31 Facts About Kiril Petkov

Kiril Petkov Petkov is a Bulgarian politician, economist, and entrepreneur, who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from December 2021 to August 2022.

Kiril Petkov is the co-leader of We Continue the Change, a political party he co-founded with Asen Vasilev.

Kiril Petkov grew up with grandparents from different parts of his family.

Kiril Petkov holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.

Kiril Petkov became prime minister after the 2021 Bulgarian general election, which his party reached a deal to form a coalition with the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, the populist There is Such a People and the liberal Democratic Bulgaria, united under the motto "zero tolerance to corruption", for a four-year term Together, they have 134 seats in Bulgaria's 240-seat parliament.

In foreign policy, Kiril Petkov advocated his support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and anonymously supplied it because of the pro-Moscow politicians in government.

Kiril Petkov grew up spending time with his grandparents from the villages Sokolovo, Lovech Province, and Gramade, Kyustendil Province, which belong to different sides of his family.

Kiril Petkov is one of the founders of the Center for Economic Strategies and Competitiveness at Sofia University, where he has taught classes in economic development and microeconomics of competitiveness.

Kiril Petkov's father, Petko Petkov, was born in Sofia on 13 June 1958.

Kiril Petkov was a very low-income student who hardly completed his secondary school.

From 2001 to 2005, Kiril Petkov worked for the Canadian food company McCain Foods as a corporate development manager.

Kiril Petkov oversees ProViotik, which is a Bulgarian business that has found success in the American, European, and Asian markets by developing cutting-edge bioproducts in collaboration with experts from across the globe.

Kiril Petkov developed a probiotic based on the Bulgarian strain of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which is extracted from snowdrops and is then cultivated in carrot juice rather than milk.

From 12 May to 16 September 2021, Kiril Petkov served as Minister of Economy in the caretaker government of Stefan Yanev.

Kiril Petkov succeeded Lachezar Borisov at the ministry today during a formal ceremony.

The health officials ruled it out as medically unnecessary, but during that time, when the pandemic continued, Kiril Petkov had to deal with economic difficulties.

Kiril Petkov condemned the practice as 'outrageous' and initiated an audit of how loans had been allocated.

Political opponents of Kiril Petkov, which included Lozan Panov, a presidential candidate and chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria, called for action to be taken on the issue.

Kiril Petkov was previously a citizen of Canada, and stated that he had renounced his citizenship in April 2021, but Canadian government documents showed that the procedure was not officially completed until August 2021.

Kiril Petkov announced that his party would work will all parties who were willing to fight corruption in the country.

Kiril Petkov later said he wanted to pursue "transparent" coalition negotiations with Democratic Bulgaria and There Is Such a People, and that he would be PP's nomination for prime minister, and wished to exclude DPS and GERB.

On 12 December, Kiril Petkov presented the composition of the incoming government, which was approved by the National Assembly on 13 December 2021.

Kiril Petkov was elected prime minister of Bulgaria in the Parliament of Bulgaria on 13 December 2021, with 134 votes in favour and 104 against, and his new government was appointed on the same day by President Rumen Radev.

Kiril Petkov's coalition collapsed in June 2022 after his government lost a vote of no confidence.

In early 2022, Kiril Petkov secretly agreed to supply arms and fuel to the Ukrainian forces, but kept this secret whilst in government due to opposition among his governing coalition.

Kiril Petkov noted Bulgaria's espousal of all sanctions against Russia, and would allow the use of the Port of Varna to transship goods that had been stifled by the Russian blockade of Odesa.

One day later, Kiril Petkov announced the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats over concerns of espionage.

Kiril Petkov's party came in second place, despite exit polls forecasting them as the winners.

Kiril Petkov then stated on 8 July 2022, that his centrist party would probably have to abandon its intentions to present a new administration due to its inability to get a legislative majority.

Kiril Petkov emphasised during a news conference held at the National Assembly that Bulgaria is seeking admission without requiring a fresh vote in the European Council and that the country is concentrating on creating the circumstances necessary for automatic inclusion.

In 2024, his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kiril Petkov stressed that cooperative infrastructure development may help Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece attain the highest GDP growth in Europe.