Director of the Internal Security Service, Lyubomir Nikolov, is taking on the key post of acting chief secretary of the Ministry of Interior, announced Minister Ivaylo Demerdzhiev. This comes a day after the surprising resignation of Georgi Kandev on Monday, June 8.
The system of the Ministry of Interior relies on a long-standing cadre with extensive operational and management experience in the person of Chief Commissioner Nikolov, who is taking on the key post of acting chief secretary of the Ministry of Interior. The former director of the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs (SDVR) has gone through all the steps of the professional hierarchy.
Born on September 22, 1977 in Sofia, Nikolov connected his professional path with the Ministry of Internal Affairs back in 2001. His career began at the lowest level of the security police at the airport in the capital. Soon after, he reoriented himself to countering economic crimes, taking the position of inspector in the economic police sector at the First Regional Police Department in Sofia. This initial field experience proved decisive for the next big step in his career - moving to the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP).
In the anti-mafia structure, Lyubomir Nikolov established himself as a specialist in the sector for combating counterfeiting. His work at the Directorate of Organized Crime also took him outside the capital, where he successively held the positions of Head of the Sector for Combating Organized Crime in Varna and Head of the key department "Northeast". Dealing with the challenges of operational work brought him trust in the high echelons of the ministry, and in June 2021 he was appointed Deputy Director of the Directorate of Organized Crime.
Nikolov's biography also includes specific crisis assignments. In view of the preparation and holding of the parliamentary elections in early 2023, he was sent for two months to head the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Haskovo - a region traditionally cited as risky in terms of vote buying and smuggling. After this mission, he returned to his leadership position in the Directorate of Internal Affairs.
The policeman's great career rise came on June 19, 2023, when he took over the leadership of the largest and busiest directorate in the country - the Directorate of Internal Affairs. Initially, he held the position with the rank of senior commissioner, but was later promoted to chief commissioner. Under his leadership, the capital's police went through a series of serious challenges related to mass protests, maintaining public order and combating urban crime.
In addition to a solid operational backbone, the new acting chief secretary also has an education that complements his profile as a modern manager in the security sector. He is a graduate of the University of National and World Economy, where in 2002 he graduated with a degree in "Trade Economics", and in 2018 he upgraded his qualifications with a master's degree in the same field. His specialized training has also been strengthened at the international level through the successful completion of the prestigious police training course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Budapest.
For a quarter of a century of service in the Ministry of Interior system, Lyubomir Nikolov has been honored many times for his high results. His professional record includes dozens of written commendations, declarations of gratitude, as well as individual and collective cash awards. In recognition of his personal contribution to statehood, various Ministers of Interior over the years have successively awarded him with the honorary signs of the Ministry of Interior of the third, second and the highest - first degree.
Now he takes over the post of Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, albeit in an acting capacity, after the unexpected resignation of Georgi Kandev on Monday, June 8.