Ivan Evstatiev Geshov

Born Feb. 20, 1849, in Plovdiv; died Mar. 11, 1924. Bulgarian politician and statesman, banker, and publicist.

Geshov graduated from the University of Manchester in 1872. In 1879 he became chairman of the National Assembly and in 1882, minister of finance of Eastern Rumelia. In 1881 he became a corresponding member and in 1884 a full member of the Bulgarian Literary and Scientific Society. From 1898 to 1923 he was chairman of this society, which was known as the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences after 1911. Geshov was minister of finance of Bulgaria in 1886 and from 1894 to 1897. In 1901 he became the leader of the Popular Party. He led a coalition government from 1911 to 1913 and was one of the organizers of the Balkan Alliance of 1912. Geshov supported a pro-Russian foreign policy for Bulgaria. He later resigned as a result of disagreements with Isar Ferdinand Coburg of Bulgaria.