barred from the election because it did not meet legal requirements.

June 17, 2001 – The Simeon II national Movement won the national elections with 43 per cent of the votes.

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