NEWS

For the first time, the Presidency opened its doors to the public

For the first time, the President's Administration today opened its doors to citizens, and the first visitors were greeted personally by President Rosen Plevneliev.

Until 4pm today, in front of the Coat of Arms Hall in the Presidency, visitors can see the original battle flags of the Bulgarian Army - from 1881, from the 1920s and 1937. This is the first time that these exhibits are on display at a venue other than the National Museum of Military History. On display in the Coat of Arms Hall are medals and decorations awarded by the Presidency to prominent Bulgarian and foreign public figures and politicians.

Citizens are able to visit the offices of the President and Vice President and the boardrooms where the President conducts business and official meetings.

“Trust is built over years, but communication with society is changing rapidly, and that means opening the doors,” President Rosen Plevneliev told the media. He said that he would seek to change the rules for awarding high state honours. The pilots in Kroumovo who participated in rescue efforts after the floods in the country in February were the first that he had given state awards, the President said. “I think that it was a very good sign. The president just does not shut himself in the Coat of Arms hall to give orders and medals, he can do so all over the country,” President Plevneliev said. “Orders in Bulgaria do not need to match inflation. You should not give too many, so that their importance does not lose its meaning, but on the contrary, they must honour the people who really deserve them, and exemplify behaviour worthy of future generations,” the President said.

Open Day will be a regular initiative by the Presidency. “I want first of all citizens to recognise it as their own institution, to realise that they are welcome here and that they can count on being heard,” President Plevneliev said.