Revolutionary Mara Buneva

Mara Nikolova Buneva was a well-known Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO). She was born around 1901 or 1902 in Tetovo, Ottoman Empire, now in North Macedonia, into the family of Nikola and Ana Bunev.

Her father was an educator and merchant who was an active IMRO member and became mayor of Tetovo during the First World War. Her mother was related to Milya of the Toporkov family. Mara had a cousin who married Georgi Hadzhiristich and several older brothers, including Boris, a well-known Bulgarian soldier and IMRO activist. Mara's family was equally active in revolutionary events, and her brother Boris recruited her into IMRO.

After graduating from the vocational high school in Skopje, Mara Buneva continued her education at Sofia University. There she met and married a Bulgarian army officer, Ivan Hrankov. Within IMRO, Mara carried out various assignments and clandestine missions, crossing the border several times.

In 1927, after her divorce, Mara settled in Skopje, where she opened her own dressmaking workshop and became close to Velimir Prelić's family. On 13 January 1928 Mara Buneva carried out an assassination attack against Prelić, a legal adviser responsible for persecuting revolutionaries in Skopje. After the attack, Mara shot herself and died of her wounds the following day.

Mara Buneva became a symbol of the struggle for the freedom of Bulgarians under Serbian and Greek rule. Her deed attracted the attention of European public opinion, and she was described as the Macedonian Charlotte Corday. Macedonian-Bulgarian emigrants in various countries held memorial services for Mara.