Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

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.