Georgi Ivanov Stranski (; 13 August 1847 – 17 January 1904) was a Bulgarian physician and politician. A close friend of Hristo Botev, Stranski was an active member of various organizations founded by Bulgarian emigrants in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

(the

United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Moldavia, Principality of Moldavia and the Wallachia, Principality of Wallachia. The union was ...

). After the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, Stranski was one of the leaders of the Liberal Party of Eastern Rumelia, and its successor after the Bulgarian unification in 1885, the all-Bulgarian People's Liberal Party of

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (; 31 January 1854 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS – 19 July 1895 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revoluti ...

. Between the accomplishment of the Bulgarian unification on 6 September 1885 and its international recognition in mid-1886, Stranski was the only ever Commissar of South Bulgaria.

Biography

Georgi Stranski was born on in

Kalofer Kalofer ( pronounced:) is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality. It is best kno ...

, a Sub-Balkan town in

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

, or the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(today in central

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

). In 1864, he moved to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, at the time the capital of the autonomous United Principalities of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. In Bucharest, Stranski finished a medical school and graduated in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

in 1874. He remained in Romania as a professional physician, practicing in

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

and Bucharest. In 1876, he published the book ''Medical Lectures''. While residing in Romania, Stranski was a prominent member of the sizable Bulgarian diaspora there and among the founding members of two of its organizations, the Bulgarian Philanthropic Trusteeship and the Bulgarian Central Charity Society. He was particularly close to his townsman, revolutionary and

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

Hristo Botev (1848–1876), to whom he was best man. During the Serbo–Turkish War of 1876, Stranski served in the Romanian medical mission in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. For the duration of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which brought about the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule, he was an army surgeon in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

that fought alongside the Russians. During the Provisional Russian Government of the Bulgarian lands that preceded the establishment of a Bulgarian government, Stranski was the regional doctor of Pleven. Stranski's political career began with his election to the Constituent Assembly of 1879 and the 1st Ordinary

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and Legislature, legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. During the People's Republic ...

of the same year. In 1879 he settled in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, the capital of autonomous Eastern Rumelia, where he continued his medical career and became one of the leaders of the Liberal Party of Eastern Rumelia. He held various high offices in the autonomous province, including Director of Finance (1880–1881), member of the Permanent Committee (1879–1880, 1882–1883) and its chairman (1883–1884), and chairman of the provincial

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

, the Regional Assembly (1883). As a member of the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee, Stranski was among the most prominent participants in the organization of the Bulgarian unification of 1885, or the accession of Eastern Rumelia to the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

. Following the successful accomplishment of the unification, Stranski became the chairman of the province's provisional government, titled Commissar of South Bulgaria. He held the office until the international recognition of the unification on 5 April 1886 by the Treaty of Tophane and the first National Assembly elections in South Bulgaria in the summer of that year. After the Bulgarian victory in the Serbo–Bulgarian War, Georgi Stranski was appointed Bulgarian diplomatic agent in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(1886–1887). In Konstantin Stoilov's short-lived government of 1887, Stranski was Minister of Internal Affairs, succeeding

Vasil Radoslavov Vasil Hristov Radoslavov () (27 July 1854 – 21 October 1929) was a leading Bulgarian liberalism, liberal politician who twice served as List of Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, prime minister. He was premier of the country throughout most of W ...

. Under

, Stranski held the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Denominations (1887–1890), a post he took over from Grigor Nachovich. He was also elected to parliament in the 5th (1887–1890) and 6th (1890–1893) Ordinary National Assembly. Following Stambolov's resignation, Stranski continued his career as a doctor: in 1897–1899 he directed the Aleksandrovska Hospital in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, and in 1899–1900 he was the regional doctor of Ruse. Between 1900 and 1904, Georgi Stranski presided over Bulgaria's Supreme Chamber of Control, the national

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

institution. He died on in Sofia.

Honors

* The Dr. Georgi Stranski University Hospital in Pleven was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stranski, Georgi 1847 births 1904 deaths People from Kalofer People's Liberal Party politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Bulgaria Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) Bulgarian military doctors Bulgarian expatriates in Romania University of Bucharest alumni 19th-century Bulgarian physicians 20th-century Bulgarian physicians People from the Ottoman Empire