On June 6, 2023, Nikolay Denkov was elected as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria with a majority vote of 132. He will serve as the rotating Prime Minister
for the first nine months of the cabinet, after which he will be succeeded by Mariya Gabriel.
Nikolay Denkov is a distinguished academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and a renowned member of the European scientific academy, "Academia Europaea." With a background in physical chemistry, he holds the position of professor and doctor of sciences in this field. Denkov also serves as the head of the "Active Formulations and Materials" laboratory at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski."
His exceptional contributions to the scientific community have earned him recognition worldwide. In fact, according to Stanford University's 2021 ranking, Academician Denkov is among the top 1% of the world's most influential scientists in his area of expertise. His research focuses on the physicochemistry of colloid-dispersed systems, surface-active substances, and their extensive applications. Denkov has published over 180 scientific articles, including notable contributions to prestigious journals such as "Nature," "Nature Physics," and "Nature Communications," as well as 18 reviews.
The impact of his work is evident from the extensive citation of his publications, surpassing 10,000 mentions in scientific literature (h-index = 50). Denkov has also delivered numerous lectures at international conferences and conducted seminars at foreign universities and research institutes. Additionally, he holds 12 patents, including six international and four foreign ones, and has managed more than 45 international projects funded by foreign companies.
Denkov's academic journey has taken him around the world, collaborating with esteemed institutions. He has worked as a visiting researcher at the Japan Science Foundation (JRDC), a senior researcher at the Rhone-Poulenc Institute in France, and a leading scientist at the Unilever Research Institute in the United States. Denkov has also served as a visiting professor at the Engineering School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry ESPCI-Paris and the University of Lille in France.
Throughout his career, Academician Nikolay Denkov has received numerous prestigious awards for his scientific achievements, including the Solvay Award of the European Colloid and Interface Society, the Lectureship Award of the Department of Colloids and Interphase Boundaries of the Japanese Chemical Society, and the national award "Pythagoras" from the Ministry of Education and Science.
Prior to his role as Prime Minister, Denkov held significant positions in the Ministry of Education and Science. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, overseeing higher education and European structural funds. In 2017, he assumed the role of acting Minister of Education and Science in the government of Ognyan Gerdzhikov. Denkov also held the same position in the two caretaker governments of Stefan Yanev in 2021.
Alongside Kiril Petkov and Asen Vaсsilev, Nikolay Denkov played a pivotal role in founding a new political party called "We Continue the Change." In December 2021, he was elected as the Minister of Education and Science in Kiril Petkov's regular government. Photo by Administration of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Wikimedia commons.