Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who was the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II (1943–1946) and served as prime minister of the Republic of Bulgaria as Simeon Sakskoburggotski (2001–2005).
Bulgaria joined the Axis Powers in 1941 during World War II, when Simeon was heir apparent to the throne. After the death of his father Boris III, Simeon became Tsar of Bulgaria in 1943. Since he was a minor, a regency council led by his uncle Kiril, Prince of Preslav, General Nikola Mihov and prime minister, Bogdan Filov ran the country on his behalf. Bulgaria lost the war to the Allied Powers and was occupied by the Soviet Union. Simeon was forced into exile in 1946 when the monarchy was abolished by referendum. Simeon lived in Egypt until Francoist Spain granted him asylum in 1951. The Soviet-installed People's Republic of Bulgaria would last until the fall of Communism in Bulgaria in 1990.
In 1996, Simeon returned to Bulgaria and founded the National Movement for Stability and Progress party (NDSV; the acronym can also be read to mean the National Movement Simeon II party). Simeon became Bulgarian prime minister after the NDSV won an absolute majority in the 2001 election. During his term in office, Bulgaria joined the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003 and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004. Simeon's party finished second in the 2005 election, and he led the party into a coalition government with the Bulgarian Socialist Party. The NDSV lost all of its seats in the 2009 election. Simeon retired from politics after this defeat.
As of 2026, Simeon and the 14th Dalai Lama are the only two people alive who were heads of state during World War II; both were symbolic monarchs in regent-led governments.
Simeon was born to Boris III of Bulgaria and Giovanna of Italy. Following his birth, Boris III sent an air force officer to the Jordan River to obtain water for Simeon's baptism in the Orthodox faith. He succeeded to the throne on 28 August 1943 upon the death of his father, who had just returned to Bulgaria from a meeting with Adolf Hitler. Since Simeon was only six years old, his uncle Prince Kiril, Prime Minister Bogdan Filov, and Lt. General Nikola Mihov of the Bulgarian Army were appointed regents.
Under his father, Bulgaria joined the Axis powers in World War II but managed to preserve diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Still, on 5 September 1944 Stalin declared war on Bulgaria and three days later, the Red Army entered the country without encountering resistance. On the next day, 9 September 1944, Prince Kiril and the other regents were deposed by a Soviet-backed coup and arrested. The three regents, all members of the last three governments, Parliament deputies, heads of the army and eminent journalists were sentenced to death by the Communist dominated People's Court and executed in February 1945.
The royal family — Queen Giovanna, Simeon, and his sister Maria-Louisa — remained at Vrana Palace, near Sofia, while three new regents were appointed (Todor Pavlov, Venelin Ganev and Tsvetko Boboshevski). On 15 September 1946, a referendum was held which proposed abolishing the monarchy and declaring a republic. The referendum was supported by all then legal political parties. Official figures showed a 95.6% approval for ending 68 years of monarchy. This referendum actually violated the Tarnovo Constitution, which held that any change in the form of the state could only be implemented by a Grand National Assembly convened by the tsar.
On 16 September 1946, the royal family was exiled from Bulgaria while given a way to take out large amount of movable property. They first went to Alexandria, Egypt, where Simeon's grandfather Victor Emmanuel III, the former king of Italy, lived in exile. There, in 1951, Simeon studied at Victoria College (along with Crown Prince Leka of Albania). In July 1951, General Francisco Franco's dictatorship in Spain granted asylum to the family. He took part in the ship tour organized by King Paul of Greece and Queen Frederica in 1954, which became known as the "Cruise of the Kings" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.
In Madrid, Simeon studied at the Lycée Français. On 16 June 1955, upon turning 18, in accordance with the Tarnovo Constitution, Simeon read a proclamation to the Bulgarian people, claiming that he was Tsar of Bulgaria and confirming his will to be Tsar of all Bulgarians and to follow the principles contrary to those of the communist regime then ruling Bulgaria. In 1958, he enrolled at Valley Forge Military College in the United States, where he was known as "Cadet Rylski No. 6883", and graduated as a second lieutenant. Later, Simeon studied law and business administration in Spain between 1959 and 1962.
Simeon then became a businessman. For thirteen years, he was chairman of the Spanish subsidiary of Thomson, a French defense and electronics group. He was also an adviser in the banking, hotel, electronics, and catering sectors.
On 21 January 1962, Simeon married Spanish aristocrat, Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela. The couple had five children – four sons (Kardam, Kiril, Kubrat and Konstantin) and a daughter, Kalina, all of whom subsequently married Spaniards. All of his sons received names of Bulgarian Tsars, his daughter has a Bulgarian name, although only four of his eleven grandchildren have Bulgarian names (Boris, Sofia, Mirko and Simeon).
Kardam (1962–2015) married Miriam Ungría y López. They had two sons, Boris and Beltran.
Kiril (born 1964) married María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila. They have three children: Mafalda, Olimpia and Tassilo.
Kubrat (born 1965) married Carla María de la Soledad Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu. They have three sons: Mirko, Lukás and Tirso.
Konstantin-Assen (born 1967) married María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar. They have twins, Umberto and Sofia.
Kalina (born 1972) married Antonio José "Kitín" Muñoz y Valcárcel. They have a son, Prince Simeon Hassan.
In 1990, just months after the fall of communism, Simeon was issued a new Bulgarian passport. In 1996, fifty years after the abolition of the monarchy, Simeon returned to Bulgaria and was met in many places by crowds of approval. He did not, at that point, make any political announcements or moves, as he had already denied in a TV interview (1990) to have any material property claims against Bulgaria.
In 2001, Simeon, who had by this time taken the name Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, announced he would return to Bulgaria to form a new political party, the National Movement Simeon II (later renamed to NMSP), dedicated to "reforms and political integrity." Simeon promised that in 800 days the Bulgarian people would feel tangible positive effects of his government and would enjoy significantly higher standards of living.