Rosen Zhelyazkov tried to hear everyone in some 372 turbulent days

For 372 turbulent days, Rosen Zhelyazkov led the National Assembly. In them, he sought a balance between a noisy (non)coalition and an even louder opposition. The cases when he showed composure and broke up the deputies with fights and insults were not rare. He set the agenda with a sense of humor and dialogue. Because he himself is a person who knows how to listen to people and conduct dialogue. To be restrained when necessary, and cordial when he sees honesty against himself, yes

seeks the best solution for all parties

He proved it already with his start, and several things helped him for that.

First, he has gone through the administration ladder – municipal and state, he is experienced in the wilds of management, which is extremely valuable for a large institution like the National Assembly. Second, as a lawyer, he is aware of all the legal subtleties so as not to let the opposition play tricks on him.

Perhaps that is why he anticipated that she was preparing to ask for his resignation. Already last Friday, around the misunderstandings and disputes over whether or not the report of the commission on Bulgaria’s contract with the Turkish energy company “Botash” can be viewed, the chairman suspected that in the end he would take it away himself. “Everything that you share with the audience has a single purpose – to create the feeling of systematicity in order to more objectively apply Article 5, Para. 1, Item 2 of the Rules of Procedure (for removing the chairman – note ed.) “, Zhelyazkov turned to Martin Dimitrov from DB. And then scheduled an extraordinary meeting at 2 p.m. the same day at the request of PP-DB.

Also on that day, Kornelia Ninova also asked for his resignation, and Zhelyazkov only explained that he had a turn for it.

Almost his entire career was spent in administration with a short break of 3 years as a commercial lawyer. After completing his master’s degree in law at SU “St. Kl. Ohridski”, Zhelyazkov became a legal advisor to the municipality of “Sredets” in the capital.

Between 1995 and 1998, he practiced law, then became deputy mayor of the “Lozenets” district. And in 2003, Stefan Sofianski, at that time the mayor of Sofia, elevated him to the position of chief secretary of the Metropolitan Municipality. He remained in office during the mayorship of Boyko Borisov until 2009.

Zhelyazkov’s stay at Moskovska 33 is actually the big test of his qualities as a lawyer and administrator

There, he deals with the problems of a million-strong city on a daily basis, often even the smallest questions of the people to the municipality refer to him. Impressed by his work as an administrator, in 2009 Borisov invited him to go to the Council of Ministers together – he was prime minister for the first time and needed the help of the experienced administrator, so he became chief secretary. This position in the MC, although in the shadows, is one of the most important in the state. Without Zhelyazkov’s signature, no decision of the government can enter into force, and he bears personal responsibility as far as the acts of the ministers comply with the laws. In reality, the functioning of the state passes through his hands.

Because of his position as the chief secretary of the MS, Rosen Zhelyazkov was involved, quite unfairly, in the affair with the ballots in Kostinbrod.

On the day of reflection before the early vote in 2013, prosecutors raided the printing office in Kostinbrod that made the ballot papers. The action was initiated by Maya Manolova, then in the BSP, and the statement – the printing house prepares ballots to be inserted directly into the ballot boxes in order for GERB to win. The prosecutors decided to accuse Zhelyazkov of not exercising enough control over the printing house. The printing of the bulletins is commissioned by the Council of Ministers, and the obligation – personally by him as the chief secretary of the institution. What followed was the traditional for the Bulgarian justice going through the pains of interrogations and cases.

In 2015, Zhelyazkov was acquitted of the “Kostinbrod” affair. And the sentence is in fact not only a justification, but also a praise for how well he did his work on the organization of the 2013 elections. Zhelyazkov, who was judged that he did not exercise control, in fact did, and was not even obliged to exercise it, ruled Sofia City Court. Because for the control of his printing house there were certain employees from the administration of the MC, and he himself was not obliged to control their work. Nevertheless he did it, ie. not only did he fulfill his official duties, but he even did it on a larger scale.

Immediately after his acquittal, Borisov looked for Zhelyazkov again. And in 2015, he was made an advisor for the development of e-government. In a team with the then Deputy Prime Minister Rumiana Bachvarova and her other advisers – Bozhidar Bojanov and Kalina Konstantinova (now MPs from PP-DB) and Velislav Velichkov, Zhelyazkov actively participated in the creation of the electronic government architecture, us. Then he became the first chairman of the State Agency “Electronic Government”. In 2018, Borisov decided that Zhelyazkov’s experience as an administrator would be valuable to him in KRS. And nine months later, he had to urgently take over the Ministry of Transport from the resigned Ivaylo Moskovski. It has fallen to him to tackle Emmanuel Macron’s Mobility package and the return of empty trucks across Europe, and then the fallout from COVID-19. Zhelyazkov wrote letters to the European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bultz, made coalitions with colleagues from the states and entered into sharp clashes for the rights of Bulgarian carriers. And at the same time, they admit that Zhelyazkov convinced them to be more dialogic. He was also with them at their protest in Brussels. At the beginning of the pandemic, he rescued Bulgarian trucks around the closed borders, then actively worked for the creation of the European green corridors. Then the contract for the concession of the Sofia airport for 35 years was also signed. Again, he concluded the contract for 10 new Siemens locomotives, and in 2020 the first ones began to arrive.

It is his style in difficult moments to shut up without blaming anyone

He just follows the procedure – both when he applies it and when it affects him. When he was accused in 2013, he stated that he has an institutional mindset – he knows that the rules must be followed and that he has absolutely no claims against the state, regardless of what his subjective attitude to the circumstances is.

Zhelyazkov is a rocker, plays the guitar, and even made television appearances. And even in his first days as a minister he had gone to work on his Harley Davidson.