Vezhdi Rashidov

Vezhdi Letif Rashidov was born on 14 December 1951 in Dimitrovgrad. His parents were ethnic Turks. At age two the family moved to Haskovo. His mother, folk singer Kadrie Lyatifova, died in a car crash while he was in primary school. His father Lyatif worked as a miner in Madan; an uncle, Ruzhdi, also a miner, died of cancer at 36. Until seventh grade he lived at the orphanage in Studen Kladenets near Kardzhali. After failing the Fine Arts School entrance exam he studied mining electrics and mechanics in Madan for a year, then entered the Iliya Petrov school in Sofia.

He graduated from the Iliya Petrov National School of Fine Arts in Sofia in 1970. In 1978 he completed a degree in sculpture at the National Academy of Art (then the Higher Institute of Fine Arts Nikolai Pavlovich) under Professor Dimitar Daskalov. From 1981 to 1990 he taught at the Academy. He later received an honorary doctorate from the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (2006) and was named an honorary professor there in 2018.

From 1978 Rashidov took part in national exhibitions and international biennials and symposia in Burgas, Oronsko, Ravenna, Gabrovo, Basel and elsewhere. Solo shows included UNESCO Paris (1989), Tokyo (1992) and the Oscar Wilde Museum in Dublin (2006). He worked mainly in sculpture, especially bronze, and also showed drawings and watercolours. Collections holding his work include the Uffizi, the Pushkin Museum and the Israel Museum. He designed widely seen Bulgarian prize statuettes. In 2021 he opened Vejdi Gallery in Sofia. In May 2025 he presented bronze masks and drawings dedicated to Beethoven.

An outspoken critic of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms despite his Turkish background, he entered politics with GERB. In July 2009 he won a Kardzhali seat as list leader, breaking a long MRF hold. He served as Minister of Culture in Boyko Borissov's first cabinet (2009-2013) and again in the second (2014-2017). He was an MP in seven National Assemblies. On 21 October 2022 he was elected Chair of the 48th National Assembly after two failed Speaker votes, serving until 3 February 2023. He left GERB and Parliament in August-September 2023 after a public scandal over remarks about protesters.

Rashidov was married to Dr Snezhana Baharova (reported married 2006). They had a son, Vadim Rashidov. He kept strong ties to Kardzhali, Dimitrovgrad and Madan, which later named him an honorary citizen. After leaving politics he focused on Vejdi Gallery and studio work in Sofia.

He argued repeatedly that culture deserved a larger share of public spending and that Bulgarian institutions had to be defended as a matter of statehood. He criticised both the MRF leadership and, at times, partners inside GERB. Interviews late in life stressed generational change in politics and the need for older figures to make room. In 2026 he backed Iliyana Yotova's presidential candidacy as a member of her initiative committee and said he had voted for her.

In November 2001 a parking dispute outside Sofia City Hall led to a fight in which a police officer suffered a broken nose; Rashidov and another councillor were briefly arrested, and prosecutors later dropped the case. As minister he faced criticism over Bulgarian funding of a Louvre Thracian treasures show and over awarding a Golden Age honour to a former State Security official. A 2016 open letter attacking a journalist brought resignation demands he rejected. In August 2023 a crude overheard remark about women protesting domestic violence forced his exit from the culture committee, GERB and Parliament.

Major honours included the Vatican Dante Alighieri Gold Medal (1981), first prize at Gabrovo's humour and satire biennial (1983), the European Academy of Arts honorary gold medal (1985), silver medal at the Gdansk portrait triennial (1987), the Union of Bulgarian Artists Marko Markov sculpture prize (1989), the VERA sculpture grand prize in Moscow (2009), Call'Art Venice grand prix (2013), the Order of Stara Planina, Austria's Golden Cross of St Leopold (2016), and corresponding membership of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2004). He was an honorary citizen of Sofia, Dimitrovgrad, Kardzhali, Madan, Pravets and Dulovo.

Rashidov linked studio practice to high office more tightly than most Bulgarian artists of his generation. His prize designs and public bronzes remain in everyday cultural life, while Vejdi Gallery continues as a named home for his work. As Culture Minister and later as Speaker he was a consensus and conflict figure at once: valued by GERB allies for loyalty and visibility, and criticised for blunt language and contested decisions. Tributes on 6 November 2026 stressed the sculptor as much as the minister.

On 6 November 2026 people close to Rashidov told BTA he had died after a short illness. His family confirmed to NOVA that he suffered a heart attack early that morning. He was 74. Coverage placed the death in the Sofia area, where he kept Vejdi Gallery. Parliament held a minute of silence. Boyko Borissov, Lili Ivanova and many others published tributes.