site.bta Who's Who in Bulgaria's Caretaker Cabinet

Here is what we know about the people in the caretaker government that was presented by Prime Minister-designate Dimitar Glavchev on Friday:

Caretaker Prime Minister: Dimitar Glavchev

President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office since July 28, 2023. Born in 1963. Master of International Economic Relations and Accounting from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. Chartered Accountant, registered auditor of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Has over 30 years of professional experience in auditing, financial control and accounting, of which more than 20 years in independent audit, including engagements for contracted procedures of EU-funded projects. Member of Parliament and member of the Committee on Budget and Finance in the 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th and 46th National Assembly. Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Budget and Finance and Chairperson of the Standing Subcommittee on Public Sector Accountability in the 41st National Assembly. Chair of the 44th National Assembly (April 19-November 17, 2017). Deputy Chair of the 43rd National Assembly. Chairperson of the Committee for Monitoring the Activities of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission in the 41st National Assembly. Head of the delegations to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the 44th National Assembly. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ivaylo Tzenov

He served for 15 years as consul in Vienna and is well-connected with the Austrian government, in Glavchev's words. Tzenov headed the Consular Service of the Bulgarian Embassy in Vienna.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance: Lyudmila Petkova

Head of the Finance Ministry's Tax Policy Directorate since 2014. MEc in Economics and Management of Trade from the University of National and World Economy. Has over 30 years' experience in tax policy and public finance management. Deputy finance minister between 2013-2014.

Minister of Interior: Kalin Stoyanov

Minister of Interior in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Born in 1981. Master of Laws from Burgas Free University. Director of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) (May 2021 - June 2023), Head of Special Operations, GDCOC (2018 - May 2021), head of Police Station of the town of Primorsko, Regional Directorate of Interior of Burgas (2016-2018), police officer at Special Operations Department, GDCOC (2011-2016), police officer at the Regional Department for Combating Organized Crime in Burgas and member of the Regional Committee against Trafficking in Human Beings (2009-2011), police officer at the Financial Police Department of the Regional Directorate of Interior of Burgas (2003-2009). Training in combating terrorism, illegal migration, trafficking in human beings, illegal arms trade, counterfeiting, etc. Numerous awards from the Minister of Interior, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior and the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security. 40 Under 40 International Award and two collective awards - from the US Secret Service and from Europol.

Minister of Defence: Atanas Zapryanov

Deputy Defence Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Born in 1950. Graduated as a communications engineer from the Vasil Levski National Military University; then from the S. M. Budyonny Military Academy of the Signal Corps, Russia; and the General Staff Faculty of the G.S. Rakovski National Defence Academy. Commandant of G.S. Rakovski National Defence Academy; Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army for resources; military representative of the Chief of General Staff at the NATO Military Committee and the European Union (until 2010). Counsellor to two political cabinets of the Minister of Defence (until 2013; 2015-2016); deputy defence minister (2016-2017). Awarded multiple times for excellent military service and high professionalism. Awarded the Order For Military Merit, First Degree.

Minister of Environment and Water: Petar Dimitrov

Deputy Environment Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Holds a Master’s degree in irrigation engineering, with specializations in Bulgaria, Japan, Germany, and Italy. For 20 years he worked at Bulgaria's largest basin directorate (for the Danube Region). He has held various expert and managerial positions, and for more than 5 years he was the Director of the Basin Directorate Danube River Region. Has been deputy environment minister in two caretaker Cabinets (May-December 2021 and August 2022-June 2023). He has participated in the development of strategic and regulatory documents in the field of water management at national and European level. 

Minister of Energy: Vladimir Malinov

Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz since 2018. Chairman of the Board of Balkan Gas Hub ЕAD since 2019. Member of the Board of Gastrade S.A., which builds the LNG terminal at Alexandroupolis since 2021. Member of the Board of Directors of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Natural Gas (ENTSOG). His work experience includes the management of processes related to regulatory issues, relations with the EU institutions, and the certification and unbundling of the gas transmission operator.

Minister of Regional Development and Public Works: Violeta Koritarova

A civil engineer by training, she is experienced in the area of geodesy and geo-information systems, investment planning and land registers, according to the website of the geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency. A long-serving employee of the Agency and was its Executive Director from 2018 to June 2023. Before that she worked at the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and the Education and Science Ministry. She was trained in Bulgaria (the University of Architecture, Building and Geodesy), the Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

Minister of Agriculture and Food: Kiril Vatev

Agriculture and Food Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Born in 1958. Holds a Master's degree from the National Sports Academy of Sofia. Took training and specialization courses abroad, including Getting to Know the Mercadona Cooperative in Barcelona, Spain; Beef Production Cooperative in Modena, Italy; Training under the JICA Program of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Tokyo; General Management Program at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Vienna. Founder (2012) and Chairman (since 2017) of the Bulgarian Food Bank Board. Member of the State Commission for Organic Agriculture in 2003-2010. Chairperson of the Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria (1999-2004 and 2010-2013). Co-owner and manager of the Tandem - V OOD meat processing enterprise (1993-2023). 

