Elena Noneva
Bulgarian politician (born 1964)
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Elena Margaritova Noneva (Bulgarian: Елена Маргаритова Нонева; born 12 October 1964) is a Bulgarian lawyer and politician who has served as chairwoman of the Political Movement Social Democrats (PDS) since 2014.[1][2] She has led the party through a series of shifting coalition alignments, first with the centre-right reformist We Continue the Change of Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev in 2021, later with the left-wing BSP-led "BSP – United Left" alliance, and since March 2026 with "Progressive Bulgaria", the coalition formed around former President Rumen Radev for the snap parliamentary election of 19 April 2026.[3][4]
12 October 1964
affiliations
Elena Noneva | |
|---|---|
Елена Нонева | |
| Chairwoman of the Political Movement Social Democrats | |
| Assumed office 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Nikolay Kamov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elena Margaritova Noneva 12 October 1964 |
| Party | Political Movement Social Democrats |
Other political affiliations | Progressive Bulgaria (coalition, since 2026) |
| Angel Kanchev University of Ruse | |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Early life and education
Noneva was born on 12 October 1964 in the village of Razhena in Kazanlak Municipality, Stara Zagora Province.[5] She trained as a pre-school teacher at the Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers in Stara Zagora, and in 2002 she graduated with a degree in law from the Angel Kanchev University of Ruse.[5]
She has practised as a lawyer at the Stara Zagora Bar Association since 2001.[6]
Political career
Rise within Political Movement Social Democrats
The Political Movement Social Democrats (PDS) was registered on 19 July 2000 by Nikolay Kamov and other former BSP and Euroleft figures.[7] Noneva joined the movement shortly after its foundation and in 2005 became chair of its municipal and regional organisation in Stara Zagora. In 2008 she was elected chair of the party's National Council, a post she held until 2014, when she succeeded Kamov as chair of the party.[1] She was re-elected at the Tenth National Reporting and Electoral Conference of the PDS held on 24 February 2024.[2]
Local politics in Stara Zagora
At the 2023 local elections, Noneva headed the list of candidates for the Stara Zagora Municipal Council fielded by the local coalition "Neutral Bulgaria", which grouped the PDS together with the Russophiles for the Revival of Bulgaria and other small formations.[8]
We Continue the Change (2021)
In the run-up to the November 2021 parliamentary election, the PDS lent its registration to the newly formed political project of the former caretaker economy and finance ministers Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, allowing them to run as We Continue the Change (PP). Noneva thus became one of PP's mandate-holders at its first election, at which the movement finished first in the national vote.[6] The alliance proved short-lived, and by the following year the PDS had parted ways with PP over disagreements about the party's direction.[4]
2022 parliamentary election
At the October 2022 snap parliamentary election, Noneva stood as a candidate for the National Assembly as part of the "Fair Bulgaria" coalition, to which the PDS contributed its registration. She headed the coalition's lists in both the 18th Multi-member Constituency of Razgrad[9] and the 27th Multi-member Constituency of Stara Zagora.[10] The coalition did not cross the 4% threshold and did not enter parliament.
BSP – United Left and departure (2024–2025)
For the October 2024 parliamentary election, the PDS ran as part of the Bulgarian Socialist Party-led alliance "BSP – United Left". The movement left the alliance in October 2025, citing what it described as the BSP leadership's allegedly excessive accommodation with Delyan Peevski in the aftermath of municipal elections in Pazardzhik; Noneva's PDS also argued that it was not meaningfully involved in governing the country despite being part of a parliamentary coalition.[5][11]
Progressive Bulgaria (2026)
On 2 March 2026, Noneva took part in the registration of the coalition "Progressive Bulgaria" at the Central Electoral Commission, signing on behalf of the Political Movement Social Democrats alongside Todor Barbolov of the Social Democratic Party and Atanas Kalchev of the Our People Movement. The coalition was announced as co-chaired by former caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev and former Minister of Defence Dimitar Stoyanov, and all three party leaders were designated mandate-holders for the 19 April 2026 election.[3][12][13]