Rotary Bulgaria
There are 85 Rotary clubs in Bulgaria with over 2,332 Rotarians in almost all major cities.
In April 22, 1933, Sofia lawyer, publicist and politician, Dr. NP Nikolaev. together with Dr. Nedkov, Petko Boyadjiev, Eng. Kadiiski, journalist Veliko Hristov and 16 other enthusiasts signed the protocol for the establishment of the first Rotary club in Bulgaria. In May 1933 the telegram was issued by Rotary International European Commissioner, Dr. Potar, in which Sofia Rotarians were informed that on the same month the club was unanimously accepted as a member of Rotary International. In November 1933, the club was officially awarded the charter certificate.
In 1936, Rotary Club Sofia is a respected organization, including in its ranks the color of Sofia intellectuals, entrepreneurs, financiers, scientists. The Sofia Club started working in the creation of clubs in other cities of the country – the first one was in Varna, in 1935 followed by Rousse, Bourgas, Pleven, G. Oryahovitsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv. The clubs were obviously very active and the success of the Rotarian movement in Bulgaria was remarkable, because on February 20, 1939 RI Secretary Chesley Perry informed the President of RC Sofia that a Rotary District Bulgaria was established on July 1, with No 86).
The first elected district governor was Eng. Luben Bozhkov (at the Rotarian Conference in March 1940).
In the beginning of 1940, the issue of Rotary in Bulgaria was published in Bulgarian.
In 1940, Nazi Protection Law was adopted under Nazi Germany’s unspoken pressure, in Section I of which the Rotary Club was included in the list of prohibited organizations.
Following the Communist dictatorship and the beginning of the democratic processes in Bulgaria, actions for the revival of Rotarianism in Bulgaria began.
Calcho Hinov, after his return to Bulgaria, with a small group of friends began to discuss the idea of rebuilding the club in Sofia.
Meanwhile, Racho Kosov – one of the founders of the Rotary Club Varna since 1935 and a member of the Rotary Club Sofia since 1940, has contacted the office of Rotary International Zurich where from March 1990 he received information about the steps to be taken for recovery.
At the same time another group led by Simeon Kondov, who carried the idea of Rotary from Caracas (Venezuela) in 1989, started to work.
In January 1990, Calcho Hinov, Simeon Kondov and Stefan Stoyanov set up an initiative committee to set up a Rotary club in Sofia and began a correspondence with the Zurich office. They include Dimitar Stefanov, Stefan Dragostinov, Todor Kolev and the successors of the first club Racho Kosov and Tsvyatko Kadijski (son of one of the founding members of the Rotary Club Sofia from 1933).
On 10 October 1991 Rotary Club Sofia was chartered by Rotary International.