National Security Official to Take Helm of Bulgarian Police

The Bulgarian cabinet has proposed State Agency for National Security (DANS) official Svetlozar Lazarov to be appointed Chief Secretary of Bulgaria's police.

The move comes in the wake of Thursday's resignation of former police secretary Kalin Georgiev and is the latest in a string of reshuffles in Bulgaria's law enforcement sector.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is the authority who can effect the appointment at cabinet's proposal.

The reshuffles in Bulgaria's security agencies come on the initative of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the liberal Movement of Rights and Freedoms, as well on that of the cabinet led by PM Plamen Oresharski elected with votes of the two parties last Wednesday.

MPs have already passed at first reading a reform bill which envisions the transfer of the anti-organized crime unit of the Bulgarian police from the Ministry of Interior to DANS.

On his part, new Minister of Interior Tsvetlin Yovchev, himself a former DANS director, has released from duty a number of regional police unit heads due to allegedly mishandling their duties.

Last Thursday, then-DANS director Konstantin Kazakov also filed his resignation.

The swift developments have been criticized by representatives of former ruling GERB party as constituting a political witchhunt and as boding ill for law enforcement in Bulgaria.

Born in 1974, Svetlozar Lazarov has since 1999 led a career in Bulgaria's security forces.

He started out as an anti-terrorist commando, and then worked in the National Security Service, which is now part of DANS.

At present Lazarov is director of a department within the State Agency for National Security.

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