June 17, 2001: Simeon II, the last Tsar of Bulgaria, is elected that country's Prime Minister. He becomes the 1st former monarch in the world to become his homeland’s elected leader.
Note: Like the former German title "Kaiser," the Slavic title "Czar" or "Tsar" comes from the Roman title "Caesar." Since the Bulgarian language, like Russian, uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and the title is usually written in the Roman alphabet as "Tsar," I'm using that spelling in this article.
Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born on June 16, 1937, at Princess Clementine Hospital, in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. He was the son of Tsar Boris III, who died on August 28, 1943, when Simeon was 6 years old. On September 15, 1946, when he was 9, the monarchy was abolished by Bulgaria's Communist Party.
The next day, September, the royal family was exiled. They first went to Alexandria, Egypt, because the boy king's mother, Queen Giovanna, was a daughter of the exiled King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. The family was granted asylum by Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain in 1951.
Simeon eventually went to school in America, and worked for a French electronics company. In 1962, he married a Spanish aristocrat, Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, a granddaughter of the 3rd Marquess of Cortina. They had 4 sons and a daughter, all of whom married Spaniards.
In 1990, after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, the new government issued Simeon a Bulgarian passport. In 1996, 50 years after the abolition of the monarchy, he returned to Bulgaria, and was met in many places by crowds of approval.
In 2001, Simeon announced he would return to Bulgaria to form a new political party, the National Movement Simeon II, dedicated to "reforms and political integrity." His party won the next election. He took an oath to preserve the country's republican constitution, served as Prime Minister for 4 years, never lifted a finger to restore the monarchy, and gave up power willingly when he lost the next election.
As of June 17, 2022, Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria is the only living person to have held the title "Tsar" (or "Czar"). He is a 4th cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. Their common ancestor is Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, grandfather of Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert.
Simeon has outlived his eldest son, Prince Kardam. Therefore, the heir to the pretense of the Bulgarian throne is Kardam's oldest son, Boris, Prince of Tarnovo, Duke in Saxony. He would be styled Tsar Boris IV, if anyone cares.
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June 17, 2001 was a Sunday. Football was out of season. Basketball season ended 2 days earlier, when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, to win the NBA Championship. Hockey season ended 6 days before that, when the Colorado Rockies beat the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
And these Major League Baseball games were played, most of them Interleague local rivalries:
* The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees, 8-7 at Shea Stadium. The Yankees led 7-2 going into the bottom of the 8th, but an error by Derek Jeter off a ground ball by Robin Ventura starts an inning in which the Mets scored 6 runs off Randy Choate and Carlos Almánzar, capped by a home run off Mike Piazza. Turk Wendell was the winning pitcher. Bernie Williams had hit a home run for the Yankees.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. In his last season as a player, his streak long over, Cal Ripken did not play.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-4 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Todd Ritchie pitched a 4-hit shutout.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Enron Field (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-9 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Rickey Henderson appeared as a pinch-runner. Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI. Tony Gwynn, in his final season, did not play.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-0 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Kirk Reuter pitched 6 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed a 5-hit shutout. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-4 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
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