Damyan Velchev

Damyan Velchev or Velcev (Bulgarian: Дамян Велчев) (4 March 1883, Gabrovo – 25 January 1954) was a Bulgarian politician and general.

In 1930 he became a member of the Zveno group. In 1934 he led the pro-Zveno coup, but did not become a minister and stayed in the background.[1] After King Boris III's counter-coup of 1935 Velchev fled abroad, but later slipped back into the country and was arrested. He was sentenced to death in 1936, but Boris spared his life. In 1943 he joined the Fatherland Front, an anti-Axis resistance movement. In 1944 the Fatherland Front seized power and Velchev became Minister of Defence with the rank of colonel general. He resigned in 1946 because of communist purges within the army. Later he became ambassador to Switzerland, but in 1947 he resigned and asked for political asylum. He remained in Switzerland until his death in France in 1954.

References

Crampton, R. J. (1997). A Concise History of Bulgaria. Cambridge University Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780521567190.

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[1] Crampton, R. J. (1997). A Concise History of Bulgaria. Cambridge University Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780521567190.