Todor Barbolov

Todor Ilichov Barbolov (Bulgarian: Тодор Иличов Барболов; born 9 February 1981) is a Bulgarian lawyer and politician, chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Since March 2026 the party he leads has been one of the three mandate-holding members of the coalition "Progressive Bulgaria", formed around former President Rumen Radev for the snap parliamentary election of 19 April 2026.

Barbolov was born on 9 February 1981 in Sofia. He completed his primary education in 1994 at the 172nd "Hristo Botev" School in Novi Iskar, a district on the northern edge of the capital. In 1999 he graduated from the St. Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher National High School of Ancient Languages and Cultures in Sofia. In 2006 he obtained a master's degree in law from the New Bulgarian University, and the following year he passed the state examination before the Ministry of Justice to qualify as a practising lawyer.

The National Assembly building in Sofia. Barbolov has stood as a candidate for this chamber in 2014 and 2023.

Barbolov joined the Social Democratic Party in 1998, at the age of seventeen. He has chaired the party since the 2010s.

At the October 2014 snap parliamentary election, Barbolov stood as a candidate for the National Assembly on the Social Democratic Party list, leading the party's ticket in the 25th Multi-member Constituency of Sofia. In the same campaign he also headed the SDP list in the Silistra constituency, presenting the party as a "classical centrist" formation in need of younger activists.

For the April 2023 snap parliamentary election, the Social Democratic Party joined the coalition "Zaedno" (Together), assembled by former Speaker of the National Assembly Iva Miteva and former MP Lyubomir Karimanski. The constituency committee registered Barbolov as the second candidate on the coalition's list in the 25th Multi-member Constituency of Sofia, behind Karimanski. The coalition failed to cross the 4% threshold and did not enter the 49th National Assembly.

Former President Rumen Radev, around whom the coalition bringing Barbolov to national prominence was formed in 2026.

On 2 March 2026, Barbolov took part in the registration of the coalition "Progressive Bulgaria" at the Central Electoral Commission, signing on behalf of the Social Democratic Party alongside Elena Noneva of the Political Movement Social Democrats and Atanas Kalchev of the Our People Movement. The coalition was co-chaired by former caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev and former Minister of Defence Dimitar Stoyanov, with the three party leaders designated as its mandate-holders for the 19 April 2026 parliamentary election.

• Social Democratic Party (Bulgaria)
• Progressive Bulgaria