At least 130 Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers have worked for the State Security before the fall of the communist regime, the commission for declassification of the archives of the communist-era secret services said on February 11 2008.

The commission probed 673 Cabinet members and minister deputies, and the list of names is expected to be published on February 13.

"Some of the names on that list came as a surprise, a disappointment even. Some of them I would have never thought possible that they worked for the secret services, and full-time too," commission member Valeri Katzounov said, as quoted by Focus news agency.

The ruling three-way coalition between the Socialists, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) had the smallest number of former state security collaborators, mediapool.bg claimed.

The commission has previously unveiled the names of 240 current and former members of Parliament and 24 people in the presidential administration, including President Georgi Purvanov himself, as former collaborators or employees of the State Security.

Its next target will be checking the backgrounds of journalists, Focus news agency said.