Boris Sarafov

Boris Petrov Sarafov Борис Петров Сарафов
Portrait of Boris Sarafov
Born	12 July 1872 Libyahovo, Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria)
Died	28 November 1907(1907-11-28) (aged 35) Sofia, Principality of Bulgaria

Boris Petrov Sarafov (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Борис Петров Сарафов) (12 July 1872 in Libyahovo, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, present-day Hadzhidimovo Municipality, Bulgaria  – 28 November 1907 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian officer and revolutionary, one of the leaders of Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC) and Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMORO). He is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia.

Boris Sarafov was born in 1872, in village Libyahovo (today Ilinden), Nevrokop region, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. He grew up schooled through the Bulgarian Exarchate's school in Nevrokop and the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki. Later Sarafov attended the Military School of His Majesty in Sofia, capital of the recently created Principality of Bulgaria. His training in this institution ended in 1894. Afterwards he worked for a short period of time as Bulgarian Army officer. In 1895 Sarafov became a member of the Macedonian Supreme Committee and was releaseаd from the Army. Than he just have led an insurgent operation in Ottoman Macedonia and occupied Melnik for a few days. Later he worked again as officer for a short time. Six years after the establishment of the Macedonian Supreme Committee based in Sofia, in 1899 he became its leader. As a rule, most of its leaders were with stronger connections with the governments, waging struggle for a direct unification with Bulgaria. During his time under the patronage of Prince Ferdinand, Sarafov was conjuring revolutionary ideas that later proved to be at odds with the policy of the government. Sarafov had apparently overstepped his prerogatives by plotting the assassination of a Romanian newspaper editor who had published unflattering remarks about the Committee. The journalist's murder brought Bulgaria and Romania to the brink of war. In 1901 Sarafov was stripped of his chairmanship and jailed for a month.