A FORMER Bulgarian prime minister, Mr Andrei Lukanov, was found shot dead at his home in Sofia, the national parliament was told yesterday.
The Speaker, Mr Blagovest Sendov, told the house at the opening of its session that the circumstances of Mr Lukanov's death were still not dear. Mr Sendov appealed to deputies for calm and closed the session.
Deputies stood in silence for one minute to honour the man who took power in Bulgaria after the collapse of the communist dictatorship in November 1989.
Mr Lukanov (58), a millionaire businessnan and parliamentarian for the ruling Socialists, lived in an area of the Bulgarian capital which was surrounded by police. Neighbours claimed he was shot twice in the head while leaving his house.
A Socialist parliamentarian, Mr Georgi Parvanov, one of the leaders, insisted: "This is a political killing and will undoubtedly throw a shadow over the (presidential) election (on October 27th)."
State radio quoted President Zhelyu Zhelev as condemning the murder.
Mr Lukanov was one of the architects of the downfall of Todor Zhivkov in 1989. He served as communist prime minister for six months in 1990 but resigned due to widespread public dissatisfaction with the sluggish pace of reform.
In 1992 the public prosecutor launched an inquiry into whether Mr Lukanov misappropriated funds in the 1980s when he was deputy prime minister. He was stripped of parliamentary rights and detained for six months until the case was dropped.
Born in Moscow, Mr Lukanov graduated from the Moscow institute for international relations. He had close contacts with business circles in Russia.