From a very young age he joined the Austrian army. He was a great expert on botanical subjects, an activity he was engaged in when he was called to the Bulgarian throne in 1887, after the abdication, the previous year, of Alexander of Battenberg. On July 7, 1887, he was proclaimed King of Bulgaria by the Assembly meeting in the city of Tirnovo. Although the royal election was not recognized by the European powers – and especially by Russia – Ferdinand I settled in Bulgaria, adopting a cautious posture of respect for the government formed by the dictator Stambulov. In 1891, despite manifest opposition from Russia, Ferdinand I was recognized by Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Turkey.

In 1893 he married the Catholic princess Maria Luisa of Borbon-Parma, which further upset him with Orthodox Russia. Thanks to the support of a large part of the Bulgarian bourgeoisie and that of the European powers, Ferdinand I was able to feel more secure on the throne, which allowed him to dissolve the Stambulov government to form a new cabinet, at the head of which he put Stoilov, in the year 1894, manifestly Russophile. After amnesty to all those in favor of a policy of rapprochement with Russia, Ferdinand I converted to the Orthodox religion, as well as his son and his successor, Prince Boris; the first consequence of this was the definitive recognition of Russia towards his government. Fernando I made a fruitful diplomatic trip to France, where he signed with that country several commercial treaties and a peace and collaboration pact.

Accepted by all the European powers and taking advantage of the manifest decomposition and weakness of the Ottoman Empire, Ferdinand I declared the independence of Bulgaria, subsequently proclaiming himself Tsar of Bulgaria, in 1908, after having annexed, by means of arms, the region of Bosnia Herzegovina. Ferdinand I implemented an ambitious political program that resulted in the creation of the Balkan League, in 1912, made up of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, with the undisputed leadership of Bulgaria. Ferdinand I pursued the creation of what he himself called “Greater Bulgaria”. The political success of the League came with the overwhelming victory over the Turks, which occurred in the same year. Russia’s protection of the success came with its overwhelming of Berlin and Vienna, so they encouraged and supported Ferdinand I in his progressive action of expansion through the Balkans as long as he changed his policy of alliances with Russia. This circumstance greatly deteriorated Bulgaria’s relations with Serbia and Russia, which crystallized in Bulgaria’s attack on Serbia and Greece the following year, and also caused the Second Balkan War (see Balkan Wars), in which Bulgaria was defeated and humiliated.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Fernando I maintained a neutral attitude during the first year of the conflict. But, after weighing the possibilities that each side had, he signed a treaty with Turkey and entered the conflict fully defending the interests of the central powers (Austria, Germany and Turkey), in 1915, for which the same fate followed than these. On October 4, 1918, after the signing of the Treaty of Nevilly, Ferdinand I was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Boris III. Retired to his Coburg possessions, he died in 1948.

The figure shows Ferdinand I reviewing the troops after the huge victory over the Turks in 1912. He is wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant General in summer. He wears the Grand Cross of St. Stephen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the sash of the Grand Cross of Military Merit Order of Bulgaria.