Bulgarian Female Leaders

Irina Bokova is a Bulgarian politician best known for her service as the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs from 13 November 1996 to 13 February 1997. An important member of UNESCO, Bokova has also served as a Director-General of UNESCO from 15 October 2009 to 10 November 2017. Bokova is the recipient of many prestigious awards like the Hilal-i-Pakistan Award.

Mariya Gabriel is a Bulgarian politician and the current European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. An important member of the GERB political party, Mariya Gabriel is also known for her service as a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2017.

Korneliya Ninova is a Bulgarian politician and the current leader of the Socialist Party. She is best known for her service as the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 13 December 2021 to 2 August 2022. An important political figure, Korneliya Ninova also served as the Minister of Economy and Industry from 13 December 2021 to 2 August 2022.

Iliana Iotova is a Bulgarian politician and the current Vice President of Bulgaria. From 2007 to 2017, Iotova was one of the Members of the European Parliament. Prior to her political career, Iliana Iotova worked as a reporter, editor, and news presenter at Bulgarian National Television.

Lyudmila Zhivkova was a Bulgarian political figure and important member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. She is best remembered for her work in preserving and nurturing Bulgarian arts and culture. Lyudmila Zhivkova's interest in Eastern culture and religious mysticism during the last 10 years of her life made her infamous within the former Soviet Bloc.

Desislava Radeva is the wife of Bulgarian President Rumen Georgiev Radev. Since 22 January 2017, Radeva has been serving as the First Lady of Bulgaria. Desislava Radeva is also credited with establishing a non-profit organization called Living Water of Bulgaria, which was founded in 2017.

Tsetska Tsacheva is a Bulgarian politician and jurist. She is best known for her service as the Minister of Justice from May 2017 to April 2019. Tsetska Tsacheva also served as the Chairwoman of the National Assembly on two occasions; from 2009 to 2013 and again from 2014 to 2017.

Yordanka Fandakova is a Bulgarian politician who served as the Minister of Education and Science in 2009. On 8 November 2011, she was elected as the 64th Mayor of Sofia, becoming the first woman to serve in that position. Yordanka Fandakova worked as a teacher prior to her political career.

Maya Manolova is a Bulgarian politician who served as the Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria from 21 May 2013 to 6 August 2014. She also served as the National Ombudsman of Bulgaria from 20 October 2015 to 3 September 2019. Manolova is also known for leading a political movement called Stand Up.BG, which was founded in 2019.  

Ekaterina Zakharieva is a Bulgarian politician who served as the Minister of Justice from 18 December 2015 to 27 January 2017. She then went on to serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 4 May 2017 to 12 May 2021. Prior to her political career, Ekaterina Zakharieva worked as a lawyer and legal advisor.

Eva Maydell is a Bulgarian politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament for Bulgaria since 1 July 2014. An important member of the GERB political party, Maydell became the first woman to be elected as the president of European Movement International in 2017. In 2016, she was featured in Forbes magazine's 30 under 30 list.

Reneta Indzhova is a Bulgarian politician best known for her service as the Acting Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 17 October 1994 to 25 January 1995. She is the only woman so far to hold this office in Bulgaria. During her time in office, Reneta Indzhova gained popularity for making efforts to fight organized crime.

Bulgarian accountant who later became a politician, Temenuzhka Petkova now serves her country as its Minister of Energy. She began her career as a public-sector auditor and later also served as Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Finance. She has also been the director of the Public Financial inspection Agency.

After earning a degree in economics, Bulgarian politician Desislava Taneva graduated in law. In November 2014, she took over as the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria. She is a member of the party GERB, founded by Boyko Borissov, the former prime minister of Bulgaria.