Racho Petrov

Racho Petrov Stoyanov (Bulgarian: Рачо Петров Стоянов) (3 March 1861 22 January 1942) was a leading Bulgarian general and politician.

Racho Petrov
Рачо Петров
12th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office
25 January 1901  5 March 1901
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byTodor Ivanchov
Succeeded byPetko Karavelov
In office
19 May 1903  5 November 1906
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byStoyan Danev
Succeeded byDimitar Petkov
Chief of the General Staff
In office
9 September 1885  29 April 1887
MonarchAlexander
Preceded byOffice Established
Succeeded byStefan Paprikov
In office
23 October 1887  15 April 1894
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byStefan Paprikov
Succeeded byNikola Ivanov
War Minister
In office
10 July 1887  1 September 1887
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byDanail Nikolaev
Succeeded bySava Mutkurov
In office
27 April 1894  29 November 1896
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byMihail Savov
Succeeded byNikola Ivanov
Minister of Interior
In office
10 December 1900  4 March 1901
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byVasil Radoslavov
Succeeded byMihail Sarafov
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
21 January 1901  4 March 1901
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byDimitar Tonchev
Succeeded byStoyan Danev
In office
18 May 1903  4 November 1906
MonarchFerdinand
Preceded byStoyan Danev
Succeeded byDimitar Petkov
Personal details
Born3 March 1861
Shumen, Ottoman Empire
Died22 January 1942(1942-01-22) (aged 80)
Belovo, Bulgaria
Military service
AllegianceBulgarian Army
Years of service1878–1917
RankGeneral of the Infantry
Battles/warsSerbo-Bulgarian War, First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, Balkans Campaign (World War I)

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] He married Sultana Pantaleeva Minchovich in 1887, with whom he had 3 children. After an unhappy marriage, they divorced in 1919.[3]

Both Petrov and his wife were personally close to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria[4] and in 1891 he was promoted by Ferdinand to the rank of colonel, the first officer to hold that rank in Bulgaria.[5] Petrov also attended Ferdinand's wedding to Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma in Italy in 1893.[6] 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.[7]

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 organize the next election.[8] 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.[9] His government was particularly concerned with military matters and oversaw an armament program and extensive modernization of the Bulgarian army.[10]

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 Serbian victory.[11]

During the First World War he served as head of the newly established Macedonian Military Inspection Oblast from December 1915 until October 1916.[12]

See also

  • List of Bulgarian generals in the Kingdom of Bulgaria

Notes

  1.    Standart News - Archive | Wednesday, 3 May 2006 at www.standartnews.com
  2. Plamen S. Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans: A Regional Overview from a Bulgarian Perspective, EM Text, 1993, p. 79
  3. Popov, Zheko. "Popular Vote in Bulgaria". PEOPLE'S LIBERAL PARTY IN BULGARIA 1903-1920. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. Duncan M. Perry, Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895, Duke University Press, 1993, p. 151
  5. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 183
  6. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 194
  7. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, pp. 205-206
  8. 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
  9. R. J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 127-128
  10. Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans, p. 85
  11. Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War, Routledge, 2002, pp. 110-112
  12. 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
Political offices
Preceded by
Todor Ivanchov
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
1901
Succeeded by
Petko Karavelov
Preceded by
Stoyan Danev
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
1903–1906
Succeeded by
Dimitar Petkov
Preceded by
Danail Nikolaev
Minister of War
1887
Succeeded by
Sava Mutkurov
Preceded by
Mihail Savov
Minister of War
1894–1896
Succeeded by
Nikola Ivanov
Preceded by
Vasil Radoslavov
Minister of Interior
1900–1901
Succeeded by
Mihail Sarafov
Preceded by
Dimitar Tonchev
Minister of Foreign Affairs
1901
Succeeded by
Stoyan Danev
Preceded by
Stoyan Danev
Minister of Foreign Affairs
1903–1906
Succeeded by
Dimitar Petkov
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