The diplomat who opened Bulgaria's post-Zhivkov transition
Negotiations after Zhivkov's removal in 1989 marked the start of the dismantling of communist rule in Bulgaria.
A longtime communist foreign-policy leader, he publicly called for change in October 1989, became party general secretary after Todor Zhivkov's removal, and served as head of state in the early negotiated transition to multiparty politics.
Career Timeline
- 1971–1989Bulgarian foreign minister
- 1989–1990General secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party
- 1989–1990Head of state and president during transition
Related historical events
The 'Tanks' Tape Scandal and Resignation
On 14 December 1989, during a discussion of an opposition demonstration, a recording captured what appeared to be Mladenov's voice saying, 'It's better for the tanks to come' (По-добре танковете да дойдат). When the tape leaked to the press in the summer of 1990, university students across Bulgaria launched mass protests and the opposition Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) demanded his resignation. Mladenov denied the recording's authenticity until his death, but under mounting student pressure he resigned the presidency on 6 July 1990. The man who had embodied Bulgaria's peaceful transition was driven from politics by a single phrase about tanks: a dramatic illustration of the fragile new order in post-1989 Eastern Europe.