BY RICHARD BEESTON, DIPLOMATIC EDITOR

THE former King Simeon II of Bulgaria yesterday became the first Balkan monarch to return to power when he was named as the country`s new Prime Minister.
More than half a century after he was forced into exile as a boy king, the former businessman now known as Simeon Saxe-Coburg agreed to form a coalition government later this month.
`I accept this offer with huge excitement, having in mind my sense of responsibility and the confidence the voters gave me on June 17`, he said, referring to the recent elections.
Mr Saxe-Coburg, who is related to the Queen, has avoided saying whether he would like to see the restoration of the monarchy in Bulgaria after a half-century of communist rule. Although he never abdicated, he will have to make a pledge of loyalty to Bulgaria’s republican constitution when he is sworn in on July 24.
His future and the fate of Bulgaria under his rule will depend on his performance as leader. He heads the centre-right National Movement, which is expected to form a coalition with two smaller parties.
Although a political novice, he has promised to tackle crime and corruption and move Bulgaria towards membership of the EU and NATO. He will have to show great diplomatic skills in dealing with the conflict in Macedonia, which was occupied by Bulgaria in the Second World War. Above all, he will have to live up to his campaign pledge to turn the country`s dire economy around within 800 days.
To do that he plans to use his extensive contacts in the West to attract foreign investment. As a private citizen living in Madrid, he worked as the head of the Spanish subsidiary of the French company Thomson CSF. He returned to Bulgaria in 1996, 50 years after he was forced to flee to Egypt with the Royal Family.

The Times, published on July13, 2001.

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