Bulgaria’s Justice Minister Danail Kirilov unexpectedly resigned on August 26 after a conversation with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the government said in a statement.

Kirilov is a deeply unpopular figure in Bulgaria, but the timing of his resignation came as a surprise, including to MPs from Borissov’s ruling Gerb party and its junior coalition partner, the United Patriots. He decided to step down during consultations that Gerb initiated with all parliamentary parties on its proposal for new constitution. Kirilov was among its authors.

Moreover, he was not among the ministers Borissov replaced recently in an attempt to calm down the tensions in the country where hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians have been protesting since the beginning of July, demanding the resignations of the whole government and of chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev.

Borissov will decide whether to accept Kirilov’s resignation after a meeting with Gerb’s coalition partners next week.

The justice minister had become notorious for his lack of expertise in his area and critics have repeatedly said he was appointed only because of his complete loyalty to Borissov.

His resignation has been demanded several times, including in July 2019 by lawyers who claimed he lacks expertise.

Kirilov has also provoked several scandals with his statements, the latest being when he posted a long negative comment on Facebook on opposition politician Hristo Ivanov’s attempt to approach the secluded private villa of the controversial politician Ahmed Dogan by boat. The video of Ivanov’s trip, which showed him being pushed away from the beach in front of the villa Dogan’s security services, precipitated the current wave of protests. 

Kirilov wrote a negative comment without referring to Ivanov by name but using “Sponge Bob” instead, describing Ivanov’s action as an attempt by an unsuccessful politician to do something that was not right. The comment provoked outrage and Borissov banned his minister from posting comments on Facebook.