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Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who served as
prime minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...
from 2004 to 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR), two positions he assumed in 2004. He previously served as the
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...
, the second position in the Romanian state, from 2014 until his resignation in 2019, having previously resigned from his own party, the PNL, and then becoming an independent senator. In July 2014, he established the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) which later merged with the Conservative Party (PC) in order to form the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE).


Early life

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu was born in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. His mother, Alexandrina Louiza, was of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
ancestry–her mother was fully Greek while her father was half-Romanian, half-Greek. He has been married five times and has three children. Tăriceanu is a graduate of the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest and has a master's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.


Early political career

Between 1996 and 1997, he served as Minister of Industries and Commerce in Victor Ciorbea's CDR-led cabinet. Between 1996 and 2004, he was a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, representing Bucharest. Between 2000 and 2004, he was vice president of the PNL group in
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, as well as vice president of the Budget, Finances and Insurance Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.


Premiership (2004–2008)

Following the victory of
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
in the 2004 presidential election, Băsescu appointed Tăriceanu as prime minister, in line with a pre-electoral agreement between the two parties of the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). The new government took office on 29 December; it was approved by Parliament by a vote of 265 for and 200 against. Consequently, he became the first National Liberal prime minister of Romania since 1937. The Tăriceanu government oversaw a number of major reforms, such as the introduction of a
flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressi ...
, the
revaluation Revaluation is a change in a price of a good or product, or especially of a currency, in which case it is specifically an official rise of the value of the currency in relation to a foreign currency in a fixed exchange rate system. In contrast, ...
of the leu, the abolition of
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
and professionalization of the
Romanian Armed Forces The Romanian Armed Forces ( or ''Armata Română'') are the military forces of Romania. It comprises the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Force. The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Gheorghiță Vlad who is managed by ...
, and the accession of Romania to the European Union in 2007. His term also coincided with a considerable economic boom in Romania. However, economists criticized several of Tăriceanu's policies, such as the introduction of a "first registration tax" for motor vehicles, faulty management of over 2 billion euros acquired following the privatization of BCR, and, most prominently, an increase in the number of public servants and their salaries, which resulted in a major increase in public spending before the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. On 7 July 2005, Tăriceanu announced that he and his cabinet would resign in order to trigger early elections. The announcement of the resignation was prompted by the Constitutional Court's decision to block a set of laws designed to reform the judicial system.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
had been pushing for early elections since his victory in the 2004 elections. On 19 July, Tăriceanu reversed the decision and announced he would not resign, citing the severe floods that hit the country (for example the Comăneşti floods). Floods killed 66 people in Romania that year, leaving thousands homeless. At that point, relations began to publicly sour between Tăriceanu and President Băsescu, who refused to meet with the Prime Minister in the days following the announced reversal. In the view of former president
Emil Constantinescu Emil Constantinescu (; born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000. After the Romanian Revolution, Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member ...
, however, relations between Tăriceanu and Băsescu started to become strained following allegations of Băsescu's past membership in the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
(during
Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...
). In September 2005, a newspaper alleged that on 9 April 2004, Tăriceanu bought 10 million shares of the
Rompetrol Rompetrol is a petroleum, crude oil development, producer, and refiner based in Romania. It also markets and distributes refined petroleum products through its chain of gasoline and diesel fuel stations. Established as a state-owned company in ...
company based on insider information, shares that were sold later that year after he became prime minister. Several other publicly known persons were cited to testify about their involvement in questionable transactions with Rompetrol shares, including the company's CEO,
Dinu Patriciu Dan Costache (Dinu) Patriciu (; 3 August 1950 – 19 August 2014) was a Romanian billionaire businessman and politician. At the time of his death, Patriciu was the richest man in Romania. His wealth was based on the Rompetrol company (the second ...
. On 5 April 2006, Băsescu stated that he regrets naming Tăriceanu Prime Minister, and accused him of ''partnership with other groups''. On 29 June 2006, Tăriceanu officially announced that the National Liberal Party (PNL) supports the withdrawal of Romanian troops from international battle zones where they are deployed without a mandate from the United Nations,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, or the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. This mainly concerns the Romanian troops in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
(present there following the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
). This position is strongly opposed by President Băsescu. On 14 March 2007, Tăriceanu postponed the elections for the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
claiming that the political environment was too unstable due to discussions regarding President's impeachment, the subsequent referendum, and the fact that President Băsescu asked for a referendum regarding uninominal elections. The media also pointed out that Tăriceanu National Liberal Party (PNL) stood to perform poorly in the elections if they were held at the time. On 21 March 2007, he assumed an ''ad interim'' (i.e.
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...
) position of the office of
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
, 43 days after Ungureanu's resignation, because President Băsescu refused to accept the nomination of Adrian Cioroianu. On 5 April 2007, the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
decided "The Romanian President's refusal to name a member of Government at the proposal of Prime Minister started a jurisdictional conflict of a constitutional nature. ../nowiki> The Romanian President has no right to veto, but he can ask the Prime Minister to renounce his proposal, if he observes that the proposed person does not meet the legal conditions required to be a member of Government". The same day, Cioroianu assumed the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 1 April 2007, Tăriceanu dismissed the ministers of the pro-Băsescu Democratic Party (PD) and formed a minority government with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR); Thus, the second Tăriceanu cabinet was approved by the Parliament on 3 April, with the support of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(PSD). Tăriceanu's government survived a no-confidence vote on 3 October 2007, following a motion brought by the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Although 220 members of parliament voted in favor of the motion and only 152 voted against it, the motion fell short of the necessary 232 votes. On 2 June 2025, Tăriceanu was definitively acquitted on by the High Court of Cassation and Justice in a case in which he was accused of taking a bribe worth 800,000 US dollars.


