Venelin Yordanov Ganev ( bg, Венелин Йорданов Ганев; 16 February 188025 March 1966) 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 ...

n lawyer, diplomat, and politician. He was a leading authority on

commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

, and after the Communist coup d'état on 9 September 1944 was one of the regents of underage tsar Simeon II.

Biography

Venelin Ganev was born on 16 February 1880 (or old-style 4 February) in

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

, Bulgaria. He studied in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, where

Simeon Radev Simeon Traychev Radev ( bg, Симеон Трайчев Радев; 19 January 1879 – 15 February 1967) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian writer, journalist, diplomat and historian, most famous for his three-volume book ''The Builders of Modern Bulgari ...

was a fellow-student of his. After returning to Bulgaria, Ganev taught philosophy of law (1908–1947) at

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 1908 Venelin Ganev joined the Radical-Democratic Party. In 1919 he was the Minister of Justice in

Teodor Teodorov Teodor Ivanov Teodorov ( bg, Теодор Теодоров; 8 April 1859, Elena – 5 August 1924) was a leading Bulgarian politician and legal expert who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria immediately after the First World War. He was Ministe ...

's second cabinet, and took part in the Bulgarian delegation for peace negotiations in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(before the

Treaty of Neuilly The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

). Afterwards, he served as a Bulgarian ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(1920–1922). Venelin Ganev joined the newly formed ''Democratic Accord'' in 1923, along with most of the Radical-democratic Party. In 1925, he quit it and declared himself against the government's policy. Later, he established a League for Protection of Human Rights. 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 ...

he participated as an independent member in the Fatherland Front and entered its leadership. After the coup of 9 September 1944, he became a regent of tsar Simeon II, together with

Todor Pavlov Todor Dimitrov Pavlov (14 February 1890 in Štip, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 8 May 1977, Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian Marxist philosopher, politician, journalist and leading member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. He was one ...

and

Tsvetko Boboshevski Tsvetko Petrov Boboshevski ( Bulgarian: Цвятко Петров Бобошевски) was Regent of Bulgaria for the underage Simeon II from 1944 to 1946. The first name is also transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of ...

, and he remained such until the fall of monarchy on 18 September 1946. From 1945, Venelin Ganev opposed the increasing influence of 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 198 ...

and joined the opposition. In 1947 he was dismissed from his position at the

University of Sofia 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 ...

and interned in

Dryanovo Dryanovo ( bg, Дряново, ) is a Bulgarian town situated at the northern foot of the Balkan Mountains in Gabrovo Province; amphitheatrically along the two banks of Dryanovo River, a tributary to the Yantra River. The town is a centre of the ...

(until 1956), and in 1948 he was expelled from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 1991 he was posthumously restored to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Publications

Venelin Ganev - memorial plaque - 53, 6th September Str, Sofia

* ''Chopin'' (1919) * ''Historical development of commercial law'' (1921) * ''A course in common law theory. Introduction. Methodology of law'' (1921–1932, 1946) * ''A course in commercial law'' (1923) * ''A course in common law theory. Legal phenomenon'' (1925) * ''A systematic course in'' /nowiki>the study of/nowiki> ''bankruptcy'', volume I (1926) * ''A textbook in common law theory'' (in two volumes; 1932–1938) * ''Economic reality. An essay of a sociological synthesis'' (1945) * ''Democracy'' (1946) * ''. Legal-historical and legal-analythic research'' (1959) Venelin Ganev's gravesite

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganev, Venelin 1880 births 1966 deaths People from Ruse, Bulgaria Radical Democratic Party (Bulgaria) politicians Regents of Bulgaria 20th-century Bulgarian lawyers Bulgarian diplomats Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Ambassadors of Bulgaria to France Bulgarian anti-communists Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery