INSEAD professor Ilian Mihov was appointed Deputy Prime Minister without portfolio, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov told reporters on January 21 2010.

Mihov, who is a renowned macro economist, was promoted to Cabinet by Borissov on January 20. At that time, Borissov did not specify Mihov's exact position. 

Borissov said he needed better coordination in his Cabinet when it came to the country's economy, which was why he needed another macro-economist on his team.

"It is still not yet clear what Mihov's portfolio would be, because we still have to talk to our partners in Parliament, the right-wing Blue Coalition and ultra-nationalist Ataka party," Borissov was quoted as saying on January 21.

"I want to know every day what happens with Bulgaria's economy and that's why I need a macro-economist such as Mihov," Borissov said. Mihov's appointment did not mean that Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, would be stripped of some of his duties.

Borissov said that Mihov would be useful to Bulgaria's efforts in using European Union funds, giving the example of Meglena Plougchieva, who was deputy prime minister responsible for EU funds in the previous coalition government of socialist prime minister Sergei Stanishev.

Mihov would help Dyankov in pushing Bulgarian towards joining the euro zone, a goal that Borissov has previously identified as one of the Cabinet's main foreign policy priorities.

Mihov will also help Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov in "making hard decisions in the economy", Borissov said.

A day earlier, Borissov told Bulgarian-language daily Trud that Dyankov and Traikov lacked good coordination because both ministers had wide-ranging responsibilities and portfolios.

Mihov, who until now was one of Borissov's advisers on economic matters, was promoted to the Cabinet as part of a reshuffle, which also included nominating Defence Minister Nikolai Mladenov for the post of Foreign Minister and promoting Mladenov's current deputy, General Anyu Angelov, to take over as Defence Minister.

The change came as a result of Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva's resignation after the highly negative reaction to her January 12 2010 hearing in European Parliament, where she appeared as Bulgaria's European commissioner-designate.

Following her resignation, Borissov nominated World Bank vice-president Kristalina Georgieva as Zheleva's replacement as commissioner-designate.

Mihov will become the third Deputy Prime Minister in Borissov's Cabinet. Dyankov and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov are also Deputy PMs.