Plevneliev studied at Blagoevgrad Mathematical and Natural Sciences High School, from which he graduated in 1982. In 1989 he graduated from the Higher Mechanical-Electrotechnical Institute, Sofia, and in the same year become a fellow at the Institute for Microprocessing Technology, Pravets. While studying in the university, he was a Komsomol member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. After the political changes, in 1990, Plevneliev started a private building company in Bulgaria. Among other projects, the company built the Sofia Business Park.

Plevneliev became Minister of Regional Development and Public Works under Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov on 27 July 2009. Minister Plevneliev was one of a handful of”reformers”in the government, together with Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov, the Minister of Economy Traicho Traikov and the Minister of Environment Nona Karadzhova.

He was announced as GERB’s candidate for President of Bulgaria on 4 September 2011. He subsequently won the presidential election in a second round held on 30 October 2011, with a majority of 52.58% of the vote. He defeated Ivaylo Kalfin from the Bulgarian Socialist Party in the second round. He took the presidential oath on 19 January 2012 and officially took over from his predecessor Georgi Parvanov on 22 January 2012. Among his priorities are administrative reforms, energy efficiency and energy independence and removing of ambassadors of Bulgaria in foreign countries who have served as secret agents during the Communist regime.

As a result of the 2013 Bulgarian protests against monopoly and high electricity prices, the conservative government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov tendered its resignation on 20 February 2013. President Plevneliev, acting in accordance with the constitution, offered a mandate to form a new government within the term of the current Parliament to GERB, BSP and DPS but after each of them declined, Plevneliev appointed a caretaker government on 13 March 2013, with Marin Raykov, the Bulgarian ambassador in Paris as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 2013, due to the prolonged protests against the involvement of oligarchy in politics and the government, Plevneliev organised the ‘Dialogue with citizens’ initiative, which involved three debates, focused on market economy, the judicial system and media freedom.

By appointing the Bliznashki Government on 6 August 2014, Plevneliev has become the first President of Bulgaria to appoint more than one caretaker government.

In January 2014 the tax authorities launched an investigation on President Rosen Plevneliev and his relatives. This action was perceived as politically motivated assault by the Oresharski Government. Other reformist members of the Boyko Borisov government were also subject to such investigations.

He was married to the journalist Yuliyana Plevnelieva from 2000 until their divorce in 2017; they had three sons: Filip, Asen and Pavel. One of the sons, Filip, died in 2015 at the age of 14. In addition to his native Bulgarian, he speaks English and German fluently.