President Iliana Iotova, Prime Minister Rumen Radev and political party representatives addressed Bulgarians on the occasion of the 118th anniversary of Bulgaria’s declaration of independence.
Independence Day was declared an official holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria in 1998, while Veliko Tarnovo is the centre of this year’s celebrations.
The great act of statesmanship of 1908 is a responsibility towards the present and the future, President Iliana Iotova wrote. She said September 22, 1908, was a landmark date in the national calendar, reminding Bulgarians that patience, reason, perseverance and joint efforts could achieve a great deal.
Looking back at the words spoken more than a century ago in Tarnovo, there is a message that has not lost its strength today, Iotova said. In the Manifesto, Prince Ferdinand declared that Bulgaria must move forward in its cultural and economic development. Today, Bulgaria should confidently assert itself as a free and equal state, defend its national dignity and shape its own destiny, she added.
On September 22, 1908, Bulgaria’s forefathers proclaimed the country an independent state and returned it to the family of sovereign European states, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. Bulgaria took its destiny into its own hands and did not hesitate to defend its independence during years of trials, against outside interference and in the subsequent wars for national unification, in the name of its future, Radev said.
Independence is the achievement of those worthy of it and requires conscious responsibility, unity and daily efforts to uphold it, the Prime Minister added.
GERB leader Boyko Borissov said independence begins with the free person – free to work, create, undertake and determine their own future. 118 years ago, Bulgaria declared that it would determine its own destiny. It is our responsibility to safeguard this independence every day, Borissov said.
Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan Peevski called on Bulgarians to value and protect freedom and independence in order to continue along a path of development leading to a secure and stable Bulgaria. He said independent Bulgaria had been proclaimed 118 years ago thanks to bold political decisions and a sense of responsibility, turning the country into a free, equal and independent European state.
Yes, Bulgaria co-chair and Democratic Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev said independence required institutions that served citizens and a justice system that delivered fairness. Following the Liberation and the Unification, Bulgaria took the next decisive step towards a full-fledged place among the European states, achieving it through political will, courage and diplomacy. Today, Bulgarians bear the responsibility of defending what was achieved, Mirchev said.
Continue the Change said that defending independence was not something confined to the past but continued today. Independence meant being able to choose one’s own path, not allowing foreign interests, fear or dependencies to determine the country’s future, and having the strength to defend what was best for Bulgaria, the political formation said.
Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said the lesson of September 22 and of Bulgarian independence was that Bulgarians could manage on their own and be independent. He said that today, unfortunately, Bulgarian independence had become more of a symbol than something with real substance that could be felt in everyday life.
Kostadinov also said that the celebration of Independence Day should point to the direction in which Bulgaria should develop, noting that Bulgarian independence had been achieved during a difficult period when the Great Powers were sharply opposed to one another.
Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said in his address on the occasion that to be independent means being able to make your own decisions, but also to take responsibility for their consequences. The ceremony took place at the Bulgaria’s Independence monument on Prince Alexander I Square.
“We are marking the day when Bulgaria declared its independence. Behind that decision was the courage to take responsibility for your own destiny,” Terziev said.
Veliko Tarnovo Mayor Daniel Panov said independence was unity, spirit and proof of the strength of solidarity. It was not merely a historical act, but a responsibility that must be upheld every day, he said in his address marking the anniversary.
Panov said September 22 was a date that Bulgarians remembered and honoured as an act that defined the nation. “118 years ago, the entire Bulgarian people declared loudly: Bulgaria is an independent state,” he said.
Bulgarian Political Leaders Address Citizens on 118th Anniversary of Country’s Independence 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-09-22 10:22:00
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