Tsvetan Tsvetanov

Tsvetanov was born in Sofia and graduated from the National Sports Academy; he also has a post-graduate degree in law from the University of National and World Economy. Tsvetanov's education also includes counteraction to global terrorism and prevention of illegal automobile trafficking courses at the headquarters of the Policía Nacional in Madrid, Spain, a management course at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Roswell, New Mexico and a basic course at ILEA Budapest, Hungary, as well as law enforcement courses at the American FBI and Department of Homeland Security.[2]

From 2001 to 2005, Tsvetanov was operative assistant to Boyko Borisov, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, and director of the ministry's management department. He was a Ministry of the Interior official from 1987 to 2005, when he left the ministry together with Borisov who has been accused of working with organized crime while holding this position.[1][2][3] From GERB's establishment in 2006 to 2009, the party was chaired by Tsvetanov. This was because Borisov was not allowed to head GERB due to being the mayor of Sofia.[4] Borisov remained, however, the party's informal leader and Tsvetanov is perceived as his closest associate.

Tzvetanov's image was first tainted in 2011 when media stories appeared of him owning several expensive properties in the capital city. An audit by the Tax Administration revealed he owns 6 apartments, something which no person in the public administration can easily afford. Tzvetan Tzvetanov offered unconvincing explanations of how he acquired six apartments in Sofia after entering politics in 2006, claiming they were bought by his mother-in-law.[5] The tax case was re-opened in June 2013 after new evidence emerged that two of the apartments may have been given to him as a present in exchange for a lucrative government contract.

In May 2013 Tzvetan Tzvetanov was indicted on two charges of wiretapping members of the GERB government and parliamentary deputies. In a television interview former agriculture minister Miroslav Naydenov confirmed the charges, describing instances when the wiretapping occurred.[6] Tzvetanov has denied the claims by the general prosecutor, even though three members of the wiretapping unit at the Interior Ministry have independently confirmed them.[7] A further charge on obstruction of justice was added in July 2013.[8]

Tsvetanov was charged with embezzling BGN 50000 from the Budget of the Ministry of Interior. "The sum was allegedly embezzled to the benefit of another person, Orlin Todorov, former head of the anti-mafia unit in Veliko Tarnovo."[9] He was jailed for four years.[10]

In a scandal Bulgarian media dubbed "ApartmentGate", two NGOs broke a story in 2019 about several government officials, including Tsvetanov and their involvement in alleged corruption deals. Tsvetanov was said to have accepted a luxury apartment in a high-end building at less than a third of its market price. This coincided with the passage of several important pieces of legislation by the ruling party, which allowed the same company that provided the apartments to construct a 30-story skyscraper in one of Sofia's most prestigious neighbourhoods. The Bulgarian prosecution office refused to investigate the claims, saying it that an inquiry found that there was no evidence that Tsvetanov was taking part in corruption or other forms of crime.[11]

Nevertheless, Tsvetanov was pressured into resigning his positions in the party by GERB leader Boyko Borisov and was demoted to an ordinary party member.[11][12][13]

In June 2020, Tsvetanov announced that he had left GERB entirely and would instead be forming his own political party. He stated that he had broken his contacts with Borisov and retained no relationship with him, adding that Borisov's government had caused "inconsistency and chaos".[12] He did so later that year, founding the Republicans for Bulgaria party, which he claimed would become "subject to repressions" by Borisov's government.[14] The party was primarily staffed by other GERB defectors, along with some defectors from other right-wing political parties.[15]

Tsvetanov is married to Desislava and has three daughters - Gergana, Vasilena and Sofia.[16]