Atanas Zapryanov is a retired lieutenant general. He was appointed Minister of Defence in the first caretaker government on 9 April 2024 and the second caretaker government on August 27th 2024. Prior to that, he has held the office of Deputy Minister three times: from July 2016 until January 2017, from May 2017 until April 2021, and from June 2023 until 8 April 2024. Formerly, he has occupied various command and staff positions in the Signal Troops of the Bulgarian Army. He also held the positions of Commandant of Rakovski National Defence College, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army for resources, and Representative of the Chief of General Staff to NATO and EU Military Committees.