Bulgaria's Ex-Security Chief 'to Be Next Thessaloniki Consul'

Former counter-intelligence head Vladimir Pisanchev is due to head the Bulgarian Consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece, several media outlets have reported, citing sources.

The Foreign Ministry has submitted no official information as of Thursday morning, but some reports cite "a well-informed source" working for the institution.

According to news website Dnevnik.bg, Pisanchev's forthcoming mission has been coordinated with and approved by ministers.

Pisanchev resigned in March after Prime Minister Boyko Borisov had invited him to do so, amid reshuffles in law enforcement and security agencies.

He took up office in the summer of 2013 to replace Delyan Peevski, a lawmaker whose appointment to the post sparked anti-government protests across Bulgaria. He was to head the State Agency for National Security (DANS) for a five-year term.

But Tsvetan Tsvetanov, a key ruling party official who was Interior Minister in Borisov's previous cabinet (2009-2013), maintained Pisanchev had been appointed to the office under the influence of Peevski.

DANS is Bulgaria's counter-intelligence and domestic security agency which was set up after the merger of previously active structures in the 2000s.