Zhivkov, << ZHIHV kawv, >> Todor (1911-1998) was premier of Bulgaria from 1962 to 1971 and president from 1971 to 1989. He also served as first secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1954 to 1989. Zhivkov made the Bulgarian Communist Party more accepted among the Bulgarian people. He also maintained close political relations with the Soviet Union. In 1968, for example, he sent Bulgarian troops to help Soviet forces invade Czechoslovakia. In 1992, he was convicted of embezzling state funds and sentenced to seven years under house arrest.
Zhivkov was born in Pravets, near Botevgrad. He joined the Young Communist League in 1930 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1932. During World War II (1939-1945), he worked in the resistance movement against Nazi Germany.
