Ivan Dochev

Ivan Dimitrov Dochev (7 January 1906 – 14 May 2005) was a Bulgarian far-right politician active either side of the Second World War.

Early years Born in Shumen the son of an army colonel, Dochev worked in the civil service from 1926 to 1932 when he went to Sofia University to study law and politics. It was at university that he first became involved in politics, taking charge of the student organisation. His pro-German stance made him unpopular however, especially as the war neared its end. As a result, he joined Aleksandar Tsankov in accepting German-sponsored exile in Vienna in 1944 and he served out the war there.

The sentences were not carried out however as he remained in exile and before long he returned to political activism, with his journal Bulgaria appearing in Salzburg in 1945 followed by the formation of the virulently anti-communist Bulgarian National Front in 1947. His new journal Borba soon became central to anti-communist activity amongst North America-based Bulgarians.

Final years Dochev, by then Honorary Chairman of the Bulgarian National Front, returned to Bulgaria late in 1991, still unsure about whether or not his death sentence continued to stand, with even President Zhelyu Zhelev uncertain.