Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand I was a German prince of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty who became Prince (later Tsar) of Bulgaria in 1887 and reigned until his abdication in 1918. An intelligent, cautious, but ultimately miscalculating ruler, he steered Bulgaria through the Balkan Wars as a member of the victorious Balkan League in 1912-1913, then made the catastrophic decision to attack his former allies Serbia and Greece in the Second Balkan War — a gamble that stripped Bulgaria of most of its gains and left it aggrieved and isolated. In 1915, nursing territorial revanchism over Macedonia, he brought Bulgaria into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. Bulgaria's capitulation in September 1918 prompted his abdication in favour of his son Boris III.
- Lived: 1861 CE – 1948 CE
- Nationality: Bulgarian
- Roles: tsar, monarch
