GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
(), is a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
center-right
populist
Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
which was the ruling party of
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 ...
during the periods between 2009–2013, 2014-2021, 2025-present and was supporting the
Denkov government between 2023-2024.
History
GERB is headed by former
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria () is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are oftentimes the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament, known as the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unica ...
Boyko Borisov, the former
mayor of Sofia, former member of the
National Movement Simeon II
The National Movement for Stability and Progress (, NDSV) is a liberal, populist political party in Bulgaria. It was known as the National Movement Simeon II () until 3 June 2007.
The party was created as a personal vehicle of Simeon of Saxe- ...
and former personal guard of
Todor Zhivkov
Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 as General Secretary of the Cen ...
in the 1990s. The establishment of the party followed the creation of a non-profit organization with the
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
(in Bulgarian) GERB — ''Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria'', earlier the same year.
In early January 2007, and early February 2007, the party came second in
public polls on party support with around 14%, trailing the
Bulgarian Socialist Party which had around 25%. Its stated priorities are fighting crime and corruption, preserving
family as the cornerstone of society and achieving
energy independence.
GERB won the
2009 European Parliament election in Bulgaria with 24.36% of the vote. The party elected five
MEPs
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...
and joined the
European People's Party Group
The European People's Party Group (EPP Group or simply EPP) is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...
in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
(in the
EPP section). On June 6, 2007, GERB applied formally to join as a member-party the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.
GERB won the
2009 parliamentary elections, held a month after the European ballot, winning 39.7% of the popular vote and 116 seats (out of 240). After the elections, a new government was formed,
led by Borisov, primarily with GERB members and with 5 independent ministers around Deputy Prime Minister
Simeon Djankov. The reformist wing was responsible for some of the most significant legislative victories, including a Constitutional reform to ban tax increases. GERB's candidates for the
2011 presidential election,
Rosen Plevneliev
Rosen Asenov Plevneliev (, born 14 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the 4th President of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Affiliated with the GERB party, he previously served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works fro ...
and
Margarita Popova (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), won the elections on the second ballot with 52.6% of the popular vote.
On February 20, 2013, the government resigned after
nationwide protests demanding it to step down.
GERB remained the largest party after the
2013 parliamentary elections with 97 seats, receiving 30.5% of the popular vote. GERB failed to create governing coalition and went to opposition, when other parties supported the
Oresharski government. However, due to the collapse of the coalition government in 2014 due to a
new, even bigger wave of mass protests, GERB backed into power after the
snap elections
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
. GERB formed the
second Borisov government
The ninety-fourth Cabinet of Bulgaria took office on November 7, 2014. It was a coalition government chaired by Boyko Borisov. The government was formed after Borisov's party, GERB, won the 2014 parliamentary election. As GERB won 84 out of th ...
with the
Reformist Bloc and
ABV with the support of the
Patriotic Front. GERB's candidates for the
2016 presidential election,
Tsetska Tsacheva and
Plamen Manushev (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), lost on the second round with 36.16%, while the opponent
Rumen Radev won 59.37% of the votes and became
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. After the election, Borisov resigned and the country headed for new elections. On the
2017 parliamentary election, GERB came first once again, winning 33.5% from the vote and 95 seats. He formed the
Third Borisov government with the
United Patriots. The government was also supported by
Volya.
In 2020 GERB suffered a split, as a sizable number of members and local party organizations left alongside former second-in-command
Tsvetan Tsvetanov to form the
Republicans for Bulgaria party. The whole second half of 2020 saw
mass protests against the GERB government, but nevertheless, Borisov did not resign.
In the
April 2021 parliamentary election GERB was first with 26.18% of the vote. However, any attempts to form a coalition failed. In the
July 2021 snap election, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB-led coalition came second for first time since the creation of the party, with 23.51 percent of the vote.
The next snap election was in November same year,
Kiril Petkov's
coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
emerged as surprise victors over the conservative GERB party, which dominated Bulgarian politics in the last decade. GERB has been in opposition since December 2021
until June 2022 - the fall of
Petkov's government. After the
2022 election, government was not formed. After the
2023 election, GERB came first with a little margin over the
PP-DB coalition, which came second. PP-DB and GERB formed the Denkov government, but GERB had very few ministers. In March 2024, a so called "rotation" of the government was planned, but the negotiations failed. GERB came first on the
June 2024 election and
October 2024 election. In January 2025, GERB formed the
Zhelyazkov government with
BSP,
ITN
Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...
and outside support from
APS.
List of chairmen
Parliamentary leaders
Election results
National Assembly
Presidential
European Parliament
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 2006
2006 establishments in Bulgaria
Conservative parties