Sorin Dan Mihalache (born 18 May 1971 in Timișoara) is a Romanian politician and former

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

. He is a member 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 For ...

, part of the Party of European Socialists, became an MEP on 1 January 2007 with the

accession of Romania to the European Union On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Negotiations Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Comm ...

and he serves as the Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 8 June 2016.Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St James's
''EMBASSