Bulgaria’s chief of defence resigns, to give next president free hand to choose new chief
Bulgaria’s Chief of Defence, General Konstantin Popov, has resigned, the Defence Ministry said on December 2.
Popov, who has held the post since February 2016, was formerly the superior officer of Roumen Radev, the former air force commander who in January 2017 will become Bulgaria’s president.
Popov told local media that his resignation was a moral act, intended to enable Radev to make his own choice of Defence Chief when taking office.
According to Bulgaria’s constitution, the president is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In the procedure for appointing a Defence Chief, the Cabinet makes a recommendation to the President.
President Rossen Plevneliev, outgoing Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and outgoing Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev, as well as Popov’s immediate subordinate officers had been informed of the decision.
Popov submitted his resignation in terms of a clause in the Defence and Armed Forces Act on going on pension. Popov is 54.
/Politics
