Petar Mladenov
Petar Mladenov | |
---|---|
Петър Младенов | |
Foreign Minister of Bulgaria | |
In office 13 December 1971 – 24 October 1989 | |
President | Todor Zhivkov |
Preceded by | Ivan Hristov Bashev |
Succeeded by | Boiko Dimitrov |
Personal details | |
Born | Toshevtsi, Vidin Province, Kingdom of Bulgaria | 22 August 1936
Died | 31 May 2000 Sofia, Bulgaria | (aged 63)
Political party | BCP (1963–1990) BSP (1990–2000) |
Spouse | Galia Mladenova |
Children | Tatyana |
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Petar Toshev Mladenov (
Early life and education
Mladenov was born to a peasant family in the village of
Career
Mladenov served as the first secretary of the party's committee in
Role in Zhivkov's overthrow
During the 1980s, he became attracted to Mikhail Gorbachev's reform efforts. He saw a chance to change Bulgaria's image as one of the most unreformed countries in the Eastern Bloc. In May 1989, Zhivkov ordered the expulsion of most of Bulgaria's ethnic Turks. This brought near-unanimous international condemnation. Mladenov, who had had to field most of the international complaints, was particularly upset because the expulsion violated an international human rights accord he'd signed four months earlier.[2]
Several other top officials, including Defense Minister Dobri Dzhurov, Premier Georgi Atanasov and Finance Minister Andrey Lukanov, were also upset with Zhivkov over the expulsion. Along with Mladenov, they began plotting to overthrow Zhivkov. Although Lukanov did most of the organizational work, it was decided that Mladenov would be the new party leader. At the yearly Warsaw Pact summit, he met with Mikhail Gorbachev and got his tacit support for removing Zhivkov.[3]
In October 1989, Mladenov organized a 35-nation environmental conference and invited the Bulgarian
On 24 October, Mladenov resigned as foreign minister. His resignation letter was a scathing condemnation of Zhivkov's way of ruling the country. Suspecting that Zhivkov might try to kill him, he sent a copy of the letter to the entire Politburo, as well as to Gorbachev. On 9 November, just after he returned from a trip to China, Mladenov and his colleagues persuaded Zhivkov to resign (under threat of execution), which he did the next day.[3] Mladenov was then elected to Zhivkov's old posts as general secretary of the party and chairman of the State Council. The latter post was equivalent to that of president.
Having seen the overthrow of the other Eastern Bloc governments, Mladenov embarked on a much more open government policy in hopes of bringing about change from above.[2] In his first address to the Central Committee as the country's leader, he stated that there was "no alternative to restructuring" both the economy and the political climate, which in their previous forms had "handicapped progress in our society in all spheres". He also stated his commitment to making Bulgaria "a modern, democratic, and lawful country".[4] To that end, he let it be known that he supported free elections, a greater role for the legislature and other reforms.[2]
Despite Mladenov's promises of reforms, the people took to the streets almost every day to demand greater freedom.
Transition to Democracy
The final legal step in ending Communist rule in Bulgaria came on 2 January 1990; when the National Assembly amended the constitution to remove Article 1, which enshrined the Communist Party's leading role.[2] However, for all intents and purposes, Communist rule had ended a month earlier when the Central Committee formally renounced its guaranteed right to rule.[6]
On 2 February, in an effort to change the party's image ahead of the upcoming elections, the office of general secretary was replaced by the office of party chairman. Mladenov stood down as party leader, and
In April 1990, the Communist Party reorganized itself as a Western-style social democratic party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party.[citation needed]
Mladenov resigned as President in July 1990 after allegedly suggesting the use of tanks against anti-government demonstration in December 1989, securing a place in history with the phrase 'The tanks had better come' (Bulgarian: По-добре танковете да дойдат). He did not run in the 1990 elections and largely retired from public life.[9]
Death
Mladenov underwent a heart bypass in Houston in 1986, leaving him in frail health in the ensuing years. He died on 31 May 2000 in Sofia.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Index Mf-Mn". Rulers. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-887985-95-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-375-42532-5.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde (11 November 1989). "Bulgarian Chief Quits After 35 Years of Rigid Rule". The New York Times.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde (12 December 1989). "Bulgaria's Communist Chief Plans To Relax Grip and Hold Elections". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Haberman, Clyde (14 December 1990). "Communists in Bulgaria Expel Zhivkov".
- ^ Bulgaria: Elections held in 1990 Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ^ "Governance After Zhivkov". Bulgarian Free Books – Bringing the Reformation to Bulgaria!. Lehman Websites. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ "20 години Най-добре танковете да дойдат! - По света и у нас - БНТ Новини". bntnews.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
External links
- Partos, Gabriel (6 June 2000). "Petur Mladenov: Short-lived hero of Bulgaria's reformist revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- Honan, William H. (12 June 2000). "Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian Communist Leader, 63". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- "Bulgarian Leader Petar Mladenov, 64". The Washington Post. 2 June 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2021.