She became fluent in German at her local college, then attended the University of Plovdiv where she graduated in law.

When Plevneliev became President of Bulgaria, he chose her for the position of one of the Deputy Prime Ministers from March to May in 2013.

[3] In August 2024 she was nominated, alongside Julian Popov, by the Bulgarian Government to be the next commissioner in the second von der Leyen Commission.

Bulgaria was the only country that have followed Von der Leyen's request to nominate two candidates.

Zaharieva was chosen by von der Leyen and proposed as the next Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.