Interestingly, the only two presidents who have subsequently become prime ministers are Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev (at least I can’t think of any others). But for them it was a demotion, because unlike Bulgaria, in Russia the post of president gives more power than the post of prime minister.
In the spring of 2024, the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, also wanted to make a jump from the presidency to the prime minister’s chair. He intended to top his party’s list for the parliamentary elections without resigning as president. The country’s constitutional court, however, told him that this was illegal, the president could not engage in party activities.
Plamen Petrov
