Todor Kolev Kavaldzhiev ( bg, Тодор Колев Кавалджиев; 26 January 1934 – 6 February 2019) was Vice President of Bulgaria from 1997 until 2002.
He was a partner to
Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stefanov Stojanov ( bg, Петър Стефанов Стоянов ; born 25 May 1952) is a Bulgarian politician who was President of Bulgaria from 1997 to 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). He di ...
, the 2nd
President of Bulgaria
The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or ...
. He was proven to be an anti-communist, due to being repressed during the
communist era in Bulgaria. He was also an activist into restoring the BZNS Nikola Petkov.
Early life
Todor Kavaldzhiev was born in Glavan,
Tsardom of Bulgaria
The Tsardom of Bulgaria was the name of the Bulgarian state from Simeon's assumption of the title of Tsar in 913 until the Fatherland Front's foundation of the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1946.
It occurred in three distinct periods: bet ...
in 26 January 1934. He was a pro-BZNS activist during his teens, as he vowed to restore the Agrarian Youth Wing, which failed due to his arrest and imprisonment in 1952. He was first sent to the prison in Haskovo, then he spent 11 years in
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in t ...
and
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 ...
. He was sent to
Belene labour camp
The Belene labour camp, also referred to as Belene concentration camp, was part of the network of forced labour camps in Communist Bulgaria. It was located on the Belene Island, between two branches of the Danube river. At the height of Valko Cher ...
twice, where harsh labour was implemented. From 1952 to 1963, he was sued and then imprisoned. Todor was amnestied, then released out of prison. He worked as a builder for Sofstroi, a construction company located in Sofia from 1965 to 1966 for just one year.
During the period of 1966-1970, he followed and graduated economics in
Svishtov
Svishtov ( bg, Свищов ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipalit ...
. 3 years later, he graduated with a major in "Accounting and mechanization and automation of management work". During 1970-1973 and 1982-1983 he became a organizer-designer in the factory Сърп и чук, which translates to Sickle and hammer. in Stara Zagora. After that, to 1975, he worked in the forestry in his home village, Glavan.
From the periods of 1975 to 1982 he worked as chief accountant in the factory Lenin in
Nikolaevo
Nikolaevo ( bg, Николаево ) is a small town in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nikolaevo Municipality
Nikolaevo ( bg, Николаево ) is a small town in Stara Zago ...
. During 1983-1990, he worked as an economist in the plant ОПОСО in Stara Zagora.
Politics
In 1989, Kavaldzhiev addressed to the prime minister
Georgi Atanasov via radio Svobodna Evropa to remove the law of the dispersal of the BZNS Nikola Petkov and amnesty to the sued BZNS members. He would be elected as the People's Representative of the VII Great National Assembly. To 1992, he was a member of the permanent presence of BZNS Nikola Petkov. From 1992, he assumed the duties of the secretary in the party. Kavaldzhiev was one of the first people to publicly address the mismanagement of the
Union of Democratic Forces. He became a candidate for vice president of the UDF. Together with Petar Stoyanov, they won the 1996 elections in a runoff.
Vice President
After becoming vice president, he began assisting Petar Stoyanov in his duties. He first warned about corrupt practices and that ex-communists most actively take control of enterprises and facilities in the process of privatization, often simply draining and destroying them.
References
Vice presidents of Bulgaria
1934 births
2019 deaths
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