[citation needed] Yugov was born to a Bulgarian family in Karasuli (Rugunovets), Ottoman Macedonia (today Polykastro, Greece).

[citation needed] Yugov was a prominent figure in the BCP during the Second World War and attempted to reach a settlement with Marshal Josip Broz Tito in Yugoslavia regarding co-operation between both countries' communists.

As Interior Minister he oversaw a purge of the army of members of Zveno and fascist sympathisers that became noted for its brutality.

Yugov, who had criticised Zhivkov for allowing the Bulgarian Great Leap Forward to influence economic policy, was removed as a potential rival.

[8] His strong following amongst the home communists also meant that Zhivkov feared Yugov as a challenge to his own position and so used the economic issue as a pretext for his removal.