Atanas Pekanov to Assume Government Position in Bulgaria

"Especially in times of instability, it is important to take responsibility. There is no greater honour than serving my home country Bulgaria. I thank the President for this opportunity. I think young people who want a better and more prosperous Bulgaria can contribute to its progress. I hope in the coming months I will live up to the high expectations that come with this position", says the 30-year-old Pekanov, who has been working as an economist at WIFO since 2017 in the Research Group "Macroeconomics and European Economic Policy" with focus on financial markets and financial regulation, monetary and fiscal policy in the European Monetary Union. He is a lecturer and a PhD candidate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Since 2019 he is a member of the Strategic Council to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria with a focus on economic policy. He has previously worked at the European Central Bank and was a fellow at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and a scholar of the Bulgarian National Bank. He has studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and at University College London. In 2020, he completed a research fellowship in the Economics Department at Harvard University as part of the Fulbright Program.