Conventional long form name: Republic of Bulgaria
Capital City: Sofia
Type of government: parliamentary democracy
Independence: 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
National Holiday: Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Chief of state: President Rosen PLEVNELIEV (since 22 January 2012); Vice President Margarita POPOVA (since 22 January 2012)
Capital City: Sofia
Type of government: parliamentary democracy
Independence: 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
National Holiday: Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Chief of state: President Rosen PLEVNELIEV (since 22 January 2012); Vice President Margarita POPOVA (since 22 January 2012)
Head of government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISOV (since 27 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Simeon DJANKOV and Tsvetan TSVETANOV (since 27 July 2009)
Executive Branch: chief of state: President Rosen PLEVNELIEV (since 22 January 2012); Vice President Margarita POPOVA (since 22 January 2012) head of government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISOV (since 27 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Simeon DJANKOV and Tsvetan TSVETANOV (since 27 July 2009) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly. elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 and 30 October 2011 (next to be held in 2016); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly.
Legislative Branch: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 5 July 2009 (next to be held in mid-2013)
Judicail Branch: independent judiciary comprised of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates who are appointed, promoted, demoted, and dismissed by a 25-member Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 members, half of whom are elected by the National Assembly and the other half by the bodies of the judiciary for a 5-year term in office); three levels of case review; 182 courts of which two Supreme Courts act as the last instance on civil and criminal cases (the Supreme Court of Cassation) and appeals of government decisions (the Supreme Administrative Court)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Embassador in the U.S.: Ambassador Elena POPTODOROVA
Location of Embassy: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location of Consulates in the U.S.: None
U.S. A mbassador: Ambassador Marcie B. RIES
Location of U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407
Location of U.S. consulates in Bulgaria: None
Representative to the UN: Stephan TAFROV
Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue
National Symbols: lion
National Symbols: lion