54 Facts About Kimon Georgiev

Kimon Georgiev Stoyanov was a Bulgarian general who was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1934 to 1935 and again from 1944 to 1946.

Kimon Georgiev Stoyanov was born on 11 August 1882 in the town of Tatar Pazardzhik, then part of Eastern Rumelia, into a middle-class family.

Kimon Georgiev was nicknamed "The Greek" because his mother was of Greek descent.

Kimon Georgiev's father was Georgi Stoyanov Krustyov, born around 1848.

Kimon Georgiev had an older brother and sister, so he was the youngest child in his family.

Kimon Georgiev was firstly interested in engineering, but his family couldn't afford to study abroad, so they later directed him into starting his military career, where he was accepted into the Military University in Sofia.

Kimon Georgiev graduated in 1902 and was promoted to second-lieutenant on 1 January 1902 at an official ceremony in the Tsar's Palace.

Kimon Georgiev was a commander in the 3rd Reserve Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Thracian Division in Peshtera, then moved to Pazardzhik.

On mobilization on the eve of the First Balkan War, Kimon Georgiev became commander of the 2nd Company of the 27th Chepinski Infantry Regiment in Pazardzhik, which was shortly afterwards transferred to the frontier at Ladzhene.

Kimon Georgiev was then promoted to captain in 1913 and then appointed as a commander of an infantry regiment in Kardzhali.

Kimon Georgiev distinguished himself in the fighting at Kayali, where he would capture 316 British soldiers, in which became a major in 1916.

Kimon Georgiev became a member of the Military Union after the returning of headquarters of the army in Sofia and headed its organization for the Sofia garrison.

Kimon Georgiev actively participated in the preparation of its Founding Congress, at which he was elected a member of the first Permanent Presence of the organization.

Kimon Georgiev went on leave, but the command wanted to remove him from Sofia and terminated his leave.

The dismissal of Kimon Georgiev was followed by the purge of other key figures of the Union by the end of 1920.

Kimon Georgiev participated in the negotiation ties between opposition parties to create the Constitutional Bloc in 1922.

Kimon Georgiev was one of the main leaders of the Military Union, which took participation in the 1923 coup d'etat.

Kimon Georgiev was in the home of Ivan Rusev during the night of the coup.

Kimon Georgiev was an active role in the unification of parties to create the Democratic Alliance.

Kimon Georgiev was one of the activists of the People's Congress who at that time advocated changes in the cabinet, and was charged by the leadership of the Democratic Congress to present its decision in this direction to Tsankov.

Kimon Georgiev established the political circle "Zveno" with Damyan Velchev in 1927, firstly as a non-partisan organization that aims to improve the socio-political climate in the country.

Kimon Georgiev ceased ties with the Democratic Alliance in 1930 and after the 1931 Bulgarian parliamentary election, he was no longer a deputy of his group.

Kimon Georgiev became a leader of the Zveno and in the beginning of 1932, a newspaper Izgrev was published with one of the editors being Georgiev himself.

The bulk of Zveno members joined Aleksander Tsankov's Popular Social Movement in January 1934, but a smaller group led by Kimon Georgiev kept the group operating independently.

Kimon Georgiev became prime minister on 19 May 1934, after the coup d'etat.

Kimon Georgiev served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs and Minister of Justice and temporarily served as Minister of War on 19 May 1934.

Kimon Georgiev led the new Cabinet, which was primarily made up of Zveno and Military League representatives.

Kimon Georgiev intensified negotiations with the Soviet Union initiated by the previous cabinet and in July 1934, the first diplomatic relations were made between the two countries.

Kimon Georgiev began measures to remove Zlatev from his War Office, but its unsuccessful, due to the leadership of the Military Union resisting.

On 22 January 1935, Boris III executed a counter-coup to strength his role in Bulgarian politics, in which Kimon Georgiev resigned and Pencho Zlatev took control as a pro-monarchist.

Kimon Georgiev was given a chance to be Minister of Justice, but declined.

Kimon Georgiev was put under police surveillance after the removal from premiership in which he fell into political isolation.

Kimon Georgiev still maintained active contacts of Damyan Velchev, members of the Zveno and foreign diplomats and journalists, including Soviet ambassador Fyodor Raskolnikov.

Kimon Georgiev gave an interview to the Yugoslav newspaper Pravda in which he rejected the new government's accusations against him and criticized it.

The new government began measures to neutralize radical circles within the Military Union, which forced Kimon Georgiev to leave Sofia for Burgas.

Kimon Georgiev was constantly monitored by State Security, however he was not completely isolated from ruling circles and public events.

Kimon Georgiev attempted to defend himself with the pamphlet "My Program", which was seized by the authorities and Georgiev was put on trial, but the case was dropped in 1939.

Immediately after the start of World War II, Kimon Georgiev sent a letter to Prime Minister Georgi Kyoseivanov, advocating rapprochement with the Soviet Union.

In November 1940, Kimon Georgiev supported the Soviet proposal for a mutual aid pact.

In January 1941, Kimon Georgiev was among the leaders of almost all the former parties who signed a joint request for an audience with the Tsar, insisting on the preservation of Bulgaria's neutrality.

The anti-fascist Zveno members, especially its prominent representative Kimon Georgiev, were reached out to by the Bulgarian Communist Party, which began collaborating with them to free the nation from the fascist tyranny.

Kimon Georgiev, actively supported by Nikola Petkov, drafted an article with the organization's position on the Macedonian question, advocating the creation of a united and independent Macedonian state.

Kimon Georgiev prepared an address to the government and parliament calling for the restoration of neutrality, the return of occupation troops from Yugoslavia and Greece to Bulgaria, and improved relations with the Soviet Union.

From Burgas, Kimon Georgiev maintained active contacts with the capital Sofia, mainly through Hristo Stoykov.

On 9 February 1945, Kimon Georgiev gave a report on the government's work to the First Congress of the Fatherland Front.

Kimon Georgiev's government scheduled elections for 26 August 1945, despite the protests of the opposition, which had no right to exist legally.

However, Kimon Georgiev already has limited influence in the government and pressure against Velchev was increasing.

In September-November 1946, Kimon Georgiev was in charge of the War Ministry.

On 5 October 1946, at a rally in Sofia, Kimon Georgiev opened the Fatherland Front's election campaign for the election of the Sixth Grand National Assembly.

Kimon Georgiev was expelled from the country's political leadership, which was placed under the full control of the Bulgarian Communist Party.

The investigation did not lead to public accusations, and Kimon Georgiev himself learned about it years later.

Kimon Georgiev left politics in 1952 and led a reclusive life until his death.

Kimon Georgiev died suddenly of a stroke at around 1 pm on 28 September 1969 at the rest station of the Council of Ministers in Varna, shortly after visiting the Varna TPP, which had opened a month earlier.

From 1962 until his death in 1969 Kimon Georgiev was a member of the Presidium of the National Assembly.