Bozhidar Dimitrov

Bozhidar Dimitrov ( _bg. Божидар Димитров) (born 3 December 1945) is a well-known Bulgarian historian working in the sphere of Medieval Bulgarian history, the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and the Macedonian Question. He is the director of the National Historical Museum and a Bulgarian Socialist Party politician.

Born in Sozopol to a family of Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace (now part of Turkey), he was given access to the Vatican Secret Archives in the 1980s, regarded as a great achievement considered the political situation of the time. As the director of the National Historical Museum, he had a conflict with then-President Petar Stoyanov regarding whether to return the "Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya" rough copy to the Zograf Monastery or leave it in Bulgaria.

Being a member of the Supreme Party Council of BSP, he declared himself openly against the party in 2005 by not supporting BSP Mayor of Sofia candidate Tatyana Doncheva and instead favouring the independent Boyko Borisov. Because of this he was taken down from the post of BSP municipal councillors leader in Sofia.

Dimitrov is the author of 30 treatises and over 250 articles and papers in the sphere of his research, as well as several books (including "The Ten Lies of Macedonism" and "Twelve Myths in Bulgarian History"). He has specialized in paleography in Paris and also hosts the patriotic history-related "Pamet Balgarska" ("Bulgarian Memory") show on Kanal 1.

Bozhidar Dimitrov's historical theories have been a subject of considerable controversy specifically in the Republic of Macedonia, since he is well-known for asserting the view of the Macedonians' Bulgarian origin and history. This has boosted the sales of his first book, "The Ten Lies of Macedonism", to reputedly reach bestseller status with 30,000 copies being sold in the Republic of Macedonia (as compared to 18,000 in Bulgaria and also noting the much larger book market of the latter).

Dimitrov openly describes himself as a nationalist and believes that the Bulgars played a more important role in the formation of the Bulgarians as a people than the Slavs,Fact|date=March 2008 himself claiming to be of possible Bulgar ancestry.Fact|date=March 2008

References

* cite web
url = http://www.pravoslavieto.com/interviews/2003/bozhidar_dimitrov.htm
title = Bulgaria won't perish as long as there's even a single Bulgarian alive
accessdate = 2006-06-26
last = Georgieva
first = Kapka
date = 31 December 2002
publisher = Pravoslavieto.com
language = Bulgarian
* cite web
url = http://www.standartnews.com/archive/2003/09/21/nedelnik/s3850_4.htm
title = Bozhidar Dimitrov — A Bulgarian Reborn
accessdate = 2006-06-26
last = Parvanova
first = Lyudmila
date = 21 September 2003
publisher = Standart News
language = Bulgarian
*