Second Dimitrov Government

The second government of Georgi Dimitrov was the sixty-sixth government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, appointed by the Grand National Assembly on December 12, 1947. It governed the country until July 20, 1949, after which it was succeeded by the first and second governments of Vasil Kolarov.
On December 23, 1947, the VI Grand National Assembly passed the "Law on the Nationalization of Private Industrial and Mining Enterprises." The state took control of 1,997 larger and 4,027 smaller industrial enterprises. On December 27 of the same year, all private banks were nationalized. The following year, cooperative sugar factories and cooperative electro-mining enterprises, private saltworks, mills, oil presses, dryers, as well as ships with a tonnage over 40 tons, were transferred to the state sector. The cabinet encouraged peasants to join cooperative farms. Private policing was banned. The Law on the Redemption of Large Agricultural Inventory from Private Owners was enacted, and mandatory state deliveries were introduced. Cooperativization and the development of heavy industry were defined by the Fifth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party (1948) as the "general line for the development (Bulgaria)'s economy." By that time, only 4% of arable land was in Agricultural Cooperative Societies.
The Social Democratic Party merged with the Bulgarian Communist Party (1948), while "Zveno" and the Radical Democratic Party self-dissolved (1949).
The cabinet began a comprehensive reform (Bulgaria)n education. In 1948, all foreign schools in Bulgaria were closed. A few months later, the National Assembly passed the "Law on Public Education," whose main goal was the "comprehensive physical and spiritual development of children in the spirit of socialism." Religious education was abolished. In higher education institutions, 20% of the places for newly enrolled students were reserved for the children of active fighters. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences came under government control. A series of disciplines based on the dominant Marxist ideology were introduced in higher education. The activities of the partisan organizations "Chavdar," "Septemvriyche," and Komsomol expanded. From the end of 1948, the management of education was carried out through joint decrees of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party and the government, which was another stage in the implementation of the communists' overall tactic of merging party and state. The Grand National Assembly extended its mandate twice and continued to be the supreme organ of power. In February 1949, the "Law on People's Councils" was adopted, regulating, in a Soviet manner, the composition and powers of local authorities.
In its foreign policy, the government continued the line started in 1944 of aligning with the USSR (Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance - March 18, 1948). The proposal for aid and investment from the USA (Marshall Plan) was rejected. Tensions between the USSR and Yugoslavia (which accepted American aid and sought to pursue an independent policy) led to the closure (Bulgaria)'s western border. The Eastern Bloc formed an economic organization, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, in January 1949.
Following the death of Prime Minister Georgi Dimitrov on July 2, 1949, a new cabinet was formed under Vasil Kolarov.
The cabinet, headed by Georgi Dimitrov, was composed of political figures from the Fatherland Front.
The cabinet consisted of the following 22 ministers and one chairman: