Office of the Historian

874.002/9–344: Telegram

The Consul General at Istanbul (Berry) to the Secretary of State

Istanbul, September 3, 1944—noon.
[Received September 4—9:30 a.m.]

519R115. Following is new Bulgarian Cabinet announced last night: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Konstantin Muraviev, nephew of Stambulisky,57 Agrarian, Minister of War in Stambulisky government 1923; Minister of Education in 1932.

Without Portfolio, Nikola Mushanov, chief of Democratic Party, ex-Prime Minister; Atanas Burov, Russophile chief of Conservative Narodna Party, ex-Foreign Minister under Liyapchev;58 Dimitri Gichev, chief of Agrarian Party, ex-Minister of Commerce and Agriculture; Interior and temporarily Communications, Vergil Dimov, brother-in-law of Gichev, Agrarian ex-Minister of Public Works, leftist tendencies; Finance and temporarily Commerce, Dr. Alexandre Girginov, Democrat of Mushanov Party, ex-Minister of Interior in Mushanov Cabinet; Justice and temporarily Education, Boris Pavlov, prominent Democrat lawyer; War, General Ivan Marinov, ex-Military Attaché at London and Paris, able officer until lately at Skoplje; Public Works, Stevan Daskalov, Agrarian; Agriculture, Hristo Popov, Agrarian.

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New government is concentration of former opposition parties excepting Leftist, Agrarians, Socialists and Communists. Innovation of Ministries without Portfolio designed to give special status to three prominent political leaders serving under comparatively little known Prime Minister.

Berry
  1. Alexander Stambulisky, leader of the Peasant Party, was Bulgarian Prime Minister from 1919 to 1923; he was assassinated in June 1923.↩
  2. Andrew Liapchev, Bulgarian Prime Minister from 1926 to 1931.↩