Anastas Georgiev Gerdzhikov (; born 1963) is professor of ancient and medieval literature who was the 56th Rector of

Sofia University Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...

from 2015 to 2023. He unsuccessfully ran for

President of Bulgaria The president of the Republic of Bulgaria (, romanised: ''Prezident na Republika Bŭlgariya'') is the head of state of Bulgaria and the commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Army. The official residence of the president is at Boyana Residence, S ...

in the 2021 election.

Early life and education

Anastas Georgiev Gerdzhikov was born in

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 ...

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

, in 1963. He graduated from the NGDEK in 1982. He was at the Department of Classical Philology at

from 1984 to 1985. He attended

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

from 1986 to 1990, and graduated with a

master of arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree after writing a thesis on

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

's critique of the political works of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

. He received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 2001, after writing his thesis ''The Concept of Clementia in the Roman Literature Tradition in the Period of the Republic and the Ideology of the Early Principate''.

Career

At Sofia University Gerdzhikov became a part-time professor in 1990, and then a full-time assistant-professor in Latin in 1991. He became an associate professor in ancient literature in 2004. He was elected Rector of Sofia University in 2015, and reelected with 254 out of 318 votes on 20 November 2019. From 2001 to 2003, Gerdzhikov was the Deputy Minister of Education and Science. The Scientific Research Fund was managed by him from 2007 to 2008. He ran for president in the 2021 election with the support of

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 ...

, but was defeated in the second round by incumbent

Rumen Radev Rumen Georgiev Radev (, born 18 June 1963) is a Bulgarian politician and former major general who has been the President of Bulgaria since 2017. Radev previously served as higher commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. He won the 2016 Bulgarian p ...

Personal life

Gerdzhikov is fluent in English, German, French, and Russian.

References

Works cited

News

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Web

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerdzhikov, Anastas 1963 births Classics educators Classical philologists People from Kardzhali Bulgarian philologists Rectors of Sofia University Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Living people Candidates for President of Bulgaria