Mariya Gabriel to become deputy prime minister of Bulgaria in unlikely coalition of opposites

23 May 2023 | News

Gabriel will act as understudy to anti-corruption campaigner Nikolay Denkov, a member of the Academy of Sciences, in a government that looks on paper a boon for the country’s R&D. But judicial reform will be the priority

By Thomas Brent and Goda Naujokaitytė

Former Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel officially resigned from her post in Brussels on May 15. Photo: Lukasz Kobus / European Union

Recently resigned EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel is to become Bulgaria’s prime minister in nine months’ time, after first serving as deputy prime minister under Nikolay Denkov, a chemist and member of the country’s Academy of Sciences. 

The combination puts Bulgaria in line for its most research-minded government to date, though more pressing issues, notably a tussle over judicial reform, are likely to take centre stage during the 18-month coalition rule.

Gabriel resigned as EU commissioner mid-term after being called up to Sofia from Brussels to help her scandal-ridden GERB party form a…

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