Malinov, Aleksandr

Born Apr. 21, 1867, in the village of Pandakliia, near the city of Bolgrad in present-day Odessa Oblast, Ukrainian SSR; died Mar. 20, 1938, in Sofia. Bulgarian statesman and politician. The son of a merchant.

Malinov was a lawyer by profession. After graduating from the university in Kiev, he left for Bulgaria, where he was a judge, a prosecutor, and an attorney. In 1899 he was elected to the National Assembly as a deputy for the Democratic Party. In 1902, Malinov became the leader of the party. From 1908 to 1911 he headed the Democratic government. During his tenure, Bulgaria declared its complete independence from Turkey. He helped to change the Turnovo Constitution of 1879, which had given the Bulgarian tsar the right to conclude secret agreements without popular control. From June to October 1918, Malinov was prime minister of the coalition government that suppressed the Vladaia revolt of 1918. From October to November 1918 he was prime minister of a second coalition cabinet. After the fascist coup d’etat of June 9, 1923, he was leader of the parliamentary group of Democrats, which was acting as a legal opposition, although supporting the fascist dictatorship. This group remained outside the fascist amalgamation—the Democratic Union. In the spring of 1931 he headed the National Bloc, the opposition consisting of bourgeois and petit bourgeois parties. After the bloc won in the elections of June 21,1931, Malinov was prime minister of a coalition government until October 1931. From 1931 to 1934 he was chairman of the National Assembly.

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