Bulgarian Prime Minister, Communist Party Leader. A revolutionary from boyhood, he was a leading figure in the 1923 Communist revolt against Bulgarian leader Alexander Tsankov. When the revolt failed, he fled Bulgaria and continued to work for the Communist cause. In 1933 he was arrested in Berlin for alleged involvement in setting the German Reichstag building on fire. His conduct of his defense and the accusations he made toward his prosecutors won him worldwide fame. He was acquitted and went to the Soviet Union, which made him a citizen of their country. He was secretary general of the Comintern from 1934 until its dissolution in 1943. In 1944 he returned to Bulgaria to head the Communist Party in his home country. In 1946 he became the first Communist leader of Bulgaria when he succeeded Kimon Georgiev as Prime Minister. Even though he was very close to Stalin, he tried to forge a federation with Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslavia. He died in 1949 while at a health resort near Moscow. There were rumors that he had been poisoned. A mausoleum was built in a record six days in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to house his embalmed remains. The body was removed and cremated in 1990 after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria and was buried in Sofia's Central Cemetery. The mausoleum was demolished amidst much controversy in 1999.
Bulgarian Prime Minister, Communist Party Leader. A revolutionary from boyhood, he was a leading figure in the 1923 Communist revolt against Bulgarian leader Alexander Tsankov. When the revolt failed, he fled Bulgaria and continued to work for the Communist cause. In 1933 he was arrested in Berlin for alleged involvement in setting the German Reichstag building on fire. His conduct of his defense and the accusations he made toward his prosecutors won him worldwide fame. He was acquitted and went to the Soviet Union, which made him a citizen of their country. He was secretary general of the Comintern from 1934 until its dissolution in 1943. In 1944 he returned to Bulgaria to head the Communist Party in his home country. In 1946 he became the first Communist leader of Bulgaria when he succeeded Kimon Georgiev as Prime Minister. Even though he was very close to Stalin, he tried to forge a federation with Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslavia. He died in 1949 while at a health resort near Moscow. There were rumors that he had been poisoned. A mausoleum was built in a record six days in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to house his embalmed remains. The body was removed and cremated in 1990 after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria and was buried in Sofia's Central Cemetery. The mausoleum was demolished amidst much controversy in 1999.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
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