Racho Petrov

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Racho Petrov Рачо Петров
12th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 25 January 1901 – 5 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Todor Ivanchov
Succeeded by	Petko Karavelov
In office 19 May 1903 – 5 November 1906
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stoyan Danev
Succeeded by	Dimitar Petkov
Chief of the General Staff
In office 9 September 1885 – 29 April 1887
Monarch	Alexander
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Stefan Paprikov
In office 23 October 1887 – 15 April 1894
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stefan Paprikov
Succeeded by	Nikola Ivanov
War Minister
In office 10 July 1887 – 1 September 1887
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Danail Nikolaev
Succeeded by	Sava Mutkurov
In office 27 April 1894 – 29 November 1896
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Mihail Savov
Succeeded by	Nikola Ivanov
Minister of Interior
In office 10 December 1900 – 4 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Vasil Radoslavov
Succeeded by	Mihail Sarafov
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 21 January 1901 – 4 March 1901
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Dimitar Tonchev
Succeeded by	Stoyan Danev
In office 18 May 1903 – 4 November 1906
Monarch	Ferdinand
Preceded by	Stoyan Danev
Succeeded by	Dimitar Petkov
Personal details
Born	3 March 1861 Shumen, Ottoman Empire
Died	22 January 1942(1942-01-22) (aged 80) Belovo, Bulgaria
Military service
Allegiance	Bulgarian Army
Branch/service	Infantry
Years of service	1878–1917
Rank	General of the Infantry
Battles/wars	Serbo-Bulgarian War First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I Balkans Campaign

Racho Petrov Stoyanov (Bulgarian: Рачо Петров Стоянов) (3 March 1861 – 22 January 1942) was a leading Bulgarian general and politician.

Petrov was born in Shumen. A talented soldier, he was appointed Chief of General Staff at the age of 24 and was Minister of Defence at 27.^[1] His stature was increased by the leading role he took in suppressing an army mutiny in 1887.^[2] He married Sultana Pantaleeva Minchovich in 1887, with whom he had 3 children. After an unhappy marriage, they divorced in 1919.^[3]

Both Petrov and his wife were personally close to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria^[4] and in 1891 he was promoted by Ferdinand to the rank of colonel, the first officer to hold that rank in Bulgaria.^[5] Petrov also attended Ferdinand's wedding to Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma in Italy in 1893.^[6] Ferdinand's decision in 1894 to place Petrov in charge of the army completely, and thus outside the command of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov, precipitated the resignation of the latter.^[7]

As a politician, he twice served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, initially as the non-party head of an interim administration in 1901, the only task of which was to organize the next election.^[8] He returned as prime minister for a longer period from 1903 to 1906, having been appointed for fear of war after a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia.^[9] His government was particularly concerned with military matters and oversaw an armament program and extensive modernization of the Bulgarian army.^[10]

During the Second Balkan War Petrov, by then a Lieutenant General, took command of the 3rd Army, leading it at the Battle of Bregalnica, a Serbian victory.^[11]

During the First World War he served as head of the newly established Macedonian Military Inspection Oblast from December 1915 until October 1916.^[12]

• List of Bulgarian generals in the Kingdom of Bulgaria