Minister of Economy and Industry: Petko Nikolov

Born in 1957. Master of Laws from Sofia University. Master of Finance from Veliko Tarnovo University. Doctor of Economics and Management - Intellectual Property from the University of National and World Economy. Lawyer from 1988. Held positions as chairman of the Commission on Protection of Competition, the Patent Office, the Privatization Agency, the National Company Industrial Zones. 

Minister of Innovation and Growth: Rossen Karadimov

Chair of the Supervisory Board of Bulgarian Development Bank. Majored in commercial law at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg. Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. MP in the 7th Grand National Assembly, participated in the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria in 1991. Sofia Bar Association member since 1995. MP in the 36th National Assembly. Deputy Chair of the Sofia Municipal Council between 1999 and 2003.

Minister of Labour and Social Policy: Ivaylo Ivanov

Born in 1967. Master of Finance and Credit from the Academy of Economics in Svishtov (1993). Master of Laws from the Southwestern University of Blagoevgrad (2008). Elected Governor of the National Social Security Institute by Parliament in 2017. Deputy minister of labour and social policy responsible for unemployment protection policies, the labour market, labour migration and the free movement of workers, labour law, social security, safety and health at work, and social security (June 2016 - September 2017). Deputy executive director (2003-2009) and executive director (2009-2016) of the Agency for Social Assistance. Long-standing experience in insurance.

Minister of Justice: Maria Pavlova

Deputy Prosecutor General. Law graduate from Plovdiv University. Caretaker justice minister in 2017. Deputy justice minister of two caretaker governments (May 2021 - January 2022). Investigator at the National Investigation Service for over 10 years. Prosecutor at the Sofia Regional Prosecution Office.

Minister of Health: Galya Kondeva

Works at the Vita Hospital in Sofia since 2019. Graduated in medicine in 1987; has specialized in internal medicine and clinical haematology. Holds a degree in medical management. A member of the Bulgarian Medical Association. She has worked in a number of hospitals, mostly in Sofia, including the Pirogov emergency hospital and Acibadem Tokuda hospital in Sofia. Between 2003 and 2008, she headed a department at the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and in 2017-2018 she headed a NHIF directorate.

Minister of Education and Science: Galin Tsokov

Education and Science Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Professor in education management at the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv and director of its department for qualification and professional development of specialists in pedagogy. Deputy head of the University of Plovdiv’s Faculty of Pedagogy. In 2017, he specialized at Madrid’s National University of Distance Education under the Erasmus+ programme. He attended a specialization in education leadership at New York’s Bank Street College of Education in 2014. He has authored over 100 scientific publications in Bulgaria and abroad.

Minister of Tourism: Evtim Miloshev 

Expert and manager. His 20-year career spans jobs as reporter, editor, scriptwriter and producer. Left Slavi Trifonov's team in 2007 to start Dream Team Productions. In 2011, he set up Dream Team Films to work on numerous TV formats and series.

Minister of Transport and Communications: Georgi Gvozdeikov

Transport and Communications Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Holds a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering and technology. Awarded a PhD degree from the Georgi Benkovski Air Force Academy in Dolna Mitropolia. He is an aviation engineer and entrepreneur. Member of the 47th National Assembly. He was a Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Communications, according to the Transport Ministry website. From August 2022 to February 2023, he was the manager of Bulgaria Heli Med Service, a company established by the State to provide emergency air medical transport services. From 2018 to 2021, Gvozdeikov worked at the DG Civil Aviation Administration in the Ministry of Transport and Communications. 

Minister of Electronic Governance: Valentin Mundrov

Deputy Electronic Governance Minister in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet. Holds a Master's degree in industrial engineering and specialized in online business and e-government. He has over 20 years of experience in the development, implementation and maintenance of complex information systems, says the website of the Electronic Governance Ministry. Experienced in strategic planning, building and managing teams, projects and programmes. He has served as consultant to the National Health Insurance Fund. Between 2013 and 2022 he worked at the Software Integration department of Information Services AD. His career also includes a stint as an expert at the Customs Agency and the Health Ministry. 

Minister of Culture: Nayden Todorov

Director of the Sofia Philharmonic since 2017, after debuting as its conductor in 2001. Studied conducting with Krastyu Marev and Alexander Vladigerov; studied with Karl Österreicher and Uros Lajovic in Vienna University from 1993; specialized at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem with Mendi Rodan in 1996. Holds a PhD from the University of London, a Master's degree in Cultural Management from New Bulgarian University. Worked with all Bulgarian state orchestras and opera houses, as well as with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Colombia and the Tokyo Philharmonic, among others. In 1998, selected from among more than 150 candidates to conduct the North Israel Symphony Orchestra in Haifa. In 2000, aged 26, he became music director of the Plovdiv Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra. Artistic director of the Burgas Opera and Philharmonic Society (2003-2005). Director of the State Opera House of Ruse (2005-2017). Caretaker culture minister in the Galab Donev cabinet (February-June 2023).

Minister of Youth and Sports: Georgi Glouchkov

The first ever Bulgarian to play in NBA. President of the National Basketball Association since 2011. Member of the Board of FIBA Europe since 2014.