Ivan Valkov ( bg, Иван Вълков; 31 January 1875, in
Kazanlak,
Ottoman Empire – 20 April 1962, in
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province.
Name
The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...
,
Bulgaria) was a
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
General of Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...
who fought in
World War I and later held the post of
Minister of War (1923–1929).
Early life
Ivan Valkov was born in
Kazanlak, in what was the
Ottoman Empire at the time, where he finished school. He later graduated from the
Sofia Military School (1896), and later the
Nikolayev Academy of General Staff (1909) in
St. Petersburg,
Russia. Valkov also graduated from an artillery academy and at the beginning of the 20th century was the only Bulgarian
army officer who attended two higher education institutions.
Military career
*1896—1906: Staff officer in the 6th Artillery Regiment.
*1911: Military school instructor.
*1912—1913: During 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 defe ...
, served on the
2nd Army staff, and chief of staff of the eastern sector of the siege of Odrin.
*1913—1915: Military school instructor.
*1915—1916: With Bulgaria's entry into
World War I, chief of the operations department of the 2nd Army staff.
*From 1916: Commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment.
*1917—1918: Chief of staff of the 7th and later 10th Infantry Divisions.
*1919—1923: Director of the Cartographic Institute.
*From 1919: Military academy professor, taught geography at Sofia University.
*1922—1928: At the same time, editor of the "Yearbook of the Geographic Institute of the Ministry of War."
Bulgarian War Minister
In 1919 he was one of the founders, and in 1920—1928 was the chairman of the
Military Union
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
, an officers' organization. As its head, Valkov took part in the
Bulgarian coup d'état of 9 June 1923, in which they overthrew
Prime Minister Aleksandar Stamboliyski. From 10 June 1923 until 11 January 1929, Valkov was the Minister of War in the governments of prime ministers
Aleksandar Tsankov and
Andrey Lyapchev. He oversaw the repression of
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
organizations after the September Rebellion in 1923 and the assassination attempt on Tsar
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
two years later. Valkov was also one of the founders of a military factor in Kazanlak.
In October 1925, at the time of the
Greco-Bulgarian conflict in the Petrich district, General Valkov used diplomatic rather than military means to restore the status-quo. He gave the order to not open fire and appealed to the
League of Nations for support. As a result,
Greece was recognized as the aggressor and was forced to pay Bulgaria compensation for casualties and damage. The results of the conflict are regarded as a success of Bulgarian diplomacy.
In the second half of the 1920s, Valkov was accused of backing
Ivan Mihailov
Ivan Mihailov Gavrilov ( bg, Иван Михайлов Гаврилов; mk, Ванчо Михајлов Гаврилов;He is credited in English-language sources as ''Mihailov'', while the Bulgarian and Macedonian transliteration schemes w ...
and his faction of the internal conflict within the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. His actions were criticized by former Prime Minister Aleksandar Tsankov and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Atanas Burov
Atanas Dimitrov Burov ( bg, Атанас Димитров Буров; 30 January 1875 – 15 May 1954) was a Bulgarian banker, philanthropist and politician.
Family background
Burov was born in Gorna Oryahovitsa. Members of his family p ...
, but Valkov received support from Boris III at the time. It was because of this that the general remained in the government.
In 1928 Valkov declared the dissolution of the Military Union due to it being divided as a result of internal bickering and political differences. At a time when neogitations were underway regarding Bulgaria's representation in international organizations, the government demanded the Valkov resign because of his reputation of being an opponent of democracy. Prime Minister Lyapchev agreed to this, and Valkov was removed from his post as war minister.
Later career
In 1929—1934, he was the plenipotentiary minister of Bulgaria in
Italy. Valkov played a key role at this time during negotiations to conclude a marriage between Boris III and the Princess
Giovanna of Italy, daughter of King
Victor Emmanuel III. From 19 May 1934, he remained in the army reserve and was no longer involved in political activities. In 1943 Valkov became the editor of the publication "Bulgarian Military Idea."
After pro-
Soviet and communist forces rose to power as a result of the
Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944, he was arrested on 17 June 1946. He remained in prison for years before being sentenced to death in 1954 for his use of terror against the far left opposition in April 1925. However, Valkov's sentence was changed to 20 years in prison due to his old age (life imprisonment, according to other sources). He died in prison in 1962.
Rank history
Awards
;
Order of Bravery
The Order of Bravery ( bg, Орден за Храброст) is a Bulgarian order which existed during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and currently exists in the Republic of Bulgaria. It was the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and is the fourt ...
(2nd class)
Order of Saint Alexander (3rd and 4th class with swords, 1st class)
Order of Military Merit (1st and 2nd class)
;
Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...
(3rd class)
;
Iron Cross (1st and 2nd class)
;
Order of the Iron Crown (3rd class)
Cross for Military Merit (3rd class)
;
Order of the Iron Crescent
Sources
*
Bulgarian Wikipedia
The Bulgarian Wikipedia ( bg, Българоезичната Уикипедия) is the Bulgarian-language edition of Wikipedia. It was founded on 6 December 2003, and on 12 June 2015 it passed the 200,000 articles threshold. It is written in ...
*
Russian Wikipedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkov, Ivan
1875 births
1962 deaths
Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Italy
Bulgarian generals
Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars
Bulgarian military personnel of World War I
Government ministers of Bulgaria
Recipients of the Order of Bravery
Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)
Defence ministers of Bulgaria