Galab Spasov Donev
Positions
Executive Power
- 52 National AssemblyNo MinistryProgressive BulgariaDeputy Prime Minister
- 52 National AssemblyMinistry of FinanceProgressive BulgariaMinister
- 45 National AssemblyNo MinistryCaretaker governmentDeputy Prime Minister
- 45 National AssemblyMinistry of Labour and Social AffairsCaretaker governmentMinister
- 46 National AssemblyNo MinistryCaretaker governmentDeputy Prime Minister
- 46 National AssemblyMinistry of Labour and Social AffairsCaretaker governmentMinister
- 47 National AssemblyNo MinistryCaretaker governmentPrime Minister
- 48 National AssemblyNo MinistryCaretaker governmentPrime Minister
- 43 National AssemblyMinistry of Labour and Social AffairsCaretaker governmentMinister
Birth Date: 28/02/1967 Sofia, Bulgaria
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance since 8 May 2026: elected by the 52nd National Assembly (decision, State Gazette No. 43/2026).
| National Assembly: | Elected with: | Participation in Parliamentary Groups: | Profession: | Languages: | Constituency: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 National Assembly | "PROGRESSIVE BULGARIA" 44.59% | Parliamentary Group "Progressive Bulgaria" | Jurist, Financier | English, Russian | 13-ПАЗАРДЖИК |
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Policies and Caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the cabinet of Stefan Yanev from 12 May to 16 September 2021: Decree No. 129 of 10.05.2021 (State Gazette No. 39/2021, in Bulgarian); Decree No. 244 of 14.09.2021 (State Gazette No. 77/2021, in Bulgarian).
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Policies and Caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the cabinet of Stefan Yanev from 16 September to 13 December 2021: Decree No. 244 of 14.09.2021 (State Gazette No. 77/2021, in Bulgarian); Decision of the 47th National Assembly of 13.12.2021 (State Gazette No. 106/2021, in Bulgarian).
Caretaker Prime Minister in the cabinet of Galab Donev from 2 August 2022 to 3 February 2023: Decree No. 212 of 01.08.2022 (State Gazette No. 61/2022, in Bulgarian); Decree No. 27 of 31.01.2023 (State Gazette No. 11/2023, in Bulgarian).
Caretaker Prime Minister in the cabinet of Galab Donev from 3 February to 6 June 2023: Decree No. 27 of 31.01.2023 (State Gazette No. 11/2023, in Bulgarian); Decision of the 49th National Assembly of 06.06.2023 (State Gazette No. 50/2023, in Bulgarian).
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the cabinet of Ognyan Gerdzhikov from 27 January 2017 to 4 May 2017: "Правителство на Огнян Герджиков" (bg.wikipedia) (bg.wikipedia, oldid 12792700, in Bulgarian); Presidential Decree No. 58 of 24.01.2017 (State Gazette No. 9/2017, in Bulgarian); Decision of the National Assembly of 04.05.2017 (State Gazette No. 37/2017, in Bulgarian).
Public record
Compiled from publications and official records as of 18.10.2026. Every statement links to its source; claims made by others are marked as such, with who makes them. Quotations in English are our translation.
Communist Party and State Security
- Appointees from the services. RFE/RL analysis, 2022: his caretaker cabinet replaced 25 of 28 regional governors and the heads of police, tax and customs; "nearly half of them are former cadres of the army, the Interior Ministry, DANS and even ... State Security" (our translation), two of them former staff collaborators of State Security (Angel Stoev in Plovdiv, Ognyan Mihaylov in Vidin). — RFE/RL, 16.08.2022
Russia
- Gazprom gas. As caretaker Prime Minister in 2022 he said Bulgaria had asked Gazprom Export to resume deliveries under the contract: "Bulgaria is not a supplicant" (our translation). — Dir.bg, 11.09.2022
- Lukoil. He attended, with Radev and Pulev, the meeting with the management of Litasco and Lukoil at the Council of Ministers on 30.06.2026. — Mediapool, 30.06.2026
Corruption and scandals
- Botaş. The Bulgargaz–Botaş agreement was signed on 3 January 2023 under his caretaker government; it obliges Bulgaria to pay Turkey about USD 500,000 a day in transit fees "whether gas is transported or not" (our translation), for 13 years. — RFE/RL, 11.03.2026 In April 2024 parliament sent the contract to the prosecutor's office and DANS on a temporary commission's report. — RFE/RL, 11.04.2024 No outcome has been reported.
- Guardrails. The DPS filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office that after an indexation method for public contracts adopted by the "Galab Donev 1" cabinet (decree of 27.09.2022), the price of guardrail contracts rose by over 160%; the winning firm was "Yupiter 05". — BTA, 02.10.2026; Club Z, 01.10.2026 Club Z writes that the latest guardrail contracts were signed under his two caretaker cabinets, which matches the contracts it holds. — Club Z, 30.06.2026
- Daskalov's dismissal. In October 2022, as caretaker Prime Minister, he dismissed the head of the food safety agency, Hristo Daskalov, one of the people who exposed the "Kapitan Andreevo" border scandal; Daskalov said he had just blocked an attempt to return a private firm to the border. The ministry cited a breach of the Electoral Code. — Mediapool, 05.10.2022
Sources: decision of the National Assembly of 08.05.2026; biography and photo: gov.bg (17.10.2026).
52nd National Assembly: profile at parliament.bg (23.10.2026).
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