Bulgarian President's Chief of Staff 'to Take Over as Justice Minister'

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Chief of Staff to the President of Bulgaria, will be the next Justice Minister, a member of junior coalition partner Reformist Bloc said on Wednesday.

Daniel Valchev, a former Education Minister who is now a member of Bulgaria for Citizens Movement (DBG), told her name Bloomberg TV Bulgaria when asked who will be the successor to Hristo Ivanov. The latter stepped down last week over disagreement with Parliament's decision to amend his proposals for judicial reform.

The main coalition partners, GERB and the RB, held talks over possible nominations, after the bloc declared on Tuesday it would continue to support the government.

GERB, however, have not confirmed Valchev's words. On Tuesday GERB's Deputy Chair Tsvetan Tsvetanov said his party was discussing three names as nominees.

Zaharieva has been caretaker Deputy PM in two interim cabinets (March-May 2013 and August-November 2014) appointed by President Rosen Plevneliev.

Between 2009 and 2012, she was Deputy Minister for Regional Development and Public Works, at the time Rosen Plevneliev was in office as minister before winning the presidential elections in 2011.

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