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Home / Awards / Path to Peace Award / 2002 THE PATH TO PEACE AWARD RECIPIENTS 2002 - His Excellency Mr. Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha 
Mr. Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1937, the son of King Boris III and Queen Giovanna of Savoia. Upon King Boris III’s sudden death in 1943, the six-year old Simeon acceded to the throne as King Simeon II. Two years later, however, the young King Simeon, his sister, Princess Maria-Luisa, and Queen Giovanna, were forced into exile. They left their homeland and went first to Egypt, and then later settled in Madrid, Spain. In 1996, after fifty years in exile, Simeon II was finally allowed to travel to his beloved country, Bulgaria. Over the decades he had been highly attentive to all developments in his country and with international affairs affecting Bulgaria. Through his broad international contacts with the business community, as well as his own manifold activities, Simeon II actively engaged himself in assisting Bulgarian emigrants throughout the world. In what can only be described as a selfless desire to serve the beloved people of Bulgaria, on April 6 2001, Simeon II proclaimed his wish to return to Bulgaria permanently and to work on behalf of his country, drawing upon his knowledge, experience and worldwide contacts while he was in exile. In his historic address to the Bulgarian nation, Simeon II proclaimed the formation of the National Movement for Simeon II, a non-party political organization intended to attract citizens from all points of the political compass. The stated platform of the Movement in the Parliamentary election was to decisively bring standards of morality and integrity to the political life of the country. Having won a landslide victory for the National Movement on 17 June 2001, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria on 24 July 2001. It is for his unrelenting and selfless service to the people of Bulgaria and to the cause of peace throughout the world, that the Path to Peace Foundation bestows upon Mr. Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha the 2002 Path to Peace Award.
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