Dragomir Zakov, Bulgaria’s Permanent Representative to NATO, is the new minister of defence of Bulgaria. His nomination was approved by the National Assembly with 184 MPs voting in favour and 33 abstaining.

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov pointed to his motives for demanding the resignation of previous Defence Minister Stefan Yanev: “No cabinet minister has the right to pursue a policy of his own, especially on Facebook, or to believe that his staying is what the stability of the cabinet hangs on.”

• Prime Minister Petkov demands resignation of Bulgaria's defence minister
  

Dragomir Zakov’s nomination was made today after the Bulgarian Socialist Party objected to security expert Todor Tagarev. Later, Dragomir Zakov was sworn in. 

Later today, President Rumen Radev, who twice appointed Stefan Yanev as caretaker prime minister, commented that he expected more from him "in terms of his initiative and commitment to the problems of the Bulgarian army, as well as to ensure its combat effectiveness and accelerate modernization processes.” 

As for the new minister, the head of state said he knew Dragomir Zakov and his opinion of his work was good.