Bulgarian PM reshuffles government to quell protests
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Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Brussels, Belgium, July 20, 2020. /Reuters
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Brussels, Belgium, July 20, 2020. /Reuters
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov replaced his finance and other ministers on Thursday in a reshuffle designed to quell a wave of anti-corruption protests that have called for his resignation.
Borissov dismissed the ministers of finance, economy and interior, whom he had asked to resign last week to stop speculation that they were working under the influence of a controversial businessman linked to another political faction.
Health Minister Kiril Ananiev will take over the Balkan country's coffers, replacing Vladislav Goranov as finance minister, Borissov said after a meeting with his junior coalition partners.
Protesters gather in central Sofia. /AFP
Protesters gather in central Sofia. /AFP
Ananiev, 65, has a reputation as an expert in budget drafting, and has served as deputy finance minister under four different governments since 1998. He was briefly finance minister in a caretaker cabinet in early 2017.
The tourism minister will also be dismissed, Borissov said.