Ivan Evstratiev Geshov

Ivan Evstratiev Geshov (Bulgarian: Иван Евстратиев Гешов) (20 February 1849 [8 February 1849 OS] – 11 March 1924) was a Bulgarian politician who served as Bulgarian Prime Minister.^[1][2]

Ivan Evstratiev Geshov Иван Евстратиев Гешов
18th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 29 March 1911 – 14 June 1913
Preceded by	Aleksandar Malinov
Succeeded by	Stoyan Danev
Monarch	Ferdinand
Personal details
Born	20 February 1849 [8 February 1849 O.S.] Plovdiv, Ottoman Empire
Died	11 March 1924(1924-03-11) (aged 75) Sofia, Bulgaria
Resting place	Central Sofia Cemetery
Political party	People's Party (until 1920) United People's Progressive Party (1920–1923)
Education	Owens College
Signature

Ivan Evstratiev Geshov.

The Grave of Ivan Evstratiev Geshov at Sofia Central Cemetery (42°42′48.7″N 023°20′00.6″E)

He was born in Plovdiv to a family of merchants originally from Karlovo. Geshov was educated at the Bulgarian Sts. Cyrill and Methodius High School in Plovdiv, as well as at Owens College in Manchester (1866–1869), where he studied logic and political economy under William Stanley Jevons.^[3] Geshov first came to political attention through his involvement in the campaign for Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire. He wrote a series of letters against the Ottomans and was sentenced to death, although this was later commuted to exile in Aleppo.^[4] He was pardoned in 1878 after independence was gained and returned to Bulgaria to become involved in the government of Eastern Rumelia, taking on a number of roles including Minister of Finance for the region.

As governor of the Bulgarian National Bank from 1883 onwards^[5] he became recognized as one of the country's leading economic minds and was eventually appointed Finance Minister in the government of Vasil Radoslavov in 1886. In this role, and subsequent spells as Finance Minister, he tended to follow protectionism in order to build up Bulgaria's fairly backward economy. However he was opposed to the policies of Stefan Stambolov, at the time one of the country's regents, and resigned in 1887, largely over the pro-Austria-Hungary stance of Stambolov.

After a break from political life, he returned as Finance Minister in the government of Konstantin Stoilov in 1894, a position he held for three years. In 1901 he became President of the Sabranie (Assembly) and that same year was elected leader of the People's Party, following the death of Stoilov. In 1908, he took part in the so called "Geshoff incident".^[6]

Geshov finally formed a government on 29 March 1911, heading a moderate coalition of nationalists and Stoyan Danev's Russophile faction.^[7] As Prime Minister he supported the introduction of the proportional representation electoral system. He also supported the policy of working through the Balkan League and led the country through the First Balkan War against Ottoman Empire.^[8] However, he resigned on 30 May 1913, the day that the Treaty of London was signed to end the War, as he opposed the Tsar's policy of making war on the Balkan League allies.^[9] Despite this, it had been Geshov's government that gave the Tsar the power to sign treaties in the first place.^[7]

Geshov remained in politics as a member of the parliament, joining the Democratic Party in 1923 after the fall of the government of Aleksandar Stamboliyski, but he played no further roles in government.

Outside politics he fulfilled a number of roles, including editor of the Maritsa newspaper, founder of the Study Society and the Scientific and Literary Society and chairman of the Bulgarian Red Cross (1899–1924) and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1911–1924).

References

1. Crampton, R. J. (2005). Cambridge Concise Histories: A Concise History of Bulgaria (2nd ed.). Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paolo: Cambridge University Press. pp. 131-134, 273. ISBN 9780521253406.
2. Roszkowski, Wojciech; Kofman, Jan, eds. (2008). "GESHOV, Ivan (20 February 1849, Plovdiv - 24 March 1924, Sofia)". Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 285–286 – via Google Books.
3. Nenovsky, N.; Penchev, P. (2018). "The Austrian school in Bulgaria: A history". Russian Journal of Economics. 4: 46–47. doi:10.3897/j.ruje.4.26005. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
4. Gueshoff, I.E. (1915). "Preface to the English Edition". The Balkan League; Translated by Constantin C. Mincoff, First Secretary of the Bulgarian Legation. London: John Murray. p. viii. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Internet Archive.
5. "Bulgarian National Bank Governors". www.bnb.bg.
6. Bourchier, James David (1911). "Bulgaria/History" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 04 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 779–784, see page 784, para four, line nine. Declaration of Independence.—.... and by the so-called "Geshoff incident," i.e. the exclusion of M. Geshoff, the Bulgarian agent, from a dinner....
7. Evans, S.G. (1960). A Short History of Bulgaria. London: Lawrence and Wishart. p. 147.
8. Gueshoff, I.E. (1915). The Balkan League; Translated by Constantin C. Mincoff, First Secretary of the Bulgarian Legation. London: John Murray. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Internet Archive.
9. Anderson, Frank Maloy; Hershey, Amos Shartle (1918). Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914. Washington, DC: National Board for Historical Service, Government Printing Office. p. 438. Retrieved 25 September 2018.

External links

• Works by or about Ivan Evstratiev Geshov at the Internet Archive
• United States Department of State. "Note on the Production and Trade of the District of Philippopolis - prepared by John E. Gueshoff of Philippopolis at the request of Eugene Schuyler". Foreign Relations of the United States / Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, transmitted to congress, with the annual message of the president, December 4, 1876 (1876), Turkish Empire, pp. 568-593. pp. 586–591. Retrieved 11 October 2017 – via Digital Collections of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library.
• Laveleye, Emile de (1887). The Balkan Peninsula; Edited and Revised for the English Public by the Author; With an Introductory Chapter Upon the Most Recent Events and a Letter from the Right Honourable W. P. Gladstone M.P. Translated by Mrs. Thorpe. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 282. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.
• Schurman, Jacob Gould (1914). The Balkan Wars 1912-1913. Princeton and London: Princeton University Press and Oxford University Press. pp. 95–98. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.
• Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 1914. pp. 43, 60, 62, 63, 65, 195. Retrieved 25 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.
• Memorandum addressed to the Peace Conference by J.E. Gueshoff, Former Bulgarian Prime Minister and D. Tsokoff, Former Bulgarian Minister in London. Chicago, Illinois: Reprinted by Macedo-Bulgarian Central Committee. 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2017 – via Internet Archive.