Venelin Ganev

Venelin Ganev
Prof. Venelin Ganev before 1927. Source: Bulgarian Archives State Agency
Born	(1880-02-16)16 February 1880 Rousse, Bulgaria
Died	25 March 1966(1966-03-25) (aged 86) Sofia, Bulgaria
Occupation	Lawyer and Bulgarian politician

Venelin Yordanov Ganev (Bulgarian: Венелин Йорданов Ганев; 16 February 1880 – 25 March 1966) was a Bulgarian lawyer, diplomat, and politician. He was a leading authority on commercial law, and after the Communist coup d'état on 9 September 1944 was one of the regents of underage tsar Simeon II.

Venelin Ganev was born on 16 February 1880 (or old-style 4 February) in Rousse, Bulgaria. He studied in Leipzig and Geneva, where Simeon Radev was a fellow-student of his. After returning to Bulgaria, Ganev taught philosophy of law (1908–1947) at Sofia University.

In 1908 Venelin Ganev joined the Radical-Democratic Party. In 1919 he was the Minister of Justice in Teodor Teodorov's second cabinet, and took part in the Bulgarian delegation for peace negotiations in Paris (before the Treaty of Neuilly). Afterwards, he served as a Bulgarian ambassador to France (1920–1922).

Venelin Ganev joined the newly formed Democratic Accord in 1923, along with most of the Radical-democratic Party. In 1925, he quit it and declared himself against the government's policy. Later, he established a League for Protection of Human Rights. During World War II he participated as an independent member in the Fatherland Front and entered its leadership. After the coup of 9 September 1944, he became a regent of tsar Simeon II, together with Todor Pavlov and Tsvyatko Boboshevski, and he remained such until the fall of monarchy on 18 September 1946.

Back in 1945, Venelin Ganev opposed the increasing influence of the Bulgarian Communist Party and joined the opposition. In 1947 he was interned in Dryanovo, and in 1948 he was expelled from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.