Krasimir Donchev Karakachanov ( bg, Красимир Дончев Каракачанов ; born 29 March 1965) is a Bulgarian politician. He has been the leader of the IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement since 1991.

Biography

Karakachanov says that he does not have any roots from the

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...

region, but as a historian he became a specialist on the Macedonian issue. Before the

Revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

, Karakachanov, being a historian, was an informer of the Committee for State Security on Macedonian nationalism. Karakachanov was a candidate in the

2011 Bulgarian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Bulgaria on 23 October 2011, with a runoff held on 30 October 2011. Incumbent president Georgi Parvanov was not eligible for re-election; the Constitution of Bulgaria limits a president to two terms. No candidat ...

, winning 1% of all votes cast in 10th place. Karakachanov took part in the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

as part of a coalition bloc with the Bulgaria without Censorship political party. In late July 2014, Karakachanov's IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement left the coalition to form a Patriotic Front

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

together with

Valeri Simeonov Valeri Simeonov Simeonov ( bg, Валери Симеонов Симеонов; born 14 March 1955) is a Bulgarian politician who is one of the leaders and founding members of the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria. Biography Born in Do ...

National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria The National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria ( bg, Национален фронт за спасение на България, Natsionalen front za spasenie na Bŭlgariya, NFSB), is an ultranationalist political party in Bulgaria. History T ...

. With Simeonov, he is the co-spokesman for the electoral bloc. Karakachanov stood as the candidate of the

United Patriots The United Patriots (OP; bg, Обединени Патриоти; ОП, translit=Obedineni Patrioti; OP) was a nationalist electoral alliance in Bulgaria formed by three political parties: IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement (IMRO), Attack (unt ...

coalition in the

2016 Bulgarian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Bulgaria on 6 November 2016, alongside a referendum on changes to the electoral system and political party funding. The second round was held on 13 November 2016, resulting in the victory of Rumen Radev. Elec ...

, with the MP Yavor Notev of Attack as his vice presidential candidate. They finished in third place with 573,016 votes or 14.97%. From 4 may 2017 to 21 may 2021 he was a deputy Prime minister for national security and Minister of defense in the then Government of Boyko Borisov.

Controversies

Karakachanov, who was Bulgarian deputy prime minister, used ''unsocialized gypsies'' to describe

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

in Bulgaria, a term critics said resembled Nazi terminology of ''asocial gypsies''. During the

2020–2021 Bulgarian protests The 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests were a series of demonstrations that were being held in Bulgaria, mainly in the capital Sofia, as well as cities with a large Bulgarian diaspora, such as Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and London. T ...

against the incumbent right-wing government, Karakachanov associated the protesters with

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

activists, and was quoted as saying: "We cannot let a few '' Sorosoid'' NGOs and small parties, that are not even in the parliament, get in power and destroy the country. In the name of what? To introduce gay marriage and to create a gender republic." After the-then prime minister Bojko Borisov proposed the draft of a new constitution to appease the public, Karakachanov wrote: "I am certain that IMRO will defend its position on strengthening family values and marriage as a union between a man and a woman, as well as placing the family at the core of all normative documents related to the rights of children. The institution of marriage should be guaranteed and the protection against the introduction of a third, fifth, or a 30th gender should be explicit." About a proposed reintroduction of compulsory military service for man, Karakachanov wrote: "This is one of the ways we will get our children away from the dangerous influence of gender ideology." In response, the Sofia Pride Organisational Committee, Bilitis, Deystvie, and the GLAS Foundation called for condemnation of his statements.

References

1965 births 20th-century Bulgarian historians Bulgarian nationalists Candidates for President of Bulgaria Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Government ministers of Bulgaria Defence ministers of Bulgaria Living people Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) People from Ruse, Bulgaria {{Bulgaria-bio-stub