Vezhdi Rashidov
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vezhdi Letif Rashidov (, ; born 14 December 1951) is a
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n duffer sculptor,
GERB GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (), is a conservative center-right populist political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009–2013, 2014-2021, 2025-present and was suppor ...
politician and was a Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (2009–2013; 2014–2017) and
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
of the 48th
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
from 2022 to 2023. Rashidov was born in Dimitrovgrad to ethnic Turkish parents; however, he moved to
Haskovo Haskovo ( ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria ...
with his parents at age two. His mother Kadrie Lyatifova, a singer of Bulgarian and
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
folk songs, died in a car crash when he was in primary school. His father Lyatif Rashidov was a miner in Madan along with his brother Ruzhdi, who died aged 36 from cancer. Until seventh grade, Rashidov lived and studied at an orphanage in Studen Kladenets near
Kardzhali Kardzhali ( , ''Kărdžali''; ), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Province. The noted Kardzhali Reservoir is ...
. Rashidov then studied mining electrics and mechanics in Madan. He graduated from the
National Academy of Arts The National Academy of Arts () is an institution of higher education in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned school of arts in the country. History The National Academy of Arts was founded in 1896 by noted artists and public f ...
in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
in 1978. As a sculptor, Rashidov has authored statuettes for a number of prominent prizes, as well as many large-scale works. Despite being an ethnic Turk, Rashidov has been an outspoken critic of the
Movement for Rights and Freedoms The Movement for Rights and Freedoms ( ''Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi'', ДПС, DPS; , HÖH) is a political party in Bulgaria with a support base among ethnic minority communities. Until 2024 it was a member of the Liberal International and ...
. He participated in the
2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 5 July 2009. With 40% of the vote, the decisive winner of the elections was the established in 2006 personalistic party of Boyko Borisov, GERB. The Socialist Party, in power before the election ...
as GERB's voting list leader and proportional candidate in
Kardzhali Province Kardzhali Province () is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 3209.1 km2 in area. Its main city is Kardzhali. It is Bulgaria's sout ...
and became the first non-Movement for Rights and Freedoms candidate in many years to be elected to parliament from that constituency. When GERB won the election and formed a government in 2009, Rashidov was the party's Minister of Culture. In 2014, when GERB formed a coalition government, Rashidov was for the second time the party's Minister of Culture. Rashidov is married and has a child. In 2001, he was briefly arrested for assaulting a policeman.


References

1951 births Living people Bulgarian sculptors Bulgarian people of Turkish descent People from Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria Government ministers of Bulgaria Ministers of culture of Bulgaria 20th-century Bulgarian male artists 20th-century Bulgarian artists 21st-century Bulgarian male artists 21st-century Bulgarian artists 20th-century sculptors 21st-century sculptors 21st-century Bulgarian politicians Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Bulgaria {{Bulgaria-sculptor-stub