Rumen Radev facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rumen Radev
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| Румен Радев | |
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Official portrait, 2018
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| 5th President of Bulgaria | |
| Assumed office 22 January 2017 |
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| Prime Minister |
See list
Boyko Borisov
Ognyan Gerdzhikov Boyko Borisov Stefan Yanev Kiril Petkov Galab Donev Nikolai Denkov Dimitar Glavchev Rosen Zhelyazkov |
| Vice President | Iliana Iotova |
| Preceded by | Rosen Plevneliev |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rumen Georgiev Radev
18 June 1963 Dimitrovgrad, PR Bulgaria |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations |
Bulgarian Communist Party (1985–1990) |
| Spouses |
Ginka Radeva
(m. 1996; div. 2014)Desislava Radeva
(m. 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Bulgaria |
| Branch/service |  Bulgarian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1987–2017 |
| Rank | Major general |
Rumen Georgiev Radev (Bulgarian: Румен Георгиев Радев, born 18 June 1963) is a Bulgarian politician and former major general who has been the President of Bulgaria since 2017.
Radev previously served as higher commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. He won the 2016 presidential election as an independent candidate supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, defeating GERB candidate Tsetska Tsacheva in the second round. He won a second consecutive term in the 2021 election, with 66% of the vote in the second round.
Contents
Early life and military career
Radev was born on 18 June 1963 in Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria. His family is from Slavyanovo in the Haskovo region. In 1982, he graduated from the Mathematical School in Haskovo with a gold medal. He graduated from the Georgi Benkovski Bulgarian Air Force University in 1987 as the top graduate. In 1992, he graduated from the US Air Force Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB. From 1994 to 1996, he studied at the Rakovski Defence and Staff College, where he was also the top graduate. He holds a Doctor of Military Sciences degree in the field of improvement of tactical training of flight crews and simulation of air combat.
In 2003, he graduated from Air War College or Air University at Maxwell AFB in the United States with a Master of Strategic Studies with honors.
Presidency
In August 2016, the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABR) officially nominated Radev as a candidate for the November 2016 presidential election. In the same month, ABR withdrew its presidential nomination of General Radev in favour of Ivaylo Kalfin.
In the first round of the election, conducted on 6 November 2016, Radev came first with 25.44% of the vote. He faced GERB candidate Tsetska Tsacheva in the runoff the following Sunday 13 November. He defeated her, winning 59.37% of the popular vote.
On 1 February 2021, he officially announced that he and Iliana Yotova would run for a second term. The presidential election happened on 14 November 2021. Prior to the election, several parties declared their support for Radev, including ITN, PP and BSPzB. Radev received 1,322,385 votes in the first round, alongside his running partner Iliana Yotova, 49.42% of the vote. This led to a second round run-off with the GERB-supported candidate Anastas Gerdzhikov, who got 22.83% of the vote in the first round. Radev won in the run-off, with 66.7% of the vote, starting his second term as president.
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In June 2019, Radev vetoed a major government contract for the acquisition of 16 [[General
Family and personal life
Radev joined the Bulgarian Communist Party in the 1980s. He later stated that his primary reason for joining the party had been so that he would be deployed to fly in a supersonic jet, but also added that he was not ashamed of his past and was proud of the things he did. He left the party in 1990, when a newly enacted law forbade members of the country's armed forces from being members of political parties. He has not been a member of any political parties since and his candidacy in the 2016 elections was supported by an independent initiative committee affiliated with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, rather than by a formal nomination by any party.
Radev has two children from his first marriage to Ginka Radeva, which ended in a divorce in 2014: a daughter Darina, born in 2001 and a son Georgi, born in 2003. He later married Desislava Gencheva, who was previously married to the BSP MP Georgi Svilenski. Apart from Bulgarian, Radev is also fluent in Russian, German and English. Radev's father died on 6 April 2020.
Radev is a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. He stated his support for the efforts of the Bulgarian church to introduce religious education in Bulgarian schools and declared that "the support of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the spiritual well-being of the faithful remains the first priority for the State". Radev also expressed his admiration for Pope Francis, calling him "the voice of the weak and the underprivileged".
Military career
- 1987 – 1989: Junior pilot in the 15th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Ravnets
- 1989 – 1992: Unit deputy commander at the 15th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Ravnets
- 1992 – 1997: Unit commander at the 15th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Ravnets
- 1997 – 1999: MiG-29 squadron commander at the Fifth Fighter Airbase – Ravnets
- 1999 – 2000: Deputy commander for flight preparation at the Fifth Fighter Airbase – Ravnets
- 2000: Deputy commander for flight training at the Third Fighter Airbase – Graf Ignatievo
- 2000 – Study of the Air defence of the Republic of Bulgaria – NATO, Brussels
- 2000 – 2002: Chief of Staff of the Third Fighter Airbase – Graf Ignatievo
- 2002 – 2004: Chief of Staff of the Third Fighter Airbase – Graf Ignatievo
- 2004 – 2009: Commander of the Third Fighter Airbase – Graf Ignatievo
- 2009 – 2014: Bulgarian Air Force deputy commander
- 2014 – 2017: Bulgarian Air Force commander
Military ranks
- 1987 – Lieutenant
- 1989 – Senior lieutenant
- 1994 – Captain
- 1997 – Major
- 1999 – Lieutenant colonel
- 2002 – Colonel
- 2007 – Brigadier general
- 2014 – Major general
- 2017 – General (Commander-In-Chief)
Awards
Rumen Radev was awarded numerous medals and prizes, including the sign "For loyal service under the flags" – III degree, and Honorary sign of the Ministry of Defence "Saint George" – II degree.
Honours
National honours
- Bulgaria : Grand Master of the Order of Stara Planina
- Bulgaria : Grand Master of the Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius
- Bulgaria : Grand Master of the Order of Civil Merit (Bulgaria)
- Bulgaria : Grand Master of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)
- Bulgaria : Grand Master of the Order of the Madara Horseman
Foreign honours
Greece: Grand cross of the Order of the Redeemer (2017)
Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (10 April 2024)
Malta : Companions of Honour of the National Order of Merit (5 February 2018)
Portugal:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Aviz (30 January 2019)
- Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry (12 April 2022)
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Collar of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (13 December 2019)
See also
In Spanish: Rumen Radev para niños