Later political career

On 26 February 2014, Tăriceanu left PNL due to their intention to leave the Social Liberal Union (USL) and the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...
(ALDE) to join the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
(EPP). One day later, he announced that he would launch a new political party, the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR). The party's first congress was held on 1–2 August 2014. Tăriceanu was elected president of the new party. On 4 March, PNL leader Crin Antonescu stepped down his position as
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...
. On 10 March, Tăriceanu was elected as the new president of the Senate, with the votes of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(PSD) and serving as independent senator. In late July 2014, Tăriceanu launched his candidacy for the 2014 presidential elections. Due to problems with registering his new political party, he ran as independent. Tăriceanu placed third in the election's first round, with 5.36%, behind
Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...
and
Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from 2012 to 2015. He was president of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD) from 2010 to ...
. Later, he announced that he would support Ponta in the second round of the elections. However, in the run-off, Ponta was defeated by Iohannis by a 54.5%-45.5% margin. In July 2015, PLR announced its merger with the Conservative Party (PC), to form a new party, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), Tăriceanu becoming its co-president. In 2017, Tăriceanu described himself as a
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
, saying: "Constitutional monarchy has the advantage of placing the monarch over political games, which is not our case: the president, instead of being an arbitrator, prefers to be a player".


Controversies

Tăriceanu has been accused by President Băsescu of interfering with justice in
Dinu Patriciu Dan Costache (Dinu) Patriciu (; 3 August 1950 – 19 August 2014) was a Romanian billionaire businessman and politician. At the time of his death, Patriciu was the richest man in Romania. His wealth was based on the Rompetrol company (the second ...
's benefit. On 24 January 2006, Monica Macovei, then Minister of Justice, made public a meeting with Tăriceanu which took place 7 months before (in June 2005), and to which Tăriceanu invited
Dinu Patriciu Dan Costache (Dinu) Patriciu (; 3 August 1950 – 19 August 2014) was a Romanian billionaire businessman and politician. At the time of his death, Patriciu was the richest man in Romania. His wealth was based on the Rompetrol company (the second ...
. Patriciu complained to Macovei about alleged procedural problems regarding his case. Macovei accused Tăriceanu of interfering with justice. On 20 February 2006 Tăriceanu declared on TVR1:" I recognise my fault. I didn't act correctly. But I didn't influence justice." "Îmi recunosc vina. Nu am procedat corect. Dar nu am influenţat justiţia" Elena Udrea recalled that, while she was Presidential Counsellor, she saw a note written by Tăriceanu. In a few days President Băsescu found the note and made it public, saying that "The Prime Minister suggested to me a partnership, but, unfortunately, with our oligarchies" "Domnul prim-ministru imi propunea un parteneriat, dar, din pacate, cu oligarhiile noastre". The note was about a complaint from Petromidia about the 27 May procedure problems:
Dear Traian,
1. I send you annexed a document released by Petromidia, regarding the ongoing investigations.
2. If you have the opportunity to speak at the Prosecuting Magistracy about the subject?
In May 2007, Patriciu won a lawsuit against the
Romanian Intelligence Service The Romanian Intelligence Service (, abbreviated SRI) is Romania's main domestic intelligence service. Its role is to gather information relevant to national security and hand it over to relevant institutions, such as Romanian Government, presid ...
(SRI), which illegally tapped his phones for two years. He received from SRI 50,000
RON Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
as moral prejudice.BBC
Dinu Patriciu câştigă procesul împotriva SRI
/ref>


Electoral history


Presidential elections

Notes: 1 His party, PLR, did not manage to register in time for the elections, therefore he was forced to file his candidacy as an independent.


Mayor of Bucharest


References


Bibliography

*''
Evenimentul Zilei ''Evenimentul Zilei'' is a formerly physical and now exclusively online newspaper in Romania. Its name translates to "The event of the day" or "Today's event". History and profile ''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nisto ...
'', 14 December 2005
"Emil Constantinescu a adus documente despre care spune că atestă colaborarea preşedintelui Traian Băsescu cu Securitatea"
*'' Jurnalul National'', 9 February 2006
"Urmează Tăriceanu?"
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu-Tariceanu, Calin 1952 births Living people Politicians from Bucharest Prime ministers of Romania Chairpersons of the National Liberal Party (Romania) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Presidents of the Senate of Romania Members of the Senate of Romania Ministers of foreign affairs of Romania Candidates for President of Romania Romanian people of Greek descent Romanian Roman Catholics Romanian monarchists Romanian civil engineers Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest alumni