Iliana Iotova

Iliana Malinova Iotova (; born 24 October 1964) is a Bulgarian journalist and politician. She is the 6th and current President of Bulgaria since 2026. She is the country's first female president. She is a member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). Iotova was the fifth vice president under President Rumen Radev from 2017 to 2026. Before her political career began, Iotova was a nurse, journalist and television news presenter.

Early life
Iliana Malinova was born in Sofia, People's Republic of Bulgaria on 24 October 1964. She studied in the Lycée Français de Sofia. She earned a degree in philology from the University of Sofia. She later studied at the École nationale d'administration in Strasbourg, France, and the Center for European Studies (CEES) of the University of Strasbourg.

In the 1980s, Malinova worked as a nurse at the First Hospital of Sofia St John the Baptist. From 1990 to 1997, she worked at Bulgarian National Television as a reporter, editor, director, presenter of news and current affairs programmes and also became head of the News and Current Affairs Directorate. She then worked as the director of the press service of the Bulgarian Socialist Party in 1997.

Presidency (2026–present)
During an address to the nation on 19 January 2026, the then president Rumen Radev announced his plan to resign. The following day, Radev made resignation as President official when he turned in his resignation papers to the Constitutional Court. Three days later on 23 January, the Constitutional Court formally accepted Radev's resignation, ending his time as President of Bulgaria. Shortly after the ruling, Iotova was sworn-in as president.

 Personal life 
Iotova married Andrey Iotov, a doctor, in 1985, and they have one child.

References

Other websites



Category:Living people
Category:1964 births
Category:Politicians from Sofia
Category:MEPs for Bulgaria
Category:Presidents of Bulgaria
Category:Vice presidents of Bulgaria
Category:Current national leaders
Category:Journalists
Category:Television news anchors