Georgi Valkovich Cholakov''Valkovich'' may also be transliterated as ''Vulkovich'' or ''Vǎlkovič''. () (1833 – ) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n physician, diplomat and conservative politician. Among the leading surgeons in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Valkovich became one of the leaders of the Conservative Party after the independence of Bulgaria in 1878. During

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 ...

's government (1887–1894), he was a Bulgarian diplomatic deputy in

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, where he was murdered by political opponents.

Biography

Georgi Valkovich was born in the Ottoman city of

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

(today

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, known in Bulgarian as Одрин, ''Odrin''). His father was a member of the influential and affluent Cholakov family from

Koprivshtitsa Koprivshtitsa (, pronounced , from the Bulgarian word , ''kopriva'', meaning "Urtica, nettle") is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, historic town in the Koprivshtitsa Municipality in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria, lying on the Topolnit ...

. Valkovich began his education in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

and graduated from the Academy of Military Medicine in Constantinople in 1857. After his graduation, he worked as a surgeon and as a reader at the Academy of Military Medicine in the imperial capital. Between 1860 and 1863, Valkovich resided in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as a post-graduate medical student. In 1865, he was briefly the chief physician of the

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Central Hospital. In 1870–1871, Valkovich headed the Haydarpaşa Hospital in Constantinople and by 1872, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

. In 1875, he joined the Bulgarian Literary Society (today

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; , ''Bŭlgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated БАН) is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy, with headquarters in Sofia, is autonomous and consists of a S ...

) as an associate member; his full membership was provided in 1884. After the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, Georgi Valkovich became an influential figure in Bulgarian politics. Among the leading members of the Conservative Party, Valkovich was elected to parliament in the Constituent Assembly of 1879, the 1st Grand

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of 1879, and the 3rd National Assembly of 1882–1883. In 1879, he was appointed Director of Agriculture, Commerce and Public Buildings; in 1881, he was in charge of Eastern Rumelia's Department of Posts and Telegraphs. During Alexander of Battenberg's Regime of Proxies (1881–1883) Valkovich was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Denominations (1881–1883) and chairman of the State Council (1883). During the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Valkovich was in charge of all Bulgarian military hospitals. In 1886, he was appointed director of the Aleksandrovska Hospital. A year later, he was sent to Constantinople as the diplomatic deputy of the Principality of Bulgaria in the Ottoman Empire, a position he held until his death. At the time, that was the most important diplomatic position from a Bulgarian point of view, as Bulgaria was still ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' an Ottoman

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

, and it was reserved for experienced politicians. Valkovich was among the originators of Stefan Stambolov's active diplomatic policy aimed at improving the treatment of the remaining Bulgarian population in the empire. Georgi Valkovich was assassinated on by opponents of Stambolov's government. The assassination was carried out by Dimitar Orlovski and Drazhev, Bulgarian Russophile emigrants who were unapproving of Stambolov's pro-Western and anti-Russian alignment. The

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n government was aware of the planned attempt, although it intentionally notified neither the Ottoman nor the Bulgarian officials. On 12 February Orlovski and Drazhev, dressed in

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

costumes, ambushed Valkovich in the vicinity of the Bulgarian Consulate in Constantinople during the Zagovezni Carnival celebrations before

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. While Drazhev stayed behind to protect the assassin, Orlovski stabbed Valkovich in the stomach. The two perpetrators managed to run away in the crowd. Valkovich died of the wound two days later, and was interred in Plovdiv. In his book ''The Builders of Modern Bulgaria'', writer, diplomat and politician Simeon Radev describes Valkovich as follows: "elegant, witty and amusement-loving, he was a perfect social figure; extraordinarily perspicacious, he was also not devoid of slyness".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkovich, Georgi 1833 births 1892 deaths People from Edirne Bulgarians from Eastern Thrace Physicians from the Ottoman Empire Conservative Party (Bulgaria) politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Bulgaria Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Bulgarian surgeons Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Assassinated Bulgarian politicians Bulgarian military doctors 19th-century Bulgarian politicians People murdered in the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian people murdered abroad Assassinations in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Bulgarian physicians People murdered in 1892 Politicians assassinated in the 1890s