Ivan Kunev has stepped down as executive director of state road company Avtomagistrali for personal reasons, regional development minister Ivan Shishkov says.
"I found out the director had resigned for personal reasons. He didn't tell me beforehand. There was no problem," Shishkov told reporters in Vratsa during the "Regions Speak" initiative.
The Road Safety Institute gave a different account. The group says Kunev quit because he disagreed with how guardrails are being replaced on the roads, and with Shishkov's own actions.
Shishkov said he didn't want to pry into Kunev's private life, but hoped his reasons weren't more serious than he'd stated. "There was no conflict, no problem of any kind. Everyone has a right to personal reasons, and we should respect that," the minister said.
Shishkov replaced the board of Avtomagistrali by order in mid-July, until a formal selection process is held. Kunev was named executive director of the company at that time.
Before that, he had run the Blagoevgrad regional road authority from 2009 to 2024. Kunev holds a master's degree in automotive engineering expertise from the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad and has worked in construction.