Galab Donev

Galab Spasov Donev (Гълъб Спасов Донев; born 28 February 1967) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the caretaker Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2 August 2022 to 6 June 2023. He is the longest-serving caretaker prime minister in Bulgaria's history to date.

An independent politician, he previously served as the minister of labor and social policy in the cabinet of Stefan Yanev. He is an expert in finance, law and social policy and also has a background in the army.

Activity as Caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy (2021)
In May, 2021, Galab Donev was appointed as Caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the First Yanev Government.

Pension reform and Budget Actualization
In this role, Galab Donev oversaw the continued increase of state-issued pensions by 50 Leva per month during the Yanev government's tenure.

During discussions over the actualization of the state budget, Donev submitted two proposals for the recalculation of pensions: one which would have involved an 'insurance' payment and another which would have raised the 'work experience' coefficient from 1.2 to 3.5, with Donev recommending the latter route.

In a special briefing on the 22nd of July, Donev announced that all pensions will on average increase 12.5% after the 1st of October, and that social supports will be created to support pensioners whose current pension is below the poverty line. Donev further promised that there would not be any pensioners whose income will be below the poverty line, set at 411 Leva. Donev opposed the proposed increase of the minimum pension from 300 Leva to 370 Leva calling it unjust due to differing contributions to the Insurance Fund.

Action towards COVID
During fears of a new COVID lockdown in August, 2021, Donev confirmed that all measures previously implemented in other COVID-related lockdown periods will be retained. On the 2nd of September, Donev confirmed that schools would return to physical in-classroom education, citing the need for at-risk youths to be retained within the school system.

On the 28th of October, Donev confirmed that employees could not be terminated if they refused to be vaccinated, although employers were allowed to implement special measures meant to reduce the spread of COVID in the workplace.

Activity as Prime Minister (2022–2023)
Donev was officially appointed as Caretaker Prime Minister on the 1st of August, by President Rumen Radev, after all attempts at government formation failed after the successful fall of the Petkov Government in June 2022.

During the official ceremony for the appointment, Donev outlined the main priorities of the incoming caretaker government: the organization of fair elections; restoring trust in institutions; finding pathways out of "inherited crises"; reducing political polarization and continued work on implementing laws to do with the European Plan for Recovery and Stability.

During the official handover ceremony with outgoing PM Kiril Petkov, Donev urged the incoming Caretaker Ministers to "dedicate 100% of their energy to finding creative solutions for Bulgarian citizens".

On the 3d of August, one day after the appointment of the cabinet, Donev announced the formation of a Crisis-Management Team, headed by the Vice-Minister for the Economy, Hristo Aleksiev, to tackle issues with the supply of energy to the country.

On the 4th of August, Donev chaired the first regular meeting of the Cabinet, during which he announced that the government was developing a plan to financially stabilise the primary Bulgarian energy supplier, Bulgargaz, and did not need "consultations".

On the 11th of August, Donev announced that Bulgargaz would receive an 800 million Leva loan to insure the security of gas deliveries throughout the winter months.

During the National Consultation of the Ministry of Interior, on August 12, Galab Donev stated that "the state has declared war on the controlled and bought vote", and outlined the two main priorities of the Ministry of Interior as insuring fair elections and reducing road-related crime.

After the traffic disaster on the highway "Trakiya", Donev expressed the view that the Ministry of Interior must "do more" to prevent traffic incidents in the future.

On the 26th of August, after the death of two police officers in clashes with human traffickers near the border with Turkey, Donev expressed his condolences with their families and promised a "swift response" to the recent increased migration pressure on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

His role as caretaker prime minister ended on June 6, 2023, when the National Assembly decided to vote on a proposal to authorize a cabinet headed by Nikolai Denkov.