Bogomil Bonev
Encyclopedia
Bogomil Angelov Bonev is a Bulgaria
n politician
, Minister of Interior of Bulgaria between 1997-1999.
, he graduated the Higher Officers Academy of the Ministry of Interior in 1981, being the top graduate of that year. For this reason, in spite of the existing practice at that time, he was appointed directly in the Criminal Department of the Sofia Police Directorate, where only very successful candidates are usually appointed after a long and prominent career in the lower level police departments
. He served at this position from 1981 to 1990. In this department he worked in the position of a police inspector
, dealing with heavy crimes. He has been promoted many times in position and rank for the successful solution of a number of cases involving murder and vault breaking.
He graduated with distinction his second university education
in 1987 in the Law Department of the Saint Kliment Ohridski Sofia University
.
in 1975 at the age of 18.
In 1990 (at the time of political changes in Bulgaria) he was reappointed on his own request in the position of an investigator of heavy crimes. Bonev was appointed Director of the Sofia Police Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in 1991 and shortly after that he became Chief Secretary
of the Ministry of Interior in the government of Philip Dimitrov. At this position he was the youngest general, promoted to this rank by President of Bulgaria Zhelyu Zhelev
. After the end of the fall of Philip Dimitrov’s government, Bogomil Bonev resigned from the position of Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior on his own request. He started his legal practice and worked as a counselor of the parliamentary group of the Union of the Democratic Forces on national security
issues.
In January 1997 he became Secretary on National Security Issues to the newly elect President Petar Stoyanov
.
with Stefan Sofiyanski
as Prime Minister. After a very successful fight against organized crime
Bogomil Bonev was appointed in the same position in the cabinet of Ivan Kostov
, which was the second government of the democratic forces in R. Bulgaria. Thanks to Bogomil Bonev all the 56 criteria of the “Budapest process” were then met and this made it possible for Bulgaria to be taken out of the negative Schengen visa
list in accordance with the unanimous decision of the Ministers of Interior of the member states of the European Community. Bonev introduced then the first national DNA laboratory in Central and Eastern Europe
and AFP–an automated dactiloscopic system. He summoned a committee of experts from the FBI in the USA for their implementation. In his capacity of Minister of Interior, Bonev created the organization for and started the implementation of the new ID documents, which are even now assessed as the ones with the best defense in Europe. The most up-to-date information in the world on the defense of ID documents was used for their manufacture. In the meantime a competition was held, which was won by HP and Cappelen–Austria for the sum of 80 million leva. Yet, the Bulgarian state did not pay any money for this thanks to the terms of the competition. This is one of the rare cases in Europe when such a competition is held without arising any doubts of corruption.
In the end of 1999, after the European Committee adopted the resolution for the removal of the visa regime for Bulgaria, Ivan Kostov, Prime Minister at that time, decided to get rid of the Minister of Interior Bogomil Bonev because the latter had a considerably higher rating in society than the Prime Minister himself and his government. The intrigues, created by Atanas Atanasov, Director of the former State Security Agency
at that time, contributed to this. Atanas Atanasov is at present a key member of Ivan Kostov’s new party. At the time when Ivan Kostov was Prime Minister, Atanasov wrote a report, which officially claimed to be directed against corruption within Ivan Kostov’s government but was in fact concealing it. It was so because nothing was mentioned in this report about the corruptive privatization, carried out by Kostov himself, which did away with the official Bulgarian national airlines Balkan and gave strategic industries to Russian companies, some of which have been declared connected with the mafia.
and received 19% (almost 600 000 votes) in spite of the compromising materials, used by Petar Stoyanov
, the acting President
at that time; he failed to to manage to the run offs. This is something no representative of the opposition at present has achieved up to the moment.
in the fight against counterfeit production. In 2009 he was appointed Executive Director
of the International Plovdiv Fair
company . Bogomil Bonev has been President of the Bulgarian Equestrian Federation for 10 years.
and TV journalist Nona Yotova since 2006.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, Minister of Interior of Bulgaria between 1997-1999.
Early years and police career
Bogomil Bonev was born on September 18, 1957 in Radomir. He graduated Radmir Electronics Technical High School with a golden medal in 1977. After serving time as a soldier in the School for Officers from the reserve in PlevenPleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...
, he graduated the Higher Officers Academy of the Ministry of Interior in 1981, being the top graduate of that year. For this reason, in spite of the existing practice at that time, he was appointed directly in the Criminal Department of the Sofia Police Directorate, where only very successful candidates are usually appointed after a long and prominent career in the lower level police departments
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. He served at this position from 1981 to 1990. In this department he worked in the position of a police inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
, dealing with heavy crimes. He has been promoted many times in position and rank for the successful solution of a number of cases involving murder and vault breaking.
He graduated with distinction his second university education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
in 1987 in the Law Department of the Saint Kliment Ohridski Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
.
