Mariya Gabriel

Mariya Gabriel
Мария Габриел
Gabriel in 2023
Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria
In office 6 June 2023 – 9 April 2024
Prime Minister	Nikolai Denkov
Preceded by	Atanas Pekanov Ivan Demerdzhiev Hristo Alexiev Lazar Lazarov
Succeeded by	Lyudmila Petkova
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 6 June 2023 – 9 April 2024
Prime Minister	Nikolai Denkov
Preceded by	Ivan Kondov
Succeeded by	Stefan Dimitrov
European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
In office 1 December 2019 – 15 May 2023 On leave: 10 May 2023 – 15 May 2023*
President	Ursula von der Leyen
Preceded by	Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport)
Succeeded by	Iliana Ivanova
European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
In office 7 July 2017 – 30 November 2019
President	Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by	Günther Oettinger
Succeeded by	Margrethe Vestager (Digital Age)
Member of the European Parliament for Bulgaria
In office 14 July 2009 – 6 July 2017
Preceded by	Nikolay Mladenov
Succeeded by	Asim Ademov
Personal details
Born	Mariya Ivanova Nedelcheva (1979-05-20) 20 May 1979 (age 45) Hadzhidimovo, PR Bulgaria
Political party	Bulgaria: GERB EU: EPP
Spouse	François Gabriel ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	1
Education	Plovdiv University (BA) Institute of Political Studies, Bordeaux (MA)
Occupation	Politician political scientist
*Gabriel's portfolio was split by Schinas and Vestager during her leave and vacancy. When Vestager took her own leave during the vacancy, the rest of the portfolio was given to Schinas in the interim.[1]

Mariya Ivanova Gabriel (Bulgarian: Мария Иванова Габриел; née Nedelcheva, Bulgarian: Неделчева; born 20 May 1979) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2023 to 2024. A member of the GERB party, she previously served as European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth from 2019 to 2023, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society from 2017 to 2019 and Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2017.

In the European Parliament she served as Vice-President of the European People's Party (EPP) group, Vice-President of EPP Women and head of the Bulgarian EPP delegation. She was first appointed to the European Commission in 2017 as European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society to fill a spot left vacant by the departure of Kristalina Georgieva. Ms Gabriel left with a mixed record and reputation in Brussels.^[2] In particular, she struggled to realize a €415 billion plan to make the EU a global tech hub.^[3]

On 22 May 2023, a coalition of GERB and We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) agreed to form a government with two rotating prime ministers, Nikolai Denkov and Gabriel.^[4][5]