Dobri Dzhurov

Army General Dobri Dzhurov
Добри Джуров
Minister of People's Defense of Bulgaria
In office 17 March 1962 – 22 August 1990
President	Todor Zhivkov
Preceded by	Ivan Mihailov
Succeeded by	Yordan Mutafchiev
Personal details
Born	(1916-01-05)5 January 1916 Lovech Province, Kingdom of Bulgaria
Died	17 June 2002(2002-06-17) (aged 86) Sofia, Bulgaria
Citizenship	People's Republic of Bulgaria
Political party	Bulgarian Communist Party
Spouse	Elena Dzhurovа
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of Bulgaria
Branch/service	Bulgarian People's Army
Years of service	1939–1990
Rank	Army General

Dobri Marinov Dzhurov (Bulgarian: Добри Маринов Джуров; 5 January 1916 – 17 June 2002) was a Bulgarian politician and military leader. He was the last Defense Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1962 to 1990.^[1][2]

Biography

He participated in the resistance movement during the Second World War. He was the commander of a guerrilla brigade. After the communist coup in September 1944, he began work at the Ministry of the Interior and later became an officer of the Bulgarian Army. He became the Minister of People's Defense of Bulgaria in 1962. He was responsible for Bulgaria's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops in 1968. He had been a full member of the CPB since 1974.

Role in the downfall of Zhivkov

Dzhurov played a key role in the ousting of longtime Communist leader Todor Zhivkov in December 1989. Although he and Zhivkov's relationship dated back to the resistance, he had grown increasingly disgusted with Zhivkov's behavior. When he lent his support to the plot to oust Zhivkov, he was given the task of ensuring that Zhivkov would have no room to manoeuvre.^[3][4] On 9 November, a day before a scheduled Politburo meeting, Dzhurov advised Zhivkov to resign. He warned Zhivkov that the Politburo had lost confidence in him, and there were enough votes to remove him. Zhivkov was caught unaware and tried to marshal support, to no avail.^[4]

Just before the meeting the next day, Dzhurov gave Zhivkov an ultimatum—unless he stepped down, the Politburo would not only vote to remove him, but have him executed. Zhivkov realized he was at the end of his tether, and resigned.^[4]

Personal life

He met his wife Elena in a guerrilla group. They were married for 60 years. They have three children:

• Chavdar Dzhurov, was a military pilot who in 1965 set a record of the highest night parachute jump.
• Spartak Dzhurov
• Aksiniya Dzhurova, a scientist who was named after Dzhurov older sister, who died in 1941.^[5]

References