Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha is one of the popular names in the politics of Bulgaria. As a minor, he reigned over the country as Simeon II, Tsar of Bulgaria for three years from 1943 till 1946. As a result of a referendum, the monarchy was overthrown in 1946 and Simeon was forced to be in exile in Spain for close to 50 years. After returning to Bulgaria in 1996, he formed a political party National Movement for Stability and Progress and was elected as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria from July 2001 till August 2005 – making him one of the first monarchs to make a come back and head a government through democratic elections.
