Ivan Slavkov

Who was Ivan Slavkov?

Ivan Slavkov was a Bulgarian sports boss linked to the Communist-era nomenklatura. He served as the President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee between 1982 and 2005 and was a member of the International Olympic Committee between 1987 and 2005.

During the Communist regime in Bulgaria, Slavkov married Lyudmila Zhivkova, daughter of Bulgaria's Communist leader Todor Zhivkov. Despite lack of qualifications, he was appointed head of the state-controlled Bulgarian Television in 1972, an example of the regime's growing practice of corruption and nepotism.

In 1982 Slavkov left Bulgarian television and became the President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.