in relation with the
invasion of Macedonia by the Bulgarian Army in 1915.: „
Hristo, I send you cordial greetings from Free Macedonia.“ of Bulgaria. Protogerov was born on 28 February 1867 in
Ohrid in the Ottoman Empire (now in
North Macedonia). In the
Balkan Wars, Protogerov was one of the organizers of the
Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps and Assistant Commander of this military unit. From 1912 to 1918 he was the president of the executive committee of the Macedonian charitable brotherhoods in Bulgaria. Atrocities continued in the next months under his successors, Colonel Tasev (who replaced him as chief) and Lieutenant Colonel Durvingov (who was chosen by Protogerov). In 1918, as a commander of
Sofia's garrison, he suppressed the
Radomir Rebellion, which was a revolt by Bulgarian soldiers. Yugoslav authorities regarded him and Aleksandrov as war criminals. After World War I, In 1919, IMRO was restored, with him, Todor Aleksandrov and Petar Chaulev being part of the Central Committee. However, Aleksandrov was recognized as the leader and many people called it "Aleksandrov's VMRO." In the same year, on behalf of the executive committee of Macedonian Societies, he sent a letter to the
Paris Peace Conference, requesting the incorporation of Macedonia into Bulgaria. However,
Vardar Macedonia was ceded to the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. who charged them with war crimes, but they managed to escape with the help of Bulgarian officers on 13 November 1919. Afterward, they established a stronghold of the IMRO in the Petrich district, which they ran like an independent state. Taxes were also imposed on the locals and funds were given by the Italian authorities, who were supporting them against Yugoslavia. The Minister of Interior Aleksandar Dimitrov ordered the arrest of the IMRO leaders, but they went underground. He signed an agreement in November 1920 with Albanian representative
Hasan Bey Prishtina, stipulating the 'liberation of Macedonia in her ethnographic and geographical frontiers', while
Debar was to be decided with a plebiscite. In 1922, Protogerov projected the creation of an autonomous Macedonia, with Thessalonica as capital, as part of the Tsardom of Bulgaria. In 1923, the IMRO under him and Aleksandrov assassinated Bulgaria's prime minister,
Aleksandar Stamboliyski, after he signed the
Treaty of Niš with the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and undertook the obligation to suppress the military operations of the IMRO carried out from Bulgarian territory. In 1924, IMRO entered negotiations with the
Comintern about collaboration between the communists and the Macedonian movement and the creation of a united Macedonian movement. In 1924, in
Vienna, he signed the
May Manifesto along with Aleksandrov and Chaulev, declaring IMRO's fight for an independent Macedonia in an alliance with the communists. Protogerov was assassinated under Mihailov's orders on 7 July 1928. After his death, Mihailov became the sole leader of IMRO. == Military awards ==