Born in Sozopol to a family of Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace (now part of Turkey), he was given access to the Vatican Secret Archives in the 1980s, regarded as a great achievement considered the political situation of the time. As the director of the National Historical Museum, he had an indirect conflict in 1997–1998 with the President Petar Stoyanov regarding whether to return the Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya rough copy to the Zograf Monastery or leave it in Bulgaria.
Being a member of the Supreme Party Council of BSP, he declared himself openly against the party in 2005 by not supporting BSP Mayor of Sofia candidate Tatyana Doncheva and instead favouring the independent Boyko Borisov. Because of this he was taken down from the post of BSP municipal councillors leader in Sofia. Before the 2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election, Dimitrov formally left BSP and joined Borisov's GERB. He was the party's candidate for 2nd MMC – Burgas in the first-past-the-post vote and won the election with 35.92%. He finished ahead of Volen Siderov, the leader of the nationalist Attaka.[2]
Dimitrov is the author of 30 treatises and over 250 articles and papers in the sphere of his research, as well as several books (including The Ten Lies of Macedonism and Twelve Myths in Bulgarian History). He has specialized in palaeography in Paris and also hosts the patriotic history-related Pamet Balgarska (Bulgarian Memory) show on Kanal 1.
Dimitrov believes that the Bulgars played a more important role in the formation of the contemporary Bulgarians as a people than previously believed.[citation needed]
Although serious researchers maintain that Dimitrov’s views on Bulgarian history are biased and can be partially challenged, they are popular in Bulgaria and he enjoys credibility among nationalist intellectuals.[3][4][5][6][when?] Dimitrov was a collaborator of Bulgaria's communist-era security service.[7][8]
Bozhidar Dimitrov's book, The Ten Lies of Macedonism (2000, 2003 and 2007), is a polemical pamphlet, based on historical documents, and is openly against the ideology of "Macedonism", i.e. the form of ethnic Macedonian nationalism that asserts an "allegedly deep-rooted ethnic and cultural distinction" between ethnic Macedonians and Bulgarians. The book has caused considerable controversy and criticism from ethnic Macedonian sources.[citation needed] Dimitrov claims that it has reached best-seller status in the Republic of Macedonia.[9] The "10 lies" described by Dimitrov are:
Bozhidar Dimitrov. The True History of Liberation 1860–1878. Sofia: Standart News Ltd., 2010. 183 pp. ISBN978-954-92377-9-5 (First edition in 2006, ISBN978-954-91652-5-8.) (in Bulgarian)
Bozhidar Dimitrov. Macedonia – Holy Bulgarian Land: Who Are the Successors of Alexander the Great and Roxana? Sofia: Kom Foundation, 2007. 80 pp. ISBN978-954-8745-06-2(in Bulgarian)
Bozhidar Dimitrov. Seven Ancient Civilizations in Bulgaria: With Maps & Color Illustrations. Sofia: Kom Foundation, 2006. 112 pp. ISBN978-954-9464-07-8
Bozhidar Dimitrov. 12 Myths in Bulgarian History. Sofia, Kom Foundation, 2005. 148 pp. ISBN978-954-91652-1-0(in Bulgarian)
Bozhidar Dimitrov. Bulgarians: The First Europeans. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridsky University Press, 2002. 108 pp. ISBN978-954-07-1758-6
Bozhidar Dimitrov. Bulgaria and the Vatican. Sofia: Bulgarian Diplomatic Review, 2002. 56 pp. ISBN978-954-91062-4-4
Bozhidar Dimitrov. The Bulgars and Alexander of Macedon. Sofia: Tangra Publishers, 2001. 138 pp. ISBN954-9942-29-5(in Bulgarian)
Bozhidar Dimitrov. Venetian Documents on Bulgarian History During the 16th and 17th Century. Sofia: Borina Ltd., 1994. ISBN978-954-500-036-2(in Bulgarian)
^Modernity and tradition: European and national in Bulgaria, Marko Hajdinjak, Maya Kosseva, Antonina Zhelyazkova, International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations, Sofia, ISBN978-954-8872-70-6, 2012.
^Europe and the Historical Legacies in the Balkans, Raymond Detrez, Barbara Segaert, Peter Lang, 2008, ISBN9052013748, p. 10.
^Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities, Stefanos Katsikas, Anthem Press, 2011, ISBN0857284193, p. 170.
^De Palerme À Penang, François Ruegg, Andrea Boscoboinik, Christian Giordano, LIT Verlag Münster, 2010, ISBN3643800622, p. 184.