Broadcast regulator elects Koshlukov as director-general of Bulgarian National Television
Broadcast media regulator the Council for Electronic Media elected on July 5 Emil Koshlukov as the director-general of public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
The vote was three to two. Koshlukov was one of five candidates for the post. Under current law, the term of office of a director-general of BNT is three years.
Koshlukov has been acting director-general of BNT since Konstantin Kamenarov resigned from the post on April 24 2019.
Kamenarov had been elected director-general of BNT in August 2017, but resigned after his conviction and sentence for drink-driving was upheld by an appeal court. After Kamenarov took office, Koshlukov was appointed BNT’s programme director and, before becoming acting director-general, also presented an evening political talk show.
Born in Pazardzhik in 1965, Koshlukov spent time in jail during Bulgaria’s communist era for mutiny. From 1991 to 1996, he studied political science at the University of California Santa Barbara.
He was an MP from 2001 to 2005, elected on the list of Simeon Saxe-Coburg’s party. He quit Saxe-Coburg’s party in 2004 to form his own, Novoto Vreme (“New Time”).
Koshlukov was employed as a presenter by TV Evrokom from 2006 to 2009, going on to TV7, and in 2013 became a member of the executive board of the company that owned TV7, and in 2014, executive director of TV7 and News7.
From September 2015 to April 2016, his “Koshlukov Factor” programme appeared on cable channel Kanal 3, and in 2016 and 2017, he was programme director of Alfa TV, which is owned by the Ataka political party.
In July 2017, he was a candidate to be director-general of BNT, but was defeated by Kamenarov.
