site.btaGeorge Sharkov: Minister of Electronic Governance

George Sharkov has been nominated as caretaker Minister of Electronic Governance in the Gurov draft Cabinet.

Sharkov is an expert in information technology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to information published by the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies. He graduated in Mathematics from Sofia University's Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics in 1986, and defended his PhD dissertation in artificial intelligence in 1993. He later completed postdoctoral training at Ghent University in Belgium.

He worked as a researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1986 to 1993 and subsequently held academic positions at the University of Plovdiv.

He has many years of experience in the software industry and in managing international projects in finance, banking, and e-commerce. Since 2004, he has headed the European Software Institute Center Eastern Europe, and since 2016, he has led the Cybersecurity Lab at Sofia Tech Park.

From 2017 to 2019, Sharkov served as an advisor to the Minister of Defence and as national cybersecurity coordinator. He was also an advisor in the political cabinet of the Prime Minister. Between 2018 and 2021, he was a member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence.

Sharkov specializes in software process management, quality assurance, and cybersecurity, and has taken part in numerous international initiatives and projects in these fields.