Todor Khristov Zhivkov, who was born on 7 September 1911 in Pravets and died on 5 August 1998 in Sofia, became leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1954 before taking up the post of Head of State from 7 May 1971 to 10 November 1989. Under his leadership, Bulgaria was a satellite country that was perfectly in line with its Soviet big brother.