Zhelev, Zhelyu (1935– )

Bulgarian politician, president 1990–96. In 1989 he became head of the opposition Union Democratic Forces (UDF) coalition. He was a proponent of market-centred economic reform and social peace.

The son of peasants, born in Veselinovo in the Varna region, he was educated at the St Kliment of Ohrid University and later became professor of philosophy at Sofia University. He was a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party 1961–65, when he was expelled for his criticisms of Lenin. He was made president of Bulgaria in 1990 after the demise of the ‘reform communist’ regime, and was directly elected to the post in 1992. In June 1996 he was defeated in the UDF's presidential primary by Petar Stoyanov.