Traycho Dimitrov Traykov () is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n politician. He was a Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy from 2009 to 2012. In February 2012 he launched an examination of dams in the south of the country after malfunction complaints. In March 2012 it was reported that he had been dismissed from his position allegedly for delaying work on energy projects; Bulgarian-language daily '' Bulgaria Dnes'' alleges that it was due to

Belene Nuclear Power Plant The Belene Nuclear Power Plant () is an abandoned nuclear power plant 3 km from Belene and 11 km from Svishtov in Pleven Province, northern Bulgaria, on the right bank of the Danube River. It was intended to substitute four VVER-440 V23 ...

specifically, a project which was terminated that month. Traykov himself "attributed the dismissal to his firm position in negotiations with Russia and his demands that Russia should cut the construction cost of the Belene plant, reduce gas prices by as much as 15 percent in a new supply contract and increase returns from the South Stream pipeline above 8 percent." He was succeeded by his former deputy, Delyan Dobrev.

Minister of Economy

Traicho Traykov was Minister of Economy in the first

Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov (, born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communi ...

government. He was part of the

Reformist Bloc The Reformist Bloc () was a centre-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria. History The coalition agreement to form the alliance was signed on 20 December 2013. The five parties that signed the agreement were: Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, Bulga ...

, together with Deputy Prime Minister

Simeon Djankov Simeon Dyankov (, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist and chairman of the Fiscal Council since March 2025. From 2009 to 2013, he was the deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Bulgaria in the government of Boyko ...

, Minister for Infrastructure

Rosen Plevneliev Rosen Asenov Plevneliev (, born 14 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the 4th President of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Affiliated with the GERB party, he previously served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works fro ...

and the Minister of Environment Nona Karadzhova.

Presidential Candidate

On 1 September 2016, the

announced that Traycho Traykov would run in the

2016 Bulgarian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Bulgaria on 6 November 2016, alongside a referendum on changes to the electoral system and political party funding. The second round was held on 13 November 2016, resulting in the victory of Rumen Radev. Ele ...

. His running mate was General Sabi Sabev. During the whole election campaign, Traykov was targeted by media owned by

Delyan Peevski Delyan Slavchev Peevski (, born 27 July 1980) is a Bulgarian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch, Sanctions (law), sanctioned by the Global Magnitsky Act, by the United Kingdom, UK and the United States for corruption, bribery and embezzlement. ...

who later got sanctioned under the US

Magnitsky Act The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...

. Social activists were worried that the main purpose of the black PR campaign was to neutralize Traykov who appealed to progressive voters. Traykov eventually came in sixth in the presidential race with 5.87% of the votes. He received strong support from Bulgarians living in Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traykov, Traycho 1970 births Living people Government ministers of Bulgaria Candidates for President of Bulgaria