The President is the head of state and directly elected on the same ballot as the Vice-President by the populace for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The President is also the supreme chief of the armed forces, presides over the National Security Council and is responsible for appointing and dismissing high ranking military officials as well as chiefs of Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Bulgaria. The current President is Georgi Purvanov, a member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. He and Vice-President Angel Marin were elected in November 2001 and re-elected in 2006. For the first time since the start of the transition period a presidential candidate won two terms in office. Georgi Purvanov, claiming to be 'president of all Bulgarians' defeated convincingly in the second round of presidential elections his opposition in the face of ultra-nationalist Volen Siderov.

The Prime Minister is the head of government, or chairperson of the Council of Ministers, the highest level of the Executive Branch. The PM is nominated by the majority parliamentary group and then charged by the President to form a Cabinet.
The current Prime Minister is  Sergei Stanishev. The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) won a difficult victory in the 2005 parliamentary elections. Stanishev, 39, was selected as Prime Minister, after the BSP joined a coaition with the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF).

The Council of Ministers is then elected by the National Assembly, and remains under its direct control and must answer to its questioning. It serves to implement foreign and domestic policy, looks after public order and national security as well as the military, and also draws up and presents the state budget.