Simeon Saxe-Coburg. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia News Agency)
Simeon II National Movement
Simeon Saxe-Cobourg was born in Sofia on June 16, 1937. He is a son of Boris III, king of the Bulgarians, and Joanna (House of Savoy).
Upon his father's death on August 28, 1943, he acceded to the throne as King Simeon II but being a minor, three-member Council of Regency was formed.
A monarchy-or-a-republic referendum was held and on September 15, 1946 and Bulgaria was proclaimed a People's Republic. On September 16, 1946 the family left the country and via Istanbul settled in Alexandria, Egypt.
He acquired primary education in Sofia; 1946-1951 - Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt; 1951-1957 - French Lyceum in Madrid, Spain. He studied law and political science; in 1958 was enrolled at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, USA and graduated the following year as second lieutenant; during 1959-1962 attends business administration and law courses.
In July 1951 the Spanish government granted asylum and the family settled in Madrid.
Upon his coming of age on June 16, 1955, Simeon II issued a proclamation towards Bulgarian people declaring his sovereignty right and he was treated as a royalty.
In May 1996, Simeon Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha received a standard registry number from the Sofia Municipality and got a passport of a Bulgarian national.
He visited Bulgaria for the first time after 50 years in exile on March 25, 1996. Until his active engaging in Bulgarian politics he conducted correspondence and established numerous contacts in the business circles all round the world.
He is a member of the managing boards of companies in Europe and Africa - "Omnium", the largest holding group in Morocco, and in the sugar producer Casablanca-based company "Consumar".
He was a president of Thomson subsidiary in Spain and a consultant for some time for Eurobuilding, hotel chain. Simeon II`s political career began with his address to the Bulgarian nation on April 6, 2001 in which he unveiled his intention to set up a national movement and run in the parliamentary elections.
On April 8, 2001, he was elected leader of the Simeon II National Movement (SSNM) established on the same day. In the June 17 elections the SNM won 43% of the vote and got 120 seats in the Parliament.
On June 23, 2001, the SNM parliamentary group unanimously decided to name Simeon II, Chairman of the SSNM Council, Prime Minister; his official nomination was on July 12. The SSNM coalition confirmed the nomination on July 13.
On July 15, President Stoyanov gave Simeon a mandate to form a government.
On July 20 the SSNM and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms reached an agreement to form a coalition government.
In addition to Bulgarian, Simeon Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha is fluent in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, with a lesser knowledge of Arabic and Portuguese.
Married to Dona Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela in 1962. They have five children: Kardam (born on December 2, 1962), Kyril (born on July 11, 1964), Kubrat (born on November 5, 1965), Konstantin-Assen (born on December 5, 1967), and Kalina (born on January 19, 1972).
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