Georgi Walkowitsch

G. Wălkowitsch, dating unknown

Georgi Tschalăkow Wălkowitsch ( Bulgarian Георги Чалъков Вълкович ) (* 1833 in Adrianople (today: Edirne); † February 14, 1892 in Constantinople ) was a Bulgarian doctor, diplomat and conservative politician. From 1881 to 1883 he was foreign minister of his country in two successive governments.

In the literature there are also Georgi Tschalăkow and Georgi Wălkowitsch Tschalăkow as name variants .

Life and medical career

Wălkowitsch's father came from the extensive and influential Chalăkow family from Kopriwschtiza . Georgi attended school in Plovdiv and then completed a medical degree in Constantinople. In 1857 he became professor of surgery at the military medical school and chief physician of a surgical clinic. From 1859 to 1863 he continued his education in Paris , where he made the acquaintance of Georgi Rakowski and Petǎr Beron . After his return to the Ottoman Empire , he briefly became the chief physician of the Central Hospital in Damascus , before returning to his chair in Constantinople in 1866.

In 1870 he was also director of the Haydar Pascha hospital in the Asian part of Constantinople and personal doctor of the Ottoman Foreign Minister Raschid Pasha until his assassination in 1876. From 1872 he was formally held the rank of colonel in the Ottoman army. As one of the best doctors in the capital, he made the acquaintance of the Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha , who gradually became a friendship. During the Serbian-Ottoman War from 1876 onwards, he headed the military hospitals in Sofia and Niš , at times he was also assigned to a British mission that examined the conditions in the European part of the Ottoman Empire. In May 1876 Wălkowitsch gave up all his offices in the Ottoman Empire in order to make his knowledge and skills available to the Bulgarian insurgents.

During the Serbian-Bulgarian War of 1885/86 he was chief physician of the Bulgarian army and member of the Supreme Medical Council of Bulgaria.

Political career

The first government of the Autonomous Province of Eastern Rumelia: Wălkowitsch standing, 2nd from right; sitting in the middle: the governor general Aleksandăr Bogoridi

In February 1879 Wălkowitsch was appointed to the Notable Assembly , which met as the constituent national assembly in Veliko Tarnovo . He was then elected to the first regular national assembly, to which he belonged again in the third legislative period in 1882/83. After the end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1877/78 and the establishment of the Autonomous Province of Eastern Rumelia , he took over the management of the administration for agriculture, trade and public buildings in Plovdiv from 1879 to 1881, and in 1881 for a short time also the management of post and telegraphy. From this position he was appointed Minister of Foreign and Religious Affairs of the Principality of Bulgaria in Sofia, from where he was appointed a member of the State Council in 1883. In 1886 he was appointed Bulgarian representative at the Sublime Porte . Here he worked with great tact and, thanks to his many connections to the heads of the Ottoman state, also successfully for the improvement of mutual relations, always careful to preserve and strengthen the independent position of Bulgaria.

On February 12th, ^Jul./ February 24, 1892 ^greg.An assassination attempt was carried out on Wălkowitsch right in front of his official residence, the consequences of which he was killed on February 14th ^./ February 26, 1892 ^greg.died. This assassination attempt was part of a series: Several assassinations were carried out on Prime Minister Stambolov , a political friend of Wălkowitsch, of which it was finally successful in July 1895. Before Wălkowitsch, the finance minister Beltschew had already been murdered.

Others

Since 1875 Wălkowitsch was a corresponding, since 1884 a full member of the Bulgarian Literary Society, from which the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences emerged in 1911 .

In Sofia and Plovdiv there is a street улица Д-р Георги Вълкович in his memory.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Карадечева, Мария (Karadetschewa, Maria): 120 години от смъртта на д-р Георги Вълкович - лекар, политически деец и дипломат (120 years since the death Dr. Georgi Wălkowitschs - Doctor, political leader and diplomat) on the Website of the Plovdiv Historical Museum , accessed on March 27, 2016.
↑ Information on terms of office for Георги Чалъков Вълкович on the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on March 28, 2016.

Remarks

↑ Since the Principality of Bulgaria had to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire until 1908, this was officially a subordinate diplomatic position. In terms of content, the office corresponded to that of an ambassador today.

personal data
SURNAME	Walkowitsch, Georgi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wălkowitsch, Georgi Tschalăkow (full name); Вълкович, Георги Чалъков; Chalakov, Georgi; Tschalăkow, Georgi Wălkowitsch
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bulgarian doctor, diplomat and conservative politician
DATE OF BIRTH	1833
PLACE OF BIRTH	Adrianople , Ottoman Empire
DATE OF DEATH	February 14, 1892
Place of death	Constantinople , Ottoman Empire

[Karadetschewa-1] Карадечева, Мария (Karadetschewa, Maria): 120 години от смъртта на д-р Георги Вълкович - лекар, политически деец и дипломат (120 years since the death Dr. Georgi Wălkowitschs - Doctor, political leader and diplomat) on the Website of the Plovdiv Historical Museum , accessed on March 27, 2016.

[Außen-2] Information on terms of office for Георги Чалъков Вълкович on the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on March 28, 2016.

[3] Since the Principality of Bulgaria had to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire until 1908, this was officially a subordinate diplomatic position. In terms of content, the office corresponded to that of an ambassador today.