Racho Petrov
| Racho Petrov Рачо Петров | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 12th Prime Minister of Bulgaria | |
|
In office 25 January 1901 – 5 March 1901 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Todor Ivanchov |
| Succeeded by | Petko Karavelov |
|
In office 19 May 1903 – 5 November 1906 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Stoyan Danev |
| Succeeded by | Dimitar Petkov |
| Chief of the General Staff | |
|
In office 9 September 1885 – 29 April 1887 | |
| Monarch | Alexander |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Stefan Paprikov |
|
In office 23 October 1887 – 15 April 1894 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Stefan Paprikov |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Ivanov |
| War Minister | |
|
In office 10 July 1887 – 1 September 1887 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Danail Nikolaev |
| Succeeded by | Sava Mutkurov |
|
In office 27 April 1894 – 29 November 1896 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Mihail Savov |
| Succeeded by | Nikola Ivanov |
| Minister of Interior | |
|
In office 10 December 1900 – 4 March 1901 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Vasil Radoslavov |
| Succeeded by | Mihail Sarafov |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
|
In office 21 January 1901 – 4 March 1901 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Dimitar Tonchev |
| Succeeded by | Stoyan Danev |
|
In office 18 May 1903 – 4 November 1906 | |
| Monarch | Ferdinand |
| Preceded by | Stoyan Danev |
| Succeeded by | Dimitar Petkov |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 March 1861 Shumen, Ottoman Empire |
| Died |
22 January 1942 (aged 80) Belovo, Bulgaria |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Bulgarian Army |
| Years of service | 1878–1917 |
| Rank | General of the Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Serbo-Bulgarian War, First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, Balkans Campaign (World War I) |
Racho Petrov Stoyanov (Bulgarian: Рачо Петров Стоянов) (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 Defence at 27.[1] His stature was increased by the leading role he took in suppressing an army mutiny in 1887.[2]
Petrov was personally close to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria[3] and in 1891 was promoted by Ferdinand to the rank of colonel, the first officer to hold that rank in Bulgaria.[4] Petrov also attended Ferdinand's wedding to Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma in Italy in 1893.[5] Ferdinand's decision in 1894 to place Petrov in charge of the army completely, and thus outside the command of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov, precipitated the resignation of the latter.[6]
As a politician he twice served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, initially as the non-party head of an interim administration in 1901, the only task of which was to organise the next election.[7] He returned as Prime Minister for a longer period from 1903–1906, having been appointed for fear of war after a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia.[8] His government was particularly concerned with military matters and oversaw an armament programme and extensive modernisation of the Bulgarian army.[9]
During the Second Balkan War Petrov, by then a Lieutenant General, took command of the 3rd Army, leading it at the Battle of Bregalnica, a Bulgarian victory.[10]
During the First World War he served as head of the newly established Macedonian Military Inspection Oblast from December 1915 until October 1916.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Standart News - Archive | Wednesday, 3 May 2006 at www.standartnews.com
- ↑ Plamen S. Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans: A Regional Overview from a Bulgarian Perspective, EM Text, 1993, p. 79
- ↑ Duncan M. Perry, Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895, Duke University Press, 1993, p. 151
- ↑ Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 183
- ↑ Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 194
- ↑ Perry, Stefan Stambolov, pp. 205-206
- ↑ Ivan Ilčev, Valery Kolev, Veselin Yanchev, Bulgarian Parliament and Bulgarian Statehood: 125 Years National Assembly 1879-2005, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2005, p. 71
- ↑ R. J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 127-128
- ↑ Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans, p. 85
- ↑ Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War, Routledge, 2002, pp. 110-112
- ↑ National-liberation movement of the Macedonian and Thracian Bulgarians 1878-1944. Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1997, ISBN 954-8187-32-9. pp. 361-362, 396