Before becoming one of the recognizable figures of the political transition, Lyubomir Nachev worked for a long time in the Ministry of Interior system. He was born on October 22, 1954 in the village of Dyulevo, Burgas region, and in 1978 he graduated in law from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“.
His professional path began as a trainee judge at the Sofia City Court. He then became an investigator at the Ministry of Interior, a research associate and a candidate of legal sciences. He headed the Crime Fighting Section, and later was deputy director of the Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology at the Ministry of Interior. He is the author of works on forensics, criminology and operational-investigative activities.
From Parliament to the leadership of the Ministry of Interior
Nachev was a deputy in the 36th National Assembly from 1991 to 1994, and then in the 37th National Assembly. He works in the parliamentary Committee on National Security and is secretary of the Parliamentary Union for Social Democracy.
On January 26, 1995, he took over the Ministry of Interior in the government of Zhan Videnov. He remained at the head of the department until May 10, 1996. The period coincided with a difficult political and criminogenic situation, and his name remains associated with one of the most discussed episodes in Bulgarian politics in the 1990s.
The resignation after the murder of three police officers
On May 3, 1996, three police officers were killed in a shootout in front of block 329 in the capital's "Lyulin" district. Hours later, a television report showed the Minister of the Interior at a cocktail party at the National Palace of Culture. The incident caused a strong public and political reaction.
On May 4, Nachev resigned, and on May 10, the National Assembly dismissed him with 124 votes "for", one "against" and one invalid vote. Nikolay Dobrev was elected in his place. Later, Nachev explained in an interview for “24 Chasa“: “Things were decided for me. I no longer felt like a minister.“
After his release, he returned as an MP until the dissolution of the 37th National Assembly in 1997. He subsequently worked as a lawyer in Burgas and Karnobat.
The last years
On October 13, 2006, the Ministry of Interior announced that Lyubomir Nachev had ended his life in his parents' home in Karnobat. He died ten days before his 52nd birthday.
His name remains in the history of the transition as an example of the rapid rise of a professional from the security structures to a high state position and of the political price of a public failure in a period when institutions and society react sharply to every manifestation of power.
Sources: mvr.bg, dnes.dir.bg, vesti.bg