Sergei STANISHEV
S&D Member of the European Parliament elected in 2014
President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) since November 2011
Prime Minister of Bulgaria 2005 – 2009
Chairman of the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) 2001 – 2014
In 1996 Sergei STANISHEV became Head of the foreign policy and international relations
department of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. In 2001 he was elected Member of the Bulgarian
Parliament. Since December 2001 he has been Chairman of the National Council of the
Bulgarian Socialist Party. He was re-elected as Party Chair in 2002, 2005 and 2009. From
2002 to 2009 he was a member of the PES Presidency. During his term as Prime Minister
Bulgaria became a member of the European Union. From 2009 to 2014 he was a Member of
Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Coalition for Bulgaria.
Sergei STANISHEV was born on 5 May 1966 in Kherson, Soviet Union (now Ukraine). He holds
a PhD in History from the Moscow State University. He was a visiting fellow in International
Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to his political
career he worked as a journalist. Married with two children, he speaks English and Russian.