FACTBOX: Who is Bulgaria's Boiko Borisov?

(Reuters) - The right-wing opposition GERB party of Sofia mayor Boiko Borisov, 50, looked set to form Bulgaria's next government after exit polls showed it winning a national election on Sunday.

Borisov, 50, is likely to be the Balkan country's next prime minister.

Here are some facts on Borisov:

POLITICAL ROLES

-- A former firefighter and bodyguard to dignitaries such as late Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov and ex-king Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Borisov was appointed to the powerful position of chief secretary in the interior ministry after Saxe-Coburg's party came to power in 2001.

-- He resigned from the post in 2005 over conflicts with the ruling Socialists' interior minister at the time, and later in the year won local elections in the capital Sofia.

-- A year later, straight-talking Borisov established the rightist GERB party to fight what he called a corrupt and failed political elite.

LIFE DETAILS

-- Borisov was born on June 13, 1959. His father was a firefighter and his mother a kindergarten teacher in Bankya, a small spa town near Sofia. His grandfather, a mayor of Bankya, was killed by the Communists in 1944, when they took power. -- Borisov left the police after the communist government collapsed in 1989 and set up a private security company two years later.

-- Nicknamed Batman after the fictional superhero due to his zeal for action, Borisov has won the hearts of many Bulgarians for his "macho" style and street language.

-- Borisov has a black belt in karate and is a fervent tennis and soccer player.

-- He divorced in 1988 and has made public appearances with his long-time girlfriend, a banker, since. He has one daughter.

(Compiled by the Sofia bureau)