Dobri Marinov Dzhurov ( Bulgarian: Добри Маринов Джуров; 5 January 1916 – 17 June 2002) was a Bulgarian politician and military leader. He was the last

Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

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 ...

from 1962 to 1990.

Biography

He participated in the resistance movement during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was the commander of a guerrilla brigade. After the communist coup in September 1944, he began work at the Ministry of the Interior and later became an officer of the Bulgarian Army. He became the Minister of People's Defense of Bulgaria in 1962. He was responsible for Bulgaria's participation in the

invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

troops in 1968. He had been a full member of the CPB since 1974.

Role in the downfall of Zhivkov

Dzhurov played a key role in the ousting of longtime Communist 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 ...

in December 1989. Although he and Zhivkov's relationship dated back to the resistance, he had grown increasingly disgusted with Zhivkov's behavior. When he lent his support to the plot to oust Zhivkov, he was given the task of ensuring that Zhivkov would have no room to manoeuvre. On 9 November, a day before a scheduled Politburo meeting, Dzhurov advised Zhivkov to resign. He warned Zhivkov that the Politburo had lost confidence in him, and there were enough votes to remove him. Zhivkov was caught unaware and tried to marshal support, to no avail. Just before the meeting the next day, Dzhurov gave Zhivkov an ultimatum—unless he stepped down, the Politburo would not only vote to remove him, but have him executed. Zhivkov realized he was at the end of his tether, and resigned.

Personal life

He met his wife Elena in a guerrilla group. They were married for 60 years. They have three children: * Chavdar Dzhurov, was a military pilot who in 1965 set a record of the highest night parachute jump. * Spartak Dzhurov * Aksiniya Dzhurova, a scientist who was named after Dzhurov older sister, who died in 1941.Чл.-кор. проф. д.изк.н. Аксиния Джурова: Имали сме и по-тежки изпитания от прехода и сме излизали възродени - 24chasa.bg
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzhurov, Dobri 1916 births 2002 deaths Defence ministers of Bulgaria Bulgarian generals Bulgarian resistance members Bulgarian Communist Party politicians