Stefan Dinchev Yanev (Bulgarian: Стефан Динчев Янев; born 1 March 1960) is a retired Bulgarian Army Brigade general and a politician. He was from 12 May to 13 December 2021 acting deputy prime minister, acting minister of defense and caretaker government Prime Minister of Bulgaria.^[1][2][3]

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021)

Quick Facts Prime Minister of Bulgaria, President ...

Stefan Yanev
Стефан Янев
Official portrait, 2021
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 12 May 2021 – 13 December 2021
President	Rumen Radev
Deputy	Atanas Pekanov Boyko Rashkov Galab Donev
Preceded by	Boyko Borisov
Succeeded by	Kiril Petkov
Member of the National Assembly
In office 19 October 2022 – 3 February 2023
Constituency	24th MMC - Sofia
Leader of the Bulgarian Rise Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2022
Preceded by	Position established
Minister of Defence
In office 13 December 2021 – 1 March 2022
Prime Minister	Kiril Petkov
Preceded by	Georgi Panayotov
Succeeded by	Dragomir Zakov
In office 27 January 2017 – 4 May 2017
Prime Minister	Ognyan Gerdzhikov
Preceded by	Nikolay Nenchev
Succeeded by	Krasimir Karakachanov
Personal details
Born	Stefan Dinchev Yanev (1960-03-01) 1 March 1960 (age 64) Popovitsa, Plovdiv, PR Bulgaria
Political party	Bulgarian Rise (since 2022)
Other political affiliations	Independent (until 2021) PP (2021-2022)
Children	2
Education	Georgi Rakovski Military Academy
Occupation	Politician military general
Military service
Allegiance	Bulgaria
Branch/service	Bulgarian People's Army (until 1989) Bulgarian Land Forces (1989–2014)
Years of service	1979–2014
Rank	Brigadier general
Commands	Artillery division

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He was born on 1 March 1960 in the Popovitsa, Plovdiv Province. In 1979, he graduated from the Technical High School of Electrical Engineering in Plovdiv. Yanev graduated from the artillery military school in Shumen (now a faculty of the Vasil Levski National Military University) and began building a career in the army in 1983, when he was appointed commander of an artillery platoon in Asenovgrad.^[4]

Yanev was a commander of rocket artillery division in the 4th Army Artillery Regiment in Asenovgrad (1993–1996).

Between 1996 and 1998 he was a senior expert in the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Defense. He worked as an analysis officer at the PfP Coordination Group's Planning and Programming Department in Belgium (1998–2000). From 2000 to 2001 he was a senior assistant chief in the Strategic Planning Department of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army.

Between 2001 and 2002 he was a state expert in the Euro-Atlantic Integration Directorate in the Ministry of Defense.^[5] Until 2004 he was head of a department in the Euro-Atlantic Integration Directorate in the Ministry of Defense.

Yanev graduated from the National Defense University in Washington.

From 2005 to 2007, he was Head of the Transformation Department at the NATO Counter-Terrorism Center in Ankara.

From 2007–2010, he was the Director of the Defense Policy Directorate at the Ministry of Defense.

On 1 July 2009, he was appointed Director of the Security and Defense Policy Directorate and awarded the rank of Brigadier General.

On 3 May 2010 he was appointed Director of the Defense Policy Directorate, effective as of 25 May On 24 February 2011 he was relieved of his post, serving later as the military attaché to the United States.^{[citation needed]}

On 2 May 2014, he became the head of the Vasil Levski National Military University. He was relieved on the ninth of the following month, as well as dismissed from military service, as of 9 June 2014.

From 27 January to 4 May 2017 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria in the caretaker government of Ognyan Gerdzhikov, and subsequently Secretary of Security and Defense of President Rumen Radev.

• Lieutenant (1983)
• Senior Lieutenant (1985)
• Captain (1989)
• Major (1994)
• Lieutenant Colonel (1999)
• Colonel (2004)
• Brigadier General (2009)