[1] Filipov was very close to Todor Zhivkov and was regularly touted as a potential successor.
[2] A leading member of the Politburo, he formed the 77th Bulgarian government on 16 June 1981 following elections to the National Assembly.
The move, which took place against the backdrop of reforms being brought in by Mikhail Gorbachev, was characterised as a cosmetic gesture aimed to create the illusion of change rather than a Bulgarian version of glasnost and perestroika.
[4] After the fall of the socialist system in 1989 he was removed from all political posts and on 24 April 1990 he was expelled from the BCP.
[citation needed] On 14 July 1992, Filipov was arrested on charges of misappropriation of state funds,[5] but was released a short time later on health grounds.