death_date children term birth_date signature term_end death_place imagesize profession order term_start spouse image name vicepresident predecessor birth_place party successor primeminister article_title birth_name
30 january 2015 yordanka stanka 1989 - 1990 3 march 1935 signature of zhelyu zhelev.png 22 january 1997 sofia , bulgaria 170px philosopher 1st democratic forces president of bulgaria chairman of the union of 1 august 1990 maria zheleva zhelyu-zhelev-20090423 . jpg zhelyu zhelev Желю Желев atanas semerdzhiev blaga dimitrova '' established '' nikolai todorov '' -lrb- acting -rrb- '' office veselinovo , bulgaria union of democratic forces petar stoyanov petar beron andrey reneta indzhova '' -lrb- acting -rrb- zhan videnov lukanov dimitar popov philip dimitrov lyuben berov '' zhelyu zhelev
 zhelyu mitev zhelev
zhelyu zhelev

zhelyu mitev zhelev -lrb- ; 3 march 1935 -- 30 january 2015 -rrb- was a bulgarian politician and former dissident who served as the first non-communist president of bulgaria from 1990 to 1997 .
he was elected as president by the 7th grand national assembly , and was then elected directly by the people in 1992 .
he lost his party 's nomination for his 1996 reelection campaign after losing a tough primary race to petar stoyanov .
