By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Bulgaria's former King Simeon II, who was forced into exile five decades ago, formally returned to power Tuesday when he was approved as prime minister of this Balkan republic.
Bulgaria's Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of Simeon as prime minister and backed his 16-member coalition government. The ex-king then took an oath of loyalty to the constitution.
“Today we stand a real chance to usher Bulgaria into the new 21st century and take the place we deserve in united Europe,'' the 64-year-old Simeon told legislators.
The former child king, who was forced into exile when the communists took over after World War II, won a landslide victory in last month's parliamentary elections, just three months after returning to his homeland.
The popular ex-ruler is the first former Eastern European monarch to return to power.
During his tenure as prime minister, Simeon plans to focus on “accession and full membership in the European Union and NATO, a decisive fight against corruption, and rapid and sustainable economic growth.''
Simeon said he wants Bulgaria to be invited to join NATO in 2002. He pledged Bulgarian support for future NATO involvement in crisis regions such as former Yugoslavia.
The new government plans to retain the country's currency board until its accession to the EU. The board is a panel that prohibits the central bank from issuing new money to bail out debtors.
The Cabinet includes two ethnic Turks, whose party is taking part in the country's government for the first time. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms represents the local Turkish minority, which makes up one-tenth of the country's 8 million population. It will also have two members of the opposition Socialist Party.

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