Bulgarian President Bids Farewell to Army as Commander-in-Chief

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov commanded the Army Valor Day parade for the last time; the Bulgarian government, including PM Borisov, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are in the background. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, who is in the last year of his second term, has used the occasion of celebrating Army Valor Day, May 6, to bid farewell to the armed forces in his capacity as commander-in-chief.

"On this last Army Valor Day parade as the commander-in-chief, I want to address you, dear generals, officers, sergeants, and soldiers. It was an honor for me – not by the statutes but from my heart – I bow to you," Parvanov stated at the parade in downtown Sofia for May 6, which is also St. George's Day or Gergyovden.

The parade was also attended by the entire Bulgarian state leadership including Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva, and Defense Minister Anyu Angelov. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the special guest of the Bulgarian Army parade.

Parvanov did use the occasion of addressing the military to reiterate his thesis about the definition of the functions of the Bulgarian armed forces, as in the recent months he has been in a virtual war with Defense Minister Angelov, accusing him of creating an "army for exports", i.e. that is only suited to carry out missions abroad.

"I want to state that I have been in favor of viewing the armed forces as the No. 1 guarantee of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bulgaria. I want to wish my successor to have the same vision, and to be even more assertive that I have been that the Bulgarian Army is capable of guaranteeing the military security of the country, especially given the growing challenges recently," the President declared.

He thanked the military for the reforms carried out in the past 10 years, which, among other things, included the achievement of Bulgaria strategic goal – NATO accession back in 2004.

"I want to thank all of you, including those who are no longer in the ranks. I believe that history will preserve the memory of their deeds. I want to apologize to those who were dismissed during these years. Because I know that in addition to all hardship they also harbor a lot of personal bitterness in their hearts," Parvanov said.

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