Minister of Defense Nikolay Tsonev of Bulgaria

The current Director of the Social Events Directorate at the Defense Ministry Nikolay Tsonev was nominated Bulgaria's next Minister of Defense.

Tsonev was accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army Gen.

On Tuesday Nikolay Tsonev was nominated as Bulgaria's new Defense Minister in the government of PM Sergey Stanishev, replacing Vesselin Bliznakov.

Nikolay Tsonev was born on June 9, 1956, in the city of Pernik in western Bulgaria.

Between 1978 and 1992 Tsonev was an officer at the Bulgarian Army.

In 2001-2002 Tsonev was the advisor of the Defense Minister.

Bulgaria's Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev has fired a ranger from the Bulgarian unit in Kabul, Afghanistan, who got drunk and assaulted a fellow soldier.

Tsonev was positive that a policy of transparency in the defense field was needed.

Tsonev denied the allegations he knew the alleged crime bosses from the town of Dupnitsa, the Galevi Brothers, during his term as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Dupnitsa wine producing factory.

Tsonev said Bulgaria had always attached great importance to keeping a good relationship with China, and he was glad to see the relation between the two armed forces making remarkable achievements.

Defence ministry executive Nikolay Tsonev is to replace Veselin Bliznakov as defence minister.

Mihail Mikov is the new interior minister, Evgeni Zhelev is health care minister, Nikolay Tsonev is defence minister and Valeri Tsvetanov is agriculture minister.

Minister Tsonev met with the soldiers who were mainly interested in the changes in the social policy in the new defense law, as well as whether there would be cuts in the Bulgarian army.