Mladenov, Petar Toshev

▪ 2001

      Bulgarian politician (b. Aug. 22, 1936, Toshevtsi, Bulg.—d. May 31, 2000, Sofia, Bulg.), served as Bulgaria's foreign minister for 18 years (1971–89) until he engineered the bloodless overthrow of Pres. Todor Zhivkov, who had ruled with an iron fist for 35 years. As the new president from Nov. 10, 1989, Mladenov supported numerous reforms, including the repudiation of Zhivkov's anti-Turkish policies and the holding of multiparty elections in June 1990, but he was forced to resign from office soon after those elections.

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