Tsvetan Tsvetanov

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Tsvetan Tsvetanov (@TsvetanTsvetan9) is a Founder and Chairman of the Bulgarian center-right political party Republicans for Bulgaria. Tsvetanov is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Euro Atlantic Security Center (EASC) based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since becoming involved in Bulgarian politics in 2005, Tsvetanov has been a prominent supporter and advocate of European and transatlantic values in Bulgaria and the region.

In June 2019, due to political differences with the leadership of his then political party Citizens for European Development for Bulgaria (GERB), mostly regarding the need to counter Russian influence in Bulgaria, Tsvetanov left GERB. He resigned as a Vice Chairman of GERB and Majority Leader in the 44th Bulgarian National Assembly.

During his time in the National Assembly 2009-2019, Tsvetanov was Chairman of the Internal Security and Public Order Standing Committee, as well as a member of the Control of the Security Services Standing Committee. In 2006-2009, he was Chairman of GERB and the driving force behind building the party’s national infrastructure.

Throughout much of his career, Tsvetanov has focused on security, law enforcement, and defense matters. In 2009-2013, he was a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the Republic of Bulgaria. Tsvetanov’s role in building and enhancing bilateral and multilateral relations has been widely recognized, earning him the: “White Cross of Merit to the Spanish Police” (2005); Silver Cross of Spanish Guardia Civil (2005); Certificate of Excellence from the EUROPOL Director for Excellent International Police Cooperation (2009); Honorary award for excellent service, given by the Minister of Interior of Lithuania (2009); Honorary Member of the Italian Carabinieri (2012) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (2015); and others. On July 18, 2012, a Hezbollah terrorist attack took place at the Burgas Airport in Bulgaria. Five Israelis and 1 Bulgarian were killed. Tsvetanov, in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, headed the investigation and coordinated international police cooperation that swiftly uncovered Hezbollah’s role in the attack.

As a result of the investigation and Tsvetanov’s personal advocacy, the European Union (EU) designated the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. During his tenure as Minister of Interior 2009-2013, Tsvetanov led a law enforcement network composed of 50,000 personnel and a budget of almost 600 million euros. As Minister of Interior, he signed agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Passenger Name Records (PNR) and Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) data, as well as with the U.S. Department of Justice in the field of countering organized crime. He also worked closely with the leaderships of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Secret Service, and other U.S. government agencies and institutions. In 2005-2009, Tsvetanov was a Deputy Mayor of Sofia whose portfolio included security matters in the Bulgarian capital.