Boyko Borisov
- Category : Politician
- Type : MGE
- Profile : 5/2 - Heretical / Hermit
- Definition : Single
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Confrontation 1
Biography
Boyko Metodiev Borisov (Bulgarian: Бойко Методиев Борисов, IPA: [ˈbɔjko mɛˈtɔdiɛf boˈrisof]; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Bulgaria since May 2017. He was previously Prime Minister on two other occasions, from 2009 to 2013, and from 2014 to January 2017, making him Bulgaria's third-longest serving Prime Minister to date.
Borisov was elected Mayor of Sofia in 2005. In December 2006, he was the founding chairman of the conservative political party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), becoming the new party's lead candidate for the 2009 general election. Borisov led GERB to a landslide victory in 2009, defeating the incumbent Socialist Party, and resigned as Mayor of Sofia in order to be sworn in as Prime Minister. Borisov resigned in 2013, after nationwide protests against the government's energy policy, but after leading GERB to victory in the 2014 general election, he became Prime Minister for a second time. His second term ended similarly to his first, after Borisov resigned in January 2017, this time following GERB's defeat in the 2016 presidential election. As before, Borisov led GERB to election victory again in the snap 2017 general election, becoming Prime Minister for a third time.
Under Borisov's cabinets, Bulgaria has seen improved macroeconomic stability. Concurrently, Bulgaria has remained the EU's poorest member, with nearly a quarter of its population remaining below national poverty lines. Foreign direct investment has fallen, and rampant corruption has led to the rejection of Bulgaria's Schengen Area bids. Significantly, electoral results of Borisov or his party have been overshadowed by allegations of election fraud and manipulation in 2013, 2015, and in 2019 on both local and European Parliament elections. Judicial threats and attacks against journalists have increased to the point where journalism in Bulgaria has become "dangerous" according to Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Bulgaria 111th globally in press freedom. Former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, James Pardew, stated in 2019 that a "national political environment with little government or criminal accountability and no serious opposition to challenge the current government" is in place as a result of collusion, corruption and stifling of the media under Borisov.
In 2013, whilst Prime Minister, he became the oldest player ever to play for a Bulgarian professional club when he appeared for FC Vitosha Bistritsa in the B Group, the second division of Bulgarian football.