Ferdinand Todorov Kozovski ( bg, Фердинанд Тодоров Козовски; 27 January 1892 – 12 September 1965) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

politician and

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establish ...

who served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Bulgaria from 1950 to 1965. Born in Knezha in the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War en ...

's northwest, Ferdinand Kozovski graduated from the Reserve Officers Academy. He became a member of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (Narrow Socialists), the precursor to the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 19 ...

, in 1911. Kozovski took part in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and d ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fight ...

as a serviceman in the Bulgarian Army; after the wars, he graduated in law from

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

. In 1923, Kozovski was among the leaders of the quickly-crushed June Uprising, a chaotic agrarian uprising against the right-wing 9 June coup d'état; he also participated in the better-organized communist

September Uprising The September Uprising ( bg, Септемврийско въстание, ''Septemvriysko vastanie'') was a 1923 communist insurgency in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) attempted to overthrow Alexander Tsankov's new government e ...

of the same year. After that uprising's suppression, Kozovski was forced to emigrate to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, where he graduated from the

M. V. Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

and became a reader of

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

at the

Communist University of the National Minorities of the West The Communist University of the National Minorities of the West (KUNMZ - ''Kommunistichesky Universitet Natsionalnykh Menshinstv Zapada''; КУНМЗ - Коммунистический университет национальных меньшин ...

. Ferdinand Kozovski took part in the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed ...

of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

(1936–1939). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he headed the Bulgarian edition of Radio Moscow and edited several illegal publications. He returned to Bulgaria after the Soviet invasion in 1944 and the 9 September coup d'état. As Bulgaria switched allegiance to the Allies and took part in the ultimate defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Kozovski was assistant chief of staff of the Bulgarian forces which drew the Nazis out of much of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

. After the war, Ferdinand Kozovski was made Assistant Minister of Popular Defence. In 1948–1949, he was Bulgarian

minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

in the

People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet U ...

. From 1949 to 1950 he held the same position as a Bulgarian diplomat in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...

. In 1950, he became Chairman of the

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ordi ...

and served as such during four national assembly terms until 1965, when he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozovski, Ferdinand 1892 births 1965 deaths Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Bulgarian Communist Party politicians People from Knezha Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Bulgarian generals International Brigades personnel Bulgarian diplomats Bulgarian expatriates in China Bulgarian military personnel of World War II Bulgarian military personnel of World War I Bulgarian people of the Spanish Civil War Sofia University alumni Frunze Military Academy alumni Bulgarian emigrants to the Soviet Union People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union