Tsonko Tsonev
Encyclopedia
Tsonko Zdravkov Tsonev (born 3 June 1967) is the current mayor of Kavarna
, a town on the Black Sea
coast of Dobrich Province
, Bulgaria
. An avid hard rock
and heavy metal
fan, Tsonev is notable for turning Kavarna into the "rock capital of Bulgaria",http://www.beachbulgaria.com/kavarna/articles/kavarna_en.html regularly organizing major rock concerts in the town. For his contributions to Kavarna and Bulgaria, he was named the 2005 Man of the Year by the Club M magazine. http://avtora.com/news/nowini/kmetut_na_obshtina_kawarna_stana_muzh_na_godinata_ Also, as of 2005, he is the owner of the Bulgarian B PFG football club PFC Kaliakra Kavarna
.
Born in the town, Tsonev finished the Mathematical High School in Dobrich
and then studied Law
at Sofia University
. He got acquainted with rock music in the 1970s while accompanying his mother in Slovakia
, Poland
, the Czech Republic
and Hungary
. In 1994–1995, Tsonev, a trained man of law, was the legal adviser of Kavarna municipality and then served one term as a member of the town council, until 1999. During his time as a mayor, Tsonev has not only brought bands like Heaven and Hell
, Manowar, Deep Purple
and Motörhead to the small Bulgarian resort town, but he has also radically reduced unemployment and has taken an active part in the development of the region's culture and infrastructure.http://a3.stalker.bg/10012006/page_8.htm
Tsonev was initially a member of the Union of Democratic Forces
, but confesses not to be a slave to partisan interests; he was expelled from the party for anti-statute behaviour. In 2006, he joined Boyko Borisov
's GERB
.http://www.ndt1.com/article.php/20060405162035715 Tsonev is jokingly referred to as the Kmetal (Cyrillic
: кметъл; in Bulgarian, a portmanteau of kmet, "mayor" and metal), a nickname he has embraced himself.http://more.info.bg/article.asp?topicID=173&issueID=1947
Kavarna
Kavarna is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies 64 km northeast of Varna and 49 km from Dobrich on the international road E87. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 11,397 inhabitants. A little yacht port, a...
, a town on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast of Dobrich Province
Dobrich Province
Dobrich Province is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is divided into 8 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 199,705 inhabitants.-Municipalities:...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. An avid hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
fan, Tsonev is notable for turning Kavarna into the "rock capital of Bulgaria",http://www.beachbulgaria.com/kavarna/articles/kavarna_en.html regularly organizing major rock concerts in the town. For his contributions to Kavarna and Bulgaria, he was named the 2005 Man of the Year by the Club M magazine. http://avtora.com/news/nowini/kmetut_na_obshtina_kawarna_stana_muzh_na_godinata_ Also, as of 2005, he is the owner of the Bulgarian B PFG football club PFC Kaliakra Kavarna
PFC Kaliakra Kavarna
PFC Kaliakra Kavarna is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Kavarna, which currently participates in the A PFG, the top division of Bulgarian football. Founded in 1922 as Kaliakra Sport Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur football before making a rapid ascent to the...
.
Born in the town, Tsonev finished the Mathematical High School in Dobrich
Dobrich
Dobrich is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province. With 91,030 inhabitants, as of February 2011, Dobrich is the ninth most populated town in Bulgaria, being the centre of the historical region of Southern Dobruja...
and then studied Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
. He got acquainted with rock music in the 1970s while accompanying his mother in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In 1994–1995, Tsonev, a trained man of law, was the legal adviser of Kavarna municipality and then served one term as a member of the town council, until 1999. During his time as a mayor, Tsonev has not only brought bands like Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell (band)
Heaven & Hell were an English and American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010. The band was a collaboration featuring Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler along with former members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice....
, Manowar, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and Motörhead to the small Bulgarian resort town, but he has also radically reduced unemployment and has taken an active part in the development of the region's culture and infrastructure.http://a3.stalker.bg/10012006/page_8.htm
Tsonev was initially a member of the Union of Democratic Forces
Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgaria)
The Union of Democratic Forces is a political party in Bulgaria, founded in 1989 as a union of several political organizations in opposition to the communist government. In February 1997 the Union was transformed into a single unified party with the same name...
, but confesses not to be a slave to partisan interests; he was expelled from the party for anti-statute behaviour. In 2006, he joined Boyko Borisov
Boyko Borisov
Boyko Metodiev Borisov is a Bulgarian politician who has been Prime Minister of Bulgaria since July 2009. Previously he was Mayor of Sofia from 8 November 2005 until his election as Prime Minister....
's GERB
Gerb
A gerb is a type of firework which produces a jet of sparks, usually lasting between 15 and 60 seconds. It is a thick-walled tube filled with pyrotechnic composition and possessing a choke, which is a narrowing in the tube...
.http://www.ndt1.com/article.php/20060405162035715 Tsonev is jokingly referred to as the Kmetal (Cyrillic
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
: кметъл; in Bulgarian, a portmanteau of kmet, "mayor" and metal), a nickname he has embraced himself.http://more.info.bg/article.asp?topicID=173&issueID=1947