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Todor Petrov

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Todor Petrov
President of World Macedonian Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 September 1990
Member of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
In office
1990–1994
Personal details
Born (1960-03-19) 19 March 1960 (age 64)
Gevgelija, Macedonia, Yugoslavia
Political partyIndependent
Residence(s)Skopje, North Macedonia
Alma materSs. Cyril and Methodius University

Todor Petrov (born 19 March 1960) is the president of the Macedonian diaspora organisation World Macedonian Congress (WMC).[1][2][3] Petrov is a councillor in the electorate of Gazi Baba.[4]

Life

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Main article: Flag of North Macedonia
The flag of the Republic of Macedonia between 1992 and 1995, bearing the Vergina Sun

Todor Petrov was born on 19 March 1960 in Gevgelija. He finished his primary and high school in Gevgelija, then he attended the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics.[5]

In 1990, Petrov founded the World Macedonian Congress (WMC), a Macedonian diaspora organisation,[6][7] and became its president.[2][3][5][8] In 1990, during the first democratic elections Todor Petrov was elected as the Member of Parliament from Gevgelija.[9] He was one of three members of the Assembly elected as independent candidates.[10][11][6] During his four years as a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, he made over 2000 amendments, which make him the biggest amendment proposer in the Assembly. In 1992, after the Republic of Macedonia became independent, Petrov successfully proposed the Vergina Sun symbol as the official flag of the country.[12] In the same year, the country displayed the symbol on its new flag. This lasted until 1995, when the Republic of Macedonia changed its flag as part of the Interim Accord with Greece.

Petrov used to be chairman of the weekly newspaper Makedonsko Sonce, where he promoted the Macedonian cause.[13]

In 2004, Todor Petrov and World Macedonian Congress initiated 2004 Macedonian autonomy referendum, against a government plan to change some administrative divisions which was a consequence of the Ohrid Agreement ending the 2001 insurgency.[14] The government proposal planned to reduce the number of municipalities from 123 to 84, giving greater representation to ethnic Albanians and turning the capital city of Skopje into a bilingual city.[15][16] Four days before the vote, the United States announced they would start referring to the country as the Republic of Macedonia rather than the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in a move said to strengthen the government position.[17][18] Although 95% voted in favour of the change, the voter turnout of 27% was well below the 50% threshold, and the referendum was unsuccessful.[19]

In 2009, Todor Petrov applied to be a candidate of VMRO-DPMNE in the presidential election.[7] He was not able to secure his candidacy at the party's convention, and VMRO-DPMNE appointed Gjorge Ivanov as the party's presidential candidate, who later became President of the Republic of Macedonia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nationalists block NATO route from Macedonia". Chicago Tribune. 19 August 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Bulgaria Reverts to Past Totalitarian Practices and Bans Macedonian and US Citizens from Attending Macedonian Commemorations". Macedonian Human Rights Movement International. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Two officers for one Todor Petrov". FOCUS News Agency Home / Скандал на деня. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Plus Info MK - News related to Todor Petrov". PlusInfo.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Статут на СМК". archive.ph. 15 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b Cvete Koneska (2016). After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 9781317183976.
  7. ^ a b Zdravko Saveski; Artan Sadiku (December 2012). "The radical right in Macedonia" (PDF). FES.de. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  8. ^ ""Interview with Todor Petrov, President of WMC", Macedonian Sun, 18 January 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2013.[dead link]
  9. ^ "Petrov Todor 91". Sobranie.mk. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Official website of Macedonian Assembly". Sobranie.mk. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Official website of State Election Commission of Macedonia" (PDF). SEC.mk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Државниот грб ќе се смени, за знамето не се разговарало". Meta.mk (in Macedonian). 13 December 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. ^ Official website of Makedonsko Sonce Archived 29 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Dimitar Bechev (2019). Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 308. ISBN 9781538119624.
  15. ^ "TV Sitel (In Macedonian)". Sitel.com.mk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Македония се готви за референдум против новото деление на страната". Mediapool. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  17. ^ "America Recognizes Macedonia by its Constitutional Name". balkananalysis.com. 11 April 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  18. ^ "A narrow squeak". The Economist. 11 November 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  19. ^ "IFES Election Guide - Elections: Macedonia Referendum Nov 7 2004". ElectionGuide.org. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
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