Dimitar Nikolov Petkov () (2 November 1858,

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

– 11 March 1907,

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 ...

) was a leading member of the Bulgarian

People's Liberal Party The People's Liberal Party (, ''Narodnoliberalna partiya'', NLP) was a political party in Bulgaria. History One of the four factions to emerge from the old Liberal Party, the party was established by Stefan Stambolov in 1886 as the Bulgaria fo ...

and the country's

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 ...

from 5 November 1906 until he was assassinated in Sofia the following year. A veteran of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 he fought for the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

at the

Battle of Shipka Pass The Battle of Shipka Pass consisted of four battles that were fought between the Russian Empire, aided by Bulgarian volunteers known as opalchentsi, and the Ottoman Empire for control over the vital Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (18 ...

where he lost an arm during the combat. Petkov spent five years (1888–1893) as

mayor of Sofia This is a chronological list of mayors of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, since that post was established after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. The first governor of Sofia was Petr Alabin. Initially, the mayors of Sofia were assigned by the ...

and during his time in charge he undertook an extensive redevelopment of the city. Following the death of

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (; 31 January 1854 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS – 19 July 1895 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revoluti ...

in 1895 he took over as leader of People's Liberal Party, a role he held until his own death when

Nikola Genadiev Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulg ...

succeeded him. Petkov's party took office in 1903 following the resignation of

Stoyan Danev Stoyan Petrov Danev () (28 January 1858 – 30 July 1949) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician and twice Prime Minister. A legal graduate of both the University of Heidelberg and the University of Paris, Danev served in a number of Min ...

but

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria; 26 February 1861 – 10 September 1948) was Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria entered the First Worl ...

chose a non-party Prime Minister, his close friend

Racho Petrov Racho Petrov Stoyanov () (3 March 1861 – 22 January 1942) was a leading Bulgarian general and politician. Petrov was born in Shumen. A talented soldier, he was appointed Chief of General Staff at the age of 24 and was Minister of Defenc ...

, instead of Petkov. Petkov was finally appointed Prime Minister in November 1906, but held the post for only a few months; on 11 March 1907, he was assassinated by gunshot in

Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard (; "Tsar Liberator boulevard") is a boulevard in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It lies between Orlov most to the east (east of which it is called Tsarigrad Road) and Nezavisimost Square to the west, wher ...

by Aleksandar Petrov, a disgruntled former employee of the Bulgarian Agricultural Bank. Petrov was put on trial, handed a death sentence and executed by hanging in July 1907. His son

Nikola Petkov Nikola Dimitrov Petkov (; July 8, 1893 – September 23, 1947) was a Bulgarian politician, one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (usually abbreviated as BZNS). He entered politics in the early 1930s. Like many other peasant ...

was also a politician in post-war Bulgaria before being put to death in 1947.Joseph Rothschild, ''The Communist party of Bulgaria: origins and development, 1883-1936'', AMS Press, 1972, p. 37

References

1858 births 1907 deaths Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Bulgaria People from Tulcea Liberal Party (Bulgaria) politicians People's Liberal Party politicians Prime ministers of Bulgaria Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Mayors of Sofia Bulgarian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Recipients of the Cross of St. George Assassinated Bulgarian politicians People murdered in Bulgaria Assassinated prime ministers 20th-century Bulgarian politicians 19th-century Bulgarian politicians Deaths by firearm in Bulgaria Battle of Shipka Pass Politicians assassinated in the 1900s People from the Ottoman Empire {{Bulgaria-mayor-stub