Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgaria)

The Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgarian: Съюз на демократичните сили, Sayuz na demokratichnite sili, СДС, SDS) is a political party in Bulgaria, founded in 1989 as a union of several political organizations in opposition to the communist government. The Union was transformed into a single unified party with the same name. The SDS is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).

History

Dissident groups formed under the faltering regime of Todor Zhivkov in the late 1980s were the basis for the Union. Once Zhivkov fell, a loose political confederation was envisioned where constituent groups could continue to work for their own cause, while the coordinating council would include three members from each organization. The Longtime dissident philosopher Zhelyu Zhelev, who would later become Bulgaria's President, was elected chairman, and Petar Beron, a well-known environmental scientist, was chosen as secretary.

The SDS was officially founded on 7 December 1989 as a union of eleven political organizations, such as Ekoglasnost, Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers' Party (United) and Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union "Nikola Petkov". The following year, six more parties were incorporated (Radical Democratic Party, Green Party of Bulgaria, Democratic Party, New Social Democratic Party, United Democratic Centre, Democratic Front).

Union of Democratic Forces

Union of Democratic Forces or Union of the Democratic Forces is the name of:

Union of Democratic Forces (Republic of the Congo)

The Union of Democratic Forces (Union des Forces Démocratiques) is a political party in the Republic of the Congo, founded by Charles David Ganao. In the parliamentary election held on June 24 and August 5 2007, the party won 1 out of 137 seats.

References

Union of Democratic Forces (Mauritania)

The Union of Democratic Forces-New Era (Union des Forces Démocratiques-Ère Nouvelle) was a political party in Mauritania, founded in 1991. The secretary-general of the party was Ahmed Ould Daddah. In February 1997 the five-party Front of Opposition Parties (FPO), including the UFD-EN, was formed; it boycotted the December 1997 presidential election, in which President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was easily re-elected.

The party was weakened by a number of splits during its existence. In 1998, a faction of the party led by Mohamed Ould Maouloud, which was known as the UFD/B and later became the Union of the Forces of Progress, split from the faction under Daddah's leadership. The UFD-EN under Daddah's leadership boycotted the January 1999 local election, in which the faction under Maouloud participated.

In October 2000, the UFD-EN was dissolved by the government, which alleged that it incited violence and harmed national interests. A successor party, the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD), was subsequently established, with Daddah as its president.

Bulgaria

Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.750°N 25.500°E / 42.750; 25.500

Bulgaria (ⁱ/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/, /bʊlˈ-/; Bulgarian: България, tr. Bǎlgarija, IPA: [bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, tr. Republika Bǎlgarija), is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 16th-largest country.

Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians and later the Persians,Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's transition into a democracy and a market-based economy.

Bulgaria (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, Bulgaria is a constituency of the European Parliament, represented by seventeen MEPs. It covers the member state of Bulgaria.

Current MEPs

As of January 2015

2007

The 2007 European election was Bulgaria's first since joining the European Union on 2007-01-01 and was held on 2007-05-20.

The top two parties scored 5 seats each; Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria and Bulgarian Socialist Party, followed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with four, Ataka with three, and National Movement Simeon II (NDSV) with one. It was considered likely that the result of the election would cause a major political crisis in Bulgaria, due to the expected weak results of the National Movement.

2009

2014

References

External links

Bulgaria (ship)

Bulgaria (Russian: Булга́рия, tr. Bulgariya) was a class 785/OL800 Russian river cruise ship (built in Komárno, Czechoslovakia) which operated in the Volga-Don basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River near Syukeyevo, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, Tatarstan, Russia, with 201 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the town of Bolgar to the regional capital, Kazan. The catastrophe led to 122 confirmed deaths (bodies recovered and identified).

The sinking of Bulgaria is the largest Russian ship disaster since 1986 when the SS Admiral Nakhimov crashed into a cargo ship and 423 people died.

Ship

Bulgaria was built at Slovak shipyard in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, in 1955 as Ukraina, and was renamed in February 2010 to Bulgaria after the Volga Bulgaria. Her length was 80.2 metres (263 ft), her beam was 12.5 metres (41 ft), her draft was 1.9 metres (6.2 ft), and her power output was 273 kilowatts (366 hp). She had two engines and two decks. Her cruising speed was 20.5 kilometres per hour (12.7 mph; 11.1 kn), and her original passenger capacity was 233 (then reduced after overhaul).