Stambolijski, Alexandăr

Autor: Stambolijski, Alexandăr
Rok: 1879-1923

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Bulharský politik, zakladatel agrární strany.
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Aleksandar Stamboliyski (Bulgarian: Александър Стоименов Стамболийски, variously transliterated) (March 1, 1879 – June 14, 1923) was the prime minister of Bulgaria from 1919 until 1923. Stamboliyski was a member of the Agrarian Union, an agrarian peasant movement which was not allied to the monarchy, and edited their newspaper. He opposed the country's participation in World War I and its support for the Central Powers. In a famous incident during 1914 Stamboliyski's patriotism was challenged when members of the Bulgarian parliament questioned whether he was Bulgarian or not, to which he shouted in response "I am neither a Bulgarian nor a Serb, I am a South Slav (Yugoslav)!". This statement relates to his belief in a Balkan Federation which would unite the region and supersede many of the national identities which existed at the time. He was court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison in 1915.In 1918, with the defeat of Bulgaria, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son Tsar Boris III who released Stamboliyski from prison. He joined the government in January, 1919, and was appointed prime minister on October 14 of that year. On March 20, 1920, the Agrarian Union won national elections and Stamboliyski was confirmed as prime minister.During his term in office, Stamboliyski made a concerted effort to improve relations with the rest of Europe. This resulted in Bulgaria becoming the first of the defeated states to join the League of Nations in 1920. Though popular with the peasants, he antagonized the middle class and military. Many considered him to be a virtual dictator or a peasant thug. He was ousted in a military coup on June 9, 1923. He attempted to raise a rebellion against the new government, but was captured by the IMRO, who detested him for renouncing Bulgarian claims on the territory of Macedonia, was brutally tortured, and killed.Born to a farmer, Aleksandar Stamboliyski spent his childhood in the Bulgarian village of Slavovitsa, the same village where he would later gather several thousand insurrectionists from the region and advance against the town of Pazardzhik. However, before this grand counter-insurgence was to transpire, Stamboliyski had to work himself up the ranks of the nation’s political scene as the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union. Although successful in his political ambition of acquiring the highest political office of the state, the unstable political atmosphere of Bulgaria in the early inter-war years ultimately contributed to Stamboliyski’s demise.