Around 9:30 (local time) in the morning of October 2 the
former Bulgarian Prime Minister
Andrey Lukanov, age 58,
was shot dead before the eyes of his wife in front of his home. Lukanov was a long time member of the ruling communist elite in Bulgaria and was a major player in the power struggle within his party (now called Socialist). While being a Politbureau candidate member, a deputy prime minister and a minister of foreign economic relations in the late 70s and 80s, he was directly involved in the replacement of the Bulgarian communist dictator Todor Zhivkov by his foreign minister Petar Mladenov in November of 1989. From February until November 1990 Lukanov was a prime minister in two Bulgarian governments. Under his rule, the Bulgarian government declared a moratorium on the foreign debt payments. He eventually resigned due to the popular dissatisfaction with his government policies and a series of strikes and demonstrations. Most recently Lukanov was a member of the parliament from the ruling Bulgarian Socialist party and was also involved in major business dealings. At a party plenum in March of 1996 Lukanov criticized the present BSP leadership of the Bulgarian prime minister Zhan Videnov for using Stalinist state methods by merging the party structures with police authorities. In July Lukanov was replaced as board chairman of the Bulgarian-Russian joint stock company Topenergy working in the area of natural gas distribution throughout the Balkans. His replacement was considered to had been inspired by the present BSP government.
Born in Moscow in 1938 to a family of Bulgarian communist emigrants, Lukanov was a graduate of the Moscow Institute for International Relations. He was considered well connected with business and political circles in Russia and had contacts in the West. The Russian ambassador in Bulgaria Alexander Avdeev was reportedly seen at the scene of the murder today talking to the investigators.
The motives of the assassin are unclear so far. According to witnesses, the suspected assassin could have been seen during the past several days in the neighborhood dressed up as a trump. According to unconfirmed reports, Lukanov was shot twice (at least once in the head).
Extraordinary meetings of the Bulgarian presidential National Security Council and the government were called. All political forces in the country denounced the murder. While the incident will cast a shadow over the upcoming presidential elections on October 27, they are not expected to be postponed and a state of emergency is not going to be introduced according to a statement of the Bulgarian parliament.