Racho Petrov

Racho Petrov Stoyanov (Bulgarian: Рачо Петров Стоянов) (3 March 1861 – 22 January 1942) was a leading Bulgarian general and politician.

Racho Petrov Рачо Петров
12th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 25 January 1901 – 5 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Todor Ivanchov
Succeeded by	Petko Karavelov
In office 19 May 1903 – 5 November 1906
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stoyan Danev
Succeeded by	Dimitar Petkov
Chief of the General Staff
In office 9 September 1885 – 29 April 1887
Monarch	Alexander
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Stefan Paprikov
In office 23 October 1887 – 15 April 1894
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stefan Paprikov
Succeeded by	Nikola Ivanov
War Minister
In office 10 July 1887 – 1 September 1887
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Danail Nikolaev
Succeeded by	Sava Mutkurov
In office 27 April 1894 – 29 November 1896
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Mihail Savov
Succeeded by	Nikola Ivanov
Minister of Interior
In office 10 December 1900 – 4 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Vasil Radoslavov
Succeeded by	Mihail Sarafov
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 21 January 1901 – 4 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Dimitar Tonchev
Succeeded by	Stoyan Danev
In office 18 May 1903 – 4 November 1906
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stoyan Danev
Succeeded by	Dimitar Petkov
Personal details
Born	3 March 1861 Shumen, Ottoman Empire
Died	22 January 1942(1942-01-22) (aged 80) Belovo, Bulgaria
Military service
Allegiance	Bulgarian Army
Years of service	1878–1917
Rank	General of the Infantry
Battles/wars	Serbo-Bulgarian War, First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, Balkans Campaign (World War I)

Petrov was born in Shumen. A talented soldier, he was appointed Chief of General Staff at the age of 24 and was Minister of Defence at 27.[1] His stature was increased by the leading role he took in suppressing an army mutiny in 1887.[2] He married Sultana Pantaleeva Minchovich in 1887, with whom he had 3 children. After an unhappy marriage, they divorced in 1919.[3]

Both Petrov and his wife were personally close to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria[4] and in 1891 he was promoted by Ferdinand to the rank of colonel, the first officer to hold that rank in Bulgaria.[5] Petrov also attended Ferdinand's wedding to Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma in Italy in 1893.[6] Ferdinand's decision in 1894 to place Petrov in charge of the army completely, and thus outside the command of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov, precipitated the resignation of the latter.[7]

As a politician, he twice served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, initially as the non-party head of an interim administration in 1901, the only task of which was to organize the next election.[8] He returned as Prime Minister for a longer period from 1903–1906, having been appointed for fear of war after a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia.[9] His government was particularly concerned with military matters and oversaw an armament program and extensive modernization of the Bulgarian army.[10]

During the Second Balkan War Petrov, by then a Lieutenant General, took command of the 3rd Army, leading it at the Battle of Bregalnica, a Serbian victory.[11]

During the First World War he served as head of the newly established Macedonian Military Inspection Oblast from December 1915 until October 1916.[12]

See also

• List of Bulgarian generals in the Kingdom of Bulgaria

Notes

1.    Standart News - Archive | Wednesday, 3 May 2006 at www.standartnews.com
2. Plamen S. Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans: A Regional Overview from a Bulgarian Perspective, EM Text, 1993, p. 79
3. Popov, Zheko. "Popular Vote in Bulgaria". PEOPLE'S LIBERAL PARTY IN BULGARIA 1903-1920. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
4. Duncan M. Perry, Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895, Duke University Press, 1993, p. 151
5. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 183
6. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, p. 194
7. Perry, Stefan Stambolov, pp. 205-206
8. Ivan Ilčev, Valery Kolev, Veselin Yanchev, Bulgarian Parliament and Bulgarian Statehood: 125 Years National Assembly 1879-2005, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2005, p. 71
9. R. J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 127-128
10. Tsvetkov, A History of the Balkans, p. 85
11. Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War, Routledge, 2002, pp. 110-112
12. National-liberation movement of the Macedonian and Thracian Bulgarians 1878-1944. Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1997, ISBN 954-8187-32-9. pp. 361-362, 396

Political offices
Preceded by Todor Ivanchov	Prime Minister of Bulgaria 1901	Succeeded by Petko Karavelov
Preceded by Stoyan Danev	Prime Minister of Bulgaria 1903–1906	Succeeded by Dimitar Petkov
Preceded by Danail Nikolaev	Minister of War 1887	Succeeded by Sava Mutkurov
Preceded by Mihail Savov	Minister of War 1894–1896	Succeeded by Nikola Ivanov
Preceded by Vasil Radoslavov	Minister of Interior 1900–1901	Succeeded by Mihail Sarafov
Preceded by Dimitar Tonchev	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1901	Succeeded by Stoyan Danev
Preceded by Stoyan Danev	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1903–1906	Succeeded by Dimitar Petkov