Aleksandar Dimitrov Paunov ( bg, Александър Димитров Паунов) (born June 19, 1949), is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and the leader of the current Communist Party of Bulgaria. He was born in

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in ...

and became an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. After the collapse of the Socialist Bloc in 1989, the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...

was renamed the

Bulgarian Socialist Party The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...

and shed its Marxist-Leninist ideology by moving towards

social democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

positions. Several factions broke off from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, one of them being named the Communist Party of Bulgaria, which is currently led by Paunov. It is a member of the Socialist-led

Coalition for Bulgaria The BSP for Bulgaria ( bg, БСП за България, BSP za Bŭlgariya), or the Coalition for Bulgaria ( bg, Коалиция за България, Koalitsiya za Bŭlgariya) until 2017, is a left-wing electoral alliance in Bulgaria led by t ...

Politics

Paunov is one of the only members of the Bulgarian National Assembly who voted against Bulgaria's entrance into

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

. He also demanded the withdrawal of Bulgarian troops who were stationed in

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Govern ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

External links

Bulgarian parliament
1949 births Living people Bulgarian communists Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Marxian economists Bulgarian eurosceptics People from Pazardzhik {{Bulgaria-politician-stub