Algirdas Brazauskas vs Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Brazauskas oversaw the introduction of the Lithuanian litas as the national currency in June 1993, replacing the temporary talonas. The move was part of broader economic reforms to stabilize the economy and establish monetary independence from Russia.

Algirdas Brazauskas was elected President of Lithuania in February 1993, winning 60% of the vote. He was the first president of independent Lithuania after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, having previously served as the last leader of the Lithuanian Communist Party.

Brazauskas negotiated the withdrawal of the last Russian troops from Lithuania in August 1993, completing the country's full independence. The agreement was reached after months of talks, and the troops left by the end of the year.

Following a referendum that abolished the monarchy, the 9-year-old Tsar Simeon II was forced into exile with his family. The referendum resulted in 95% support for a republic, ending the Bulgarian monarchy after centuries of rule. Simeon and his family fled to Egypt and later Spain.

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the former child tsar, returned from exile and won the parliamentary elections as leader of the National Movement Simeon II. He served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005, becoming the first former monarch in Eastern Europe to return to power through democratic elections.

Simeon founded a political party named after himself, the National Movement Simeon II, to contest the 2001 Bulgarian parliamentary elections. The party campaigned on promises of economic reform and anti-corruption, winning 120 out of 240 seats and forming a government.

Simeon's party lost the 2005 parliamentary elections, winning only 53 seats. His government had faced criticism for failing to deliver on economic promises and for corruption scandals. He subsequently left active politics, though he remained a figure in Bulgarian public life.