Balgarianovinite.com In a 147-14 vote with one abstention on Wednesday, Parliament re-elected for a second term Antoan Gechev as head of the State Intelligence Agency. He will have a term of five years from June 17, 2026.
He was backed by Progressive Bulgaria, GERB-UDF and Vazrazhdane. Democratic Bulgaria voted against. Two MPs of Continue the Change voted “for” and one abstained.
On July 2, Gechev appeared at a hearing by the parliamentary committee overseeing the security services.
Gechev was born in 1969 in the southern city of Yambol. He has a Master’s degree from the Vassil Levski Military University in Veliko Tarnovo and the National Defence College in Sofia. He has also attended training courses in the US, Israel and Germany.
Gechev began his career as the commander of a reconnaissance platoon in a tank brigade before serving as an operational analyst in an electronic intelligence brigade. In 1998, he joined Bulgaria’s Military Intelligence Service, where he held a series of positions, including Deputy Director. He has extensive experience in military diplomacy and cooperation with the intelligence and security services of partner countries, as well as with NATO and EU structures, gained through overseas assignments as part of Bulgaria’s military attaché offices in Greece, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy.
Atanas Atanasov of Democratic Bulgaria said Gechev’s term expired on June 18, 2026, and argued that the government failed to follow the legal procedure for his dismissal and replacement. According to Atanasov, the process was “seriously compromised,” and the acting appointee lacks the qualifications for the role. “The State Intelligence Agency has a staffing shortfall of more than one-third of its authorized positions, which means the Chair bears direct responsibility for the agency’s personnel management,” Atanasov said.
Kostadin Kostadinov of Vazrazhdane said his party will support Gechev for a second term because he has done a good job over the years. “One of the most important indicators of this is that there has not been a single major scandal involving the State Intelligence Agency,” he said. Antoan Gechev Re-elected Head of State Intelligence Agency 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-08 07:54:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law