Politicial career
Bogomil Bonev became a member of Bulgarian Communist PartyBulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
in 1975 at the age of 18.
In 1990 (at the time of political changes in Bulgaria) he was reappointed on his own request in the position of an investigator of heavy crimes. Bonev was appointed Director of the Sofia Police Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in 1991 and shortly after that he became Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
of the Ministry of Interior in the government of Philip Dimitrov. At this position he was the youngest general, promoted to this rank by President of Bulgaria Zhelyu Zhelev
Zhelyu Zhelev
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev is a Bulgarian politician and former dissident who was the first democratically elected President of Bulgaria, he is elected for his first mandate by the Parliament for the period 1990 to 1992, in January 1992 general elections are held when he is reelected for his second...
. After the end of the fall of Philip Dimitrov’s government, Bogomil Bonev resigned from the position of Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior on his own request. He started his legal practice and worked as a counselor of the parliamentary group of the Union of the Democratic Forces on national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
issues.
In January 1997 he became Secretary on National Security Issues to the newly elect President Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stefanov Stoyanov is a former President of Bulgaria from 1997 until 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces...
.
Minister of Interior
In February 1997 Bogomil Bonev was appointed Minister of Interior in the temporary governmentProvisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
with Stefan Sofiyanski
Stefan Sofiyanski
Stefan Antonov Sofiyanski has been a leading member of the Union of Democratic Forces in Bulgaria. He served as interim Prime Minister in 1997 and was a three term Mayor of Sofia....
as Prime Minister. After a very successful fight against organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
Bogomil Bonev was appointed in the same position in the cabinet of Ivan Kostov
Ivan Kostov
Ivan Yordanov Kostov was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from May 1997 to July 2001 and leader of the Union of Democratic Forces between December 1994 and July 2001....
, which was the second government of the democratic forces in R. Bulgaria. Thanks to Bogomil Bonev all the 56 criteria of the “Budapest process” were then met and this made it possible for Bulgaria to be taken out of the negative Schengen visa
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
list in accordance with the unanimous decision of the Ministers of Interior of the member states of the European Community. Bonev introduced then the first national DNA laboratory in Central and Eastern Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and AFP–an automated dactiloscopic system. He summoned a committee of experts from the FBI in the USA for their implementation. In his capacity of Minister of Interior, Bonev created the organization for and started the implementation of the new ID documents, which are even now assessed as the ones with the best defense in Europe. The most up-to-date information in the world on the defense of ID documents was used for their manufacture. In the meantime a competition was held, which was won by HP and Cappelen–Austria for the sum of 80 million leva. Yet, the Bulgarian state did not pay any money for this thanks to the terms of the competition. This is one of the rare cases in Europe when such a competition is held without arising any doubts of corruption.
In the end of 1999, after the European Committee adopted the resolution for the removal of the visa regime for Bulgaria, Ivan Kostov, Prime Minister at that time, decided to get rid of the Minister of Interior Bogomil Bonev because the latter had a considerably higher rating in society than the Prime Minister himself and his government. The intrigues, created by Atanas Atanasov, Director of the former State Security Agency
Security agency
A security agency is a governmental organization which conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies...
at that time, contributed to this. Atanas Atanasov is at present a key member of Ivan Kostov’s new party. At the time when Ivan Kostov was Prime Minister, Atanasov wrote a report, which officially claimed to be directed against corruption within Ivan Kostov’s government but was in fact concealing it. It was so because nothing was mentioned in this report about the corruptive privatization, carried out by Kostov himself, which did away with the official Bulgarian national airlines Balkan and gave strategic industries to Russian companies, some of which have been declared connected with the mafia.
Presidential elections in 2001
In 2001 Bonev ran for President in the presidential electionsElection
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and received 19% (almost 600 000 votes) in spite of the compromising materials, used by Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stefanov Stoyanov is a former President of Bulgaria from 1997 until 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces...
, the acting President
Acting president
An Acting President is a person who temporarily fills the role of an organization's or country's president, either when the real president is unavailable or when the post is vacant .-See also:*Acting *Acting President of Pakistan*Acting President of Malta*Acting President of...
at that time; he failed to to manage to the run offs. This is something no representative of the opposition at present has achieved up to the moment.
Law career
After that Bogomil Bonev worked as a lawyer. He has been consultant to world famous companies like Philip MorrisAltria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
in the fight against counterfeit production. In 2009 he was appointed Executive Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the International Plovdiv Fair
International Fair Plovdiv
International Fair Plovdiv , held in Plovdiv, is Bulgaria's largest and oldest international trade fair. It was established in August 1892 as an industrial and agricultural show....
company . Bogomil Bonev has been President of the Bulgarian Equestrian Federation for 10 years.
Family
He is married to the popular in Bulgaria actress, singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and TV journalist Nona Yotova since 2006.