Damyan Velchev

Damian Velchev (Velcev) (4 March 1883, Gabrovo - 25 January 1954) was a Bulgarian politician and military man.

In 1930, he became a member of a pro-Zveno group. In 1934, he was the leader of the pro-Zveno coup, but did not become a minister and stayed in the background. After the counter-coup in 1935, Velchev fled abroad, but later slipped back into the country and was arrested. He was sentenced to death in 1936, but his life was spared by King Boris III. In 1943, he joined the Fatherland Front, a pro-communist, anti-Axis resistance movement. In 1944, the Fatherland Front seized power and Velchev became Minister of Defence. He resigned in 1946 because of purges within the army. Later, he became ambassador to Switzerland, but after a while he resigned and asked for political asylum. He stayed in Switzerland until his death.

References

Persondata
Name	Velchev, Damyan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 March 1883
Place of birth
Date of death	25 January 1954
Place of death