Several years ago Bulgaria's new prime minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was shocked to discover that an entrepreneur in his country had to obtain 17 government permits in order to start a business.

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When Bulgaria's Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha took office nearly two years ago, he was shocked to discover that entrepreneurs had to work their way through 17 government bureaus in order to obtain legal permission to start businesses.

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The former King, Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, swept to parliamentary victory in the 2001 election, but never quite settled into the prime minister's chair.

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