Anton Yugov

Anton Yugov
Антон Югов
Yugov in 1947
35thPrime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 17 April 1956 – 19 November 1962
Preceded by	Valko Chervenkov
Succeeded by	Todor Zhivkov
Personal details
Born	Anton Tanev Goshev 5 August 1904 Rugunovec,Salonica vilayet,Ottoman Empire(nowPolykastro,Greece)
Died	6 July 1991(1991-07-06)(aged 86) Sofia,Bulgaria
Political party	Bulgarian Communist Party

Anton Tanev (Dontcho) Yugov(Bulgarian:Антон Танев Югов) (5 August 1904 – 6 July 1991) was a Bulgarian politician who was a leading member of theBulgarian Communist Party(BCP), and served asPrime Ministerof the country from 1956 to 1962. He was an Honorary Citizen ofTirana,Albania.

Yugov was born to aBulgarianfamily in Karasuli (Rugunovets),Ottoman Macedonia(todayPolykastro,Greece). His family moved toPlovdivafterWorld War I.

War years and Ministry

Yugov was a prominent figure in the BCP during theSecond World Warand attempted to reach a settlement with MarshalJosip Broz TitoinYugoslaviaregarding co-operation between both countries' communists. This 1941 initiative was aborted however as Tito would not accept the sacrifice ofMacedonia,something upon which Yugov insisted.The two would revisit the issue in 1945 when they discussed the possibility of a Bulgarian-Yugoslav confederation to solve the issue although theUnited StatesandUnited Kingdomraised such objections to the plan thatJoseph Stalinpersonally intervened to tell the two leaders to abandon the idea.

He served as Minister of the Interior from 1944 to 1949. As Interior Minister he oversaw a purge of the army of members ofZvenoand fascist sympathisers that became noted for its brutality.Linked toTraycho Kostov,he fell with him in 1949 and, whilst Yugov was not to follow his ally to the gallows, he was nonetheless rebuked by newprime ministerValko Chervenkovfor supposedly allowing Kostov's conspiracies to go unchecked.

Comeback

Following the death of Stalin and the process ofde-Stalinizationacross Eastern Europe Yugov emerged as a leading figure within the "home communist" tendency, who emphasised the importance of specifically Bulgarian communism rather than simply followingMoscowin order to legitimise the regime in the eyes of the people.As part of the move away from the Stalin template, the Bulgarian government released the "April Line" of 1956, which formed the basis of Bulgarian communism for the next three decades. As well as a template for government it included such provisions as the abandonment of thecult of personality,the release of certain dissidents from prison and full rehabilitation to others, including Yugov, living under a cloud, thus allowing him to launch a full and immediate political comeback.

The home communists gained the upper hand on the Politburo and as a consequence Prime minister Valko Chervenkov, a notedStalinist,was removed in 1956 and replaced by Yugov, who had emerged as the leading figure amongst the home party, in part because of the ruthless reputation he garnered in the interior ministry.

Fall from grace

He remained in the job for six years until overall leaderTodor Zhivkovalso assumed this role. Yugov, who had criticised Zhivkov for allowing the Bulgarian Great Leap Forward to influence economic policy, was removed as a potential rival.His strong following amongst the home communists also meant that Zhivkov feared Yugov as a challenge to his own position and so used the economic issue as a pretext for his removal.Yugov's fate had been sealed earlier that same year whenNikita Khrushchevvisited Bulgaria and publicly declared his support for Zhivkov, whilst snubbing Yugov.

He was rehabilitated on the 1990 BCP party congress.