| Native name | Десислава Радева |
|---|---|
| Office | Spouse of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria |
| Status | Current |
| Term label | Assumed role |
| Term start | 8 May 2026 |
| Prime minister | Rumen Radev |
| Predecessor | Pavlina Andreeva (caretaker) (2025) |
| Office 1 | First Lady of Bulgaria |
| Term label 1 | In role |
| Term start 1 | 22 January 2017 |
| Term end 1 | 23 January 2026 |
| President 1 | Rumen Radev |
| Predecessor 1 | Yuliyana Plevnelieva |
| Successor 1 | Andrey Yotov (as First Gentleman) |
| Birth name | Desislava Kirilova Gencheva |
| Birth date | 9 July 1969 (age 57) |
| Birth place | Burgas, PR Bulgaria |
| Spouse |
|
| Alma mater | University of National and World Economy University of Forestry, Sofia |
Desislava Kirilova Radeva[a] (;[b] born 9 July 1969) is a Bulgarian public figure who served as the First Lady of Bulgaria from 2017 to 2026 as the wife of President Rumen Radev.
Early life and career
Born Desislava Gencheva in Burgas on 9 July 1969, she studied at the Geo Milev English Language School for secondary school before going on to the University of National and World Economy in Finance and Credit. She also studied at the University of Forestry, Sofia.[1] In her student years, she worked as an assistant to the Minister of Agriculture Rumen Hristov. She continued her career as an office manager in TV shows such as Kanaleto and Hushove. She was subsequently responsible for public relations at the Bulgarian Music Company. Later, she became an assistant to the general manager of Heineken in Bulgaria. She took an active part in the 2016 Bulgarian presidential election, campaigning for her then partner Rumen Radev. In 2017, she founded a non-profit association called the "Living Water of Bulgaria", which carries out activities in the public interest.[2][3][4]
Personal life
Radeva married her husband in 2016. She was previously married to Georgi Svilenski, a Bulgarian engineer and member of the National Assembly from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). She has one son from her 13-year marriage to Svilenski. Besides her native Bulgarian language, she is also fluent in English and Russian. She is a Bulgarian Orthodox.
Honour
Foreign honour
- Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (17 April 2024)
- Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (30 January 2019)
References
- ^ "Татяна Кристи: Деси Радева да си покаже дипломите | Мрежата". Tribune.bg. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ "Бива ли Десислава Радева да пише такива неща?". amp.dw.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ "Как се промени стилът на първата дама Десислава Радева за две години (СНИМКИ)". DarikNews.bg. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ "Българските традиции | Bulgaria | Живата вода на България". zhivatavoda.bg. Retrieved 2019-05-25.