Maria Zheleva | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Bulgaria | |
| In role 1 August 1990 – 22 January 1997 | |
| President | Zhelyu Zhelev |
| Preceded by | Galia Mladenova |
| Succeeded by | Antonina Stoyanova |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maria Ivanova Marinova 3 April 1942 Grozden, Bulgaria |
| Died | 8 December 2013 (aged 71) Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Maria Ivanova Marinova-Zheleva (Bulgarian: Мария Иванова Маринова-Желева, 3 April 1942 – 8 December 2013), sometimes transliterated as Mariya Zheleva or Mariya Jeleva, was a Bulgarian historian, film editor, film director, and screenwriter who served as the First Lady of Bulgaria from 1990 until 1997. Zheleva was the wife of Zhelyu Zhelev, the first non-Communist President of Bulgaria following the fall of communism in 1989. She remains the second longest serving first lady in Bulgaria's history.[1]