Andrey Karlov Lukanov ( ; 26 September 1938 – 2 October 1996) was a Bulgarian politician. Between February and November 1990, Lukanov was the final

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

Biography

Early life

Lukanov was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, in the family of Karlo Lukanov, (1897–1982), a Bulgarian

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

émigré. Lukanov's family moved back to Bulgaria after the communist takeover of

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

when Lukanov was only 6 years old. His father became an important figure in the party and served as

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of Bulgaria from 1956 to 1961.

Political career

Andrey became a member of the party in 1963 and began a career in the foreign service. He helped represent Bulgaria in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and

Comecon The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...

. He rose through the ranks of the foreign service to become minister of foreign economic affairs in 1987, resigning in 1989. Lukanov became a leading member of the reformist wing of the BCP, and took part in the overthrow of longtime leader

Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 as General Secretary of the Cen ...

. He became prime minister on 3 February 1990. This office he held until 7 December 1990. Midway through his tenure, the Communist Party rebranded itself as the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Lukanov oversaw the first democratic election which had taken place in Bulgaria since 1931. This election took place in June; the BSP remained the largest party in the national legislature, and Lukanov himself continued in government. Seeking a stable majority, Lukanov offered to form a coalition with the opposition, but his offers were rebuffed. The opposition argued that the former Communist Party must shoulder responsibility for past political crimes and the rapidly deteriorating economy. Lukanov's months in office were marked by corruption, huge consumer goods deficit, and civil unrest. Finally in December, after large demonstrations and a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

, Lukanov resigned, allowing a technocratic government to be formed by Dimitar Popov. Lukanov was charged with

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

in 1992 and arrested, but charges were soon dropped. During his time in the foreign service, Lukanov had gained connections with western businessmen such as

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

and engaged in controversial business dealings.

Death

Lukanov was assassinated on 2 October 1996 оutside the

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

apartment where he lived. He was shot in the head and chest by a lone gunman who fled and was never captured.

Trial

A building contractor named Angel Vassilev, who had been close to the incumbent BSP government led by Zhan Videnov, was arrested and charged (alongside various others) with having organized Lukanov's murder. After a long trial and an initial guilty verdict, the Bulgarian Court of Appeal declared Vassilev and the other defendants to be innocent. Public rumors to the effect that Lukanov would be slain had been in existence for months before the killing was carried out. To this day, the true perpetrators of the assassination remain unknown.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukanov, Andrey 1938 births 1996 deaths Prime ministers of Bulgaria Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Government ministers of Bulgaria Bulgarian Communist Party politicians Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Assassinated Bulgarian politicians Deaths by firearm in Bulgaria People murdered in Bulgaria Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery Bulgarian expatriates in the Soviet Union Bulgarian Socialist Party politicians 20th-century Bulgarian politicians Assassinated prime ministers Unsolved murders in Bulgaria 1996 murders in Bulgaria European politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1996