Karlo Todorov Lukanov (; – 15 July 1982) 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 politician of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party ( Bulgarian: Българска комунистическа партия (БΚП), Romanised: ''Bŭlgarska komunisticheska partiya''; BKP) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria f ...

and

Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1956 to 1962. His father Todor Lukanov and his son

Andrey Lukanov Andrey Karlov Lukanov ( ; 26 September 1938 – 2 October 1996) was a Bulgarian politician. Between February and November 1990, Lukanov was the final Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Biography Early life Lukanov was born in M ...

were both prominent socialist and communist politicians.

Biography

Karlo Lukanov was born in

Pleven Pleven ( ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest economic center in ...

, a city in north central Bulgaria, to the family of Todor Lukanov, a socialist politician and member of the

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and Legislature, legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. During the People's Republic ...

from

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

. In 1917, he graduated from the Military School for Reserve Officers and took part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as part of the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

's 26th Artillery Regiment. In the same year, Lukanov joined the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (Narrow Socialists), a precursor of the

. In 1921, Lukanov graduated in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

from the Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia to become a lawyer in Pleven. During the

White Terror White Terror may refer to: Events France * First White Terror (1794–1795), a movement against the Jacobins in the French Revolution * Second White Terror (1815), a movement against the French Revolution Post-Russian Empire * White Terror (Rus ...

which ensued in the wake of the

St Nedelya Church assault The St Nedelya Church assault was a terrorist attack on St Nedelya Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was carried out on 16 April 1925, when a group of the Military Organisation of the Bulgarian Communist Party directed and supplied by the Soviet M ...

of 1925, he was sentenced to four years in prison, but amnestied in 1926. Shortly thereafter, Lukanov moved to the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, where he worked as a clerk at a construction company. From 1927 to 1944, he was on the books of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), later known as the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. In 1936, Lukanov left for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where he remained until 1939. In Spain, Lukanov took various governing positions within the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

that assisted the Republican forces in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. After his return to

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 ...

, Lukanov worked at the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

and from 1941 on at the

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev (, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero. His poetry is a prim ...

Bulgarian-language radio. Following the 9 September coup d'état of 1944, Lukanov returned to Bulgaria, where he was appointed director of the

Bulgarian National Radio Bulgarian National Radio (, ''Bǎlgarsko nacionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national channels and nine regional channels, as well as an international service ( R ...

by the newly established communist government. He went on to hold various offices, including deputy chairman of the State Planning Commission, a ministry-rank institution in charge 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 ...

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

(1947–1949), chairman of the Committee for Science, Art and Culture (1949), chairman of the State Planning Commission (1949–1952) and deputy

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The Prime Minister of Bulgaria () is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are oftentimes the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament, known as the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unica ...

(1952–1954) under

Valko Chervenkov Valko Velyov Chervenkov ...

. In 1954, Lukanov was elected member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, a post he held until the end of his life. From 1954 to 1956, he was Bulgarian ambassador to the Soviet Union,

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Upon his return to Bulgaria Karlo Lukanov was appointed

under

Anton Yugov Anton Tanev (Dontcho) Yugov () (5 August 1904 – 6 July 1991) was a Bulgarian politician who was a leading member of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), and served as Prime Minister of the country from 1956 to 1962. He was an Honorary Citiz ...

(1956–1962) and briefly deputy Prime Minister (1956–1957). After his release from the government, he was sent to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

as Bulgarian ambassador (1963–1966). He died in

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 ...

on 15 July 1982 at the age of 84.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukanov, Karlo Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Government ministers of Bulgaria Ministers of foreign affairs of Bulgaria Bulgarian Communist Party politicians People from Pleven 1897 births 1982 deaths Sofia University alumni Ambassadors of Bulgaria to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Finland Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Mongolia Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Switzerland Bulgarian military personnel of World War I International Brigades personnel Bulgarian people of the Spanish Civil War Heroes of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Bulgarian emigrants to the Soviet Union People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union