Nikolai Todorov Todorov ( bg, Николай Тодоров Тодоров) (June 6, 1921 – August 27, 2003) was a Bulgarian historian. In 1990, he briefly served as acting president of

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 ...

Life and career

Todorov was born in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

and, as he noted himself, he was of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

descent. Todorov was inspired to go into politics after the trial of

Traycho Kostov Traicho Kostov Djunev ( bg, Трайчо Костов Джунев; 17 June 1897, Sofia – 16 December 1949) was a Bulgarian politician, former President of the Council of Ministers and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communis ...

, whom he had shared a prison cell with 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 opposin ...

. After a distinguished academic career, which included a position at the

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, he joined the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He would later serve as the Bulgarian representative to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and the Bulgarian Ambassador to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(1978–1983). Following Bulgaria's departure from

Communism 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, a s ...

, Todorov became Speaker 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 ...

, leading him to serve as acting president.

Personal life

Todorov was married with three children. He is the father of

Maria Todorova Maria Nikolaeva Todorova (Bulgarian: Мария Николаева Тодорова) (born 5 January 1949, Sofia) is a Bulgarian historian who is best known for her influential book, ''Imagining the Balkans'', in which she applies Edward Said's not ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todorov, Nikolai Presidents of Bulgaria Permanent Delegates of Bulgaria to UNESCO Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Members of the Academy of Athens (modern) Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Greece Bulgarian diplomats Sofia University alumni Politicians from Varna, Bulgaria 1921 births 2003 deaths