site.btaGovernment Nominates Denyo Denev for Chair of State Agency for National Security

The Council of Ministers adopted a decision to propose to the National Assembly the election of Denyo Denev as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (SANS).

Denyo Denev is the current acting head of SANS. 

Parliament resolved on October 2 that the Chair of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) will be elected by the National Assembly on the proposal of the Council of Ministers. With amendments adopted at a single sitting, Parliament approved the new procedure for appointing the Chair of the State Agency for National Security, moving the responsibility from the President to the National Assembly.

On September 2, 2025, PM Rosen Zhelyazkov said the Government had formally asked President Rumen Radev to appoint acting SANS head Denyo Denev for a full term, noting the law’s one-month window and the ongoing institutional deadlock.

On September 19, 2025, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee warned that draft amendments across several security-service laws would strip the President of decree powers for appointing the heads of SANS, the State Intelligence Agency (SIA), and the State Agency Technical Operations (SATO), transferring appointments directly to Parliament. The NGO framed this as a response to the President’s refusal to appoint Denev and as a move with implications for checks and balances.