Zhivkov, Todor Khristov

▪ 1999

      Bulgarian politician (b. Sept. 7, 1911, Pravets, near Botevgrad, Bulg.—d. Aug. 5, 1998, Sofia, Bulg.) led the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1954 to 1989, a 35-year rule that was the longest of any communist dictator. Born into a peasant family, Zhivkov received a limited education. As an adolescent he moved to Sofia, where he trained and worked as a printer. During this time he became involved in Komsomol, the underground communist youth organization. Zhivkov's rise through the Communist Party ranks began in World War II. He helped organize the resistance movement known as the People's Liberation Insurgent Army, which was instrumental in overthrowing Bulgaria's regime in 1944 and allowing the Bulgarian Communist Party to become the country's dominant political force. After the coup Zhivkov was placed in charge of the newly created People's Militia, which arrested thousands of political enemies. In 1951 he became a full member of the party's governing Politburo and in 1954 was made first secretary of the Central Committee. Zhivkov served as prime minister from 1962 until 1971, when he was made chairman of a new Council of State, a position equivalent to that of president. In the 1950s and '60s Zhivkov dealt harshly with dissenters, imprisoning thousands in camps. Throughout his career he adhered closely to Soviet policy in both domestic and foreign affairs. His political savvy served him well until the 1980s, when the reform-minded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power. At that time Moscow's confidence in Zhivkov began to erode not only because of Bulgaria's declining economy but also as a result of mass demonstrations precipitated by Zhivkov's campaign of forced assimilation of the country's Turkish population. At the end of 1989 Zhivkov was replaced as president of Bulgaria and ousted as head of the Communist Party. He was arrested in 1990 and in 1992 was found guilty of misappropriating state funds and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Because of ill health he served his sentence under house arrest. Near the end of his sentence he was acquitted of embezzlement charges.

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