Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5

Bulgaria ⁱ/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the 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 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.

Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. 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 Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.

Rosen Asenov Plevneliev (Bulgarian: Росен Асенов Плевнелиев; born 14 May 1964) has been President of Bulgaria since January 2012. He was Minister of Regional Development and Public Works from July 2009 to September 2011 as part of the cabinet of Boyko Borisov. In October 2011, Plevneliev was elected as President in a second round of voting; he was inaugurated on 18 January 2012.

Born in Gotse Delchev, Rosen Plevneliev studied at Blagoevgrad Mathematical and Natural Sciencies High School, from which he graduated in 1982. In 1989 he graduated from the Higher Mechanical-Electrotechnical Institute, Sofia, and in the same year become a fellow at the Institute for Microprocessing Technology, Pravets. In 1990 he started a private building company in Bulgaria. Among other projects, the company built the Sofia Business Park.

He is married and has three sons: Filip, Asen and Pavel.

Plevneliev became Minister of Regional Development and Public Works under Prime Minister Borisov on 27 July 2009.

He was announced as GERB's candidate for President of Bulgaria on 4 September 2011. He subsequently won the presidential election in a second round held on 30 October 2011, with a majority of 52,58. He dated Ivaylo Kalfin from the Bulgarian Socialist Party in the second round.