site.btaSix Months On, President Yet to Respond to Foreign Ministry's Proposals for Seven Bulgarian Ambassadors

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry awaits presidential response to seven ambassadorial nominations after a half-year delay, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said during Friday's Question Time in Parliament. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs elaborated and tabled the proposals at the President's Administration in November and December 2024 but is yet to receive a reply, he noted. 

The proposals concern appointments in Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Qatar, Bulgaria's permanent representation to the UN and OSCE in Vienna and Kazakhstan. Under the Diplomatic Service Act, the head of State appoints ambassadors and permanent representatives on a proposal of the Council of Ministers. 

“I cannot explain the lack of answers to the questions asked in December,” Georgiev said. He added that the Foreign Ministry is in the process of preparing new nominations to the already proposed ambassadors for coordination with the President.

The Minister noted that everything required for the inter-institutional dialogue would be done “without any bias towards the outstanding actions and deeds already undertaken, and with a good view of the future.”

Georgiev explained that, in general, after the expiry of the overseas posting of a head of an overseas mission who has the status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, the standard procedure provides for the coordination of a new nomination with the President. Until the procedure for appointing a new ambassador to replace the returning one is completed, the Foreign Ministry immediately takes action to temporarily assign the functions of the head of the overseas mission to a diplomatic official from the mission's staff, who is nominated by the departing ambassador, thus ensuring institutional continuity, Georgiev explained.

Under the Diplomatic Service Act, an overseas mission can be headed not only by an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary or a permanent representative, but also by a managing or interim managing officer appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. No appointments of heads of overseas missions have been made on these grounds since Georgiev took office, he specified.