The former president and air force commander leads the first majority government to rule the country since 1997.
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev was formally named Bulgaria’s new prime minister on Thursday, cementing a landslide election victory that shattered the country’s long-fractured political order.
Radev’s newly formed Progressive Bulgaria party secured the first outright parliamentary majority since 1997 in the April 19 vote, ending years of unstable coalitions and repeat votes in the EU member state. The country’s parliament on Thursday approved his appointment as prime minister and signed off on his cabinet lineup.
The former president and air force commander campaigned on anger directed at Bulgaria’s political establishment, blaming traditional parties for years of corruption, instability and backroom dealmaking. After five years of revolving coalitions and eight elections, Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria movement crushed the country’s old political guard.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Radev on Friday morning, writing on X that Europe faced “a strong agenda to work on” together, including “security and defence,” “competitiveness” and “energy independence.”
While unveiling his cabinet on Thursday, Radev also laid out his priorities in office. He said the government’s immediate focus would be tackling soaring prices, alongside judicial reform, budget discipline and accelerating the use of EU recovery funds before key deadlines expire.
Radev’s victory ends years of political deadlock in Bulgaria — but also hands his new Russia-aligned government the country’s biggest parliamentary mandate in nearly three decades.