Petko Karavelov (24 March 1843-24 January 1903) was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 10 December 1880 to 9 May 1881 (succeeding Dragan Tsankov and preceding Johann Casimir Ernrot), from 11 July 1884 to 21 August 1886 (succeeding Tsankov and preceding Kliment Turnovski), from 24 to 28 August 1886 (succeeding Turnovski and preceding Vasil Radoslavov), and from 5 March 1901 to 4 January 1902 (succeeding Racho Petrov and preceding Stoyan Danev). Formerly of the Liberal Party, he founded the Democratic Party in 1886, and he became known as a champion of democratic liberalism in the country.
Biography[]
Petko Karavelov was born in Koprivshtitsa, Ottoman Empire in 1843, the brother of Bulgarian revolutionary Lyuben Karavelov. He was educated in Moscow and served in the Imperial Russian Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, fighting to liberate Bulgaria from Turkish rule. In 1878, he became deputy Governor of Svishtov, and he was elected to the new National Assembly for the Liberal Party shortly afterwards. In 1879, Prince Alexander of Battenberg asked Karavelov to form a coalition government, but Karavelov refused, as Alexander wanted him to oppose the Russian Empire and curb freedoms, two illiberal policies. He went on to serve as Prime Minister from 1880 to 1881, but he was forced into exile when Alexander suspended the constitution in 1881. Karavelov lived in exile in Plovdiv until 1884, and he also served as the city's mayor. Karavelov returned as Prime Minister from 1884 to 1886, and he was involved in a Russian-backed plot to oust Alexander from power. He briefly served as Prime Minister in 1886 following Alexander's overthrow, and, a committed liberal, he founded the Democratic Party following the disintegration of the Liberal Party under Vasil Radoslavov. He was imprisoned from 1891 to 1894 after breaking with his former ally Stefan Stambolov, and he was tortured after being accused of assassinating a minister. He was released following Stambolov's resignation in 1894, and, as leader of the Democrats, he favored closer relations with Western Europe and became the "grand old man" of democratic liberalism in Bulgaria. He served his last term as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1902, and he died in Sofia in 1903 at the age of 59.