Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was
Prime Minister of Romania
The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Guvernului României, link=no), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was ...
from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the
National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-president of the
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
(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 in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ...
, the second position in the Romanian state, from 10 March 2014 until he resigned on 2 September 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).
Personal life
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu was born in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
. His mother, Alexandrina Louiza, was of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
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 ...
ancestry–her mother was fully Greek while her father was half-Romanian, half-Greek. He has been married five times and has three children. Popescu-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
Victor Ciorbea (; born on 26 October 1954) is a Romanian jurist, politician, and civil/public servant. He was the Mayor of Bucharest between 1996 and 1997 and, after his resignation from this public dignity/position, Prime Minister of Romania f ...
'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 Bourbon R ...
, 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
, as well as vice president of the Budget, Finances and Insurance Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.
Prime Minister
Following the victory of
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...
in the
2004 presidential election, Băsescu appointed Popescu-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 called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
and professionalization of the
Romanian Armed Forces
The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is manag ...
, 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 on the eve of the
financial crisis
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
.
On 7 July 2005, Popescu-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:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...
had been pushing for early elections since his victory in the
2004 elections. On 19 July, Popescu-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 Popescu-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 of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...
, however, relations between Popescu-Tăriceanu and President Băsescu started to become strained following allegations of Băsescu's past membership in the
Securitate
The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regi ...
(during
Communist Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peo ...
).
In September 2005, a newspaper alleged that on 9 April 2004, Tăriceanu bought 10 million shares of the
Rompetrol 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.
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, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, or the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
. This mainly concerns the Romanian troops in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
(present there following the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
). This position is strongly opposed by President Băsescu.
On 14 March 2007, Popescu-Tăriceanu postponed the elections for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adopts ...
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 Popescu-Tăriceanu's 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 or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.
Acting involves a broad ra ...
) position of the office of
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
, 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 ...
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 Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
* Botswana Democratic Party
* Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*De ...
(PD) and formed a minority government with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; hu, Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSZ; ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România, UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian m ...
(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
F ...
(PSD).
Popescu-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.
Late political career
On 26 February 2014, Tăriceanu left PNL due to their intention to leave the Social Liberal Union
The Social Liberal Union ( ro, Uniunea Social Liberală, USL) was a grand coalition of several political parties in Romania. The alliance contained two major centre-left and centre-right parties, more specifically the Social Democratic Party (P ...
(USL) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
(ALDE) to join the European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Fo ...
(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. Popescu-Tăriceanu was elected president of the new party.
On 4 March, PNL leader Crin Antonescu
George Crin Laurențiu Antonescu (; born 21 September 1959) is a Romanian politician, who was President of the National Liberal Party (PNL) from 2009 to 2014. He also served as the country Acting President after the impeachment of Traian Băsesc ...
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 in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ...
. On 10 March, Popescu-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
F ...
(PSD) and serving as independent senator.
In late July 2014, Popescu-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 (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 201 ...
and Victor Ponta
Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member ...
. 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, claimed that he was a staunch 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. ...
and "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'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. 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 ( ro, Serviciul Român de Informații, 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, ...
(SRI), which illegally tapped his phones for two years. He received from SRI 50,000 RON 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 means "today's even (news)".
History and profile
''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nistorescu and Mihai Cârciog, an ...
'', 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?"
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu-Tariceanu, Calin
1952 births
Chairpersons of the National Liberal Party (Romania)
Living people
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Presidents of the Senate of Romania
Members of the Senate of Romania
Politicians from Bucharest
Prime Ministers of Romania
Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Candidates for President of Romania
Romanian people of Greek descent
Romanian Roman Catholics
Romanian monarchists
Romanian civil engineers