"National Consensus" or Reforms, 1991

Andrey Lukanov vs. Philip Dimitrov, 1991

With his characteristic "poker face", former Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov is listening to his adversary's arguments. We hear yet again Lukanov's favourite slogan, "national consensus" ("национално съгласие"), we see him arguing that his former Communist (by then Socialist) party is genuinely interested in reforms, and there is no need for early elections. The leader of the Anti-Communist Alliance, Philip Dimitrov, remains unconvinced. A few months earlier, Andrey Lukanov had stepped down as a Prime Minister and handed over the post to non-party member Dimitar Popov.

In July 1991 Parliament passed a new constitution, making Bulgaria the first of the former Communist countries to adopt a new basic law. New parliamentary elections were indeed to be held in October 1991. After his Union's victory, on the 8th November 1991 Philip Dimitrov formed Bulgaria's first non-Communist government since World War II.

On the 7th July 1992 at the request of the Prosecutor General, Parliament voted to strip Andrey Lukanov of his parliamentary immunity. He spent months in custody for embezzlement, and further accusations followed, among them wasting Bulgarian state assets for Third World regimes.

In the next few years Lukanov came to symbolize what became known as "Red businessmen". He had close connections with Robert Maxwell. Soviet-born, his complex association with Russia put him in a position to become in May 1995 the chairman of the Bulgarian-Russian gas company Topenergy. Topenergy was due to construct a gas pipeline from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia.

In July 1996 he was removed from his post. On 2 October 1996 Andrey Lukanov was assassinated outside his home in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was shot in the head and chest by a gunman who fled and was never captured.

(Panel hosted by Raycho Raykov, Bulgarian National TV)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Sofia
• Bulgaria
• България
• Communism
• Stalinism
• Soviet
• Union
• Lukanov
• Луканов
• Russia
• Россия
• Robert
• Maxwell