Ivan Nikolov Hadzhienov was a 19th-century trader, banker, entrepreneur, and politician from Kazanlak. His father passed away when he was very young, so at the age of 11, he started working in his uncle Stefan’s shop in Bucharest. He had no formal education, but through hard work and diligence, he eventually amassed great wealth.
Hadzhienov worked for French construction companies in Romania and France. After Bulgaria became independent, he returned to his homeland and became involved in politics. As mayor of Sofia (1881–1883), he adopted a new public works plan in the Bulgarian capital and took part in a tender to explore and construct the railroad connecting Sofia and Rousse through the Iskar Gorge.
In 1919, Hadzhienov donated 1 million gold levs (equivalent to 14.35 million levs today) to build a modern vocational school in Kazanlak—today’s Ivan Hadzhienov Vocational School. He also donated 50,000 levs to the Navy School of Engineering for the construction and maintenance of technical laboratories.
Read more (in Bulgarian only) HERE.
