Dimitar Iliev Popov (Pokriva) ( ; 26 June 1927 – 5 December 2015) was a leading Bulgarian judge and the first prime minister of the country not to be a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party since 1946.Judge elected Premier of Bulgaria He was also the first prime minister since 1944 who was not a Communist or a fellow traveler.
Popov, who did not have any party affiliation and was chosen for his perceived impartiality as a member of the judiciary, was selected to head the new government after the resignation of Andrey Lukanov in December 1990 in the face of mass demonstrations and a general strike.Randall W. Stone, Lending Credibility: The International Monetary Fund and the Post-Communist Transition, Princeton University Press, 2002, p. 210 As prime minister, Popov oversaw the drafting of the new constitution as well as the second open elections. Although overseeing the beginnings of the policy of privatization, Popov's government was more of a caretaker administration.Bernard A. Cook, Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Taylor & Francis, 2001, p. 166
Popov died at the age of 88 on December 5, 2015.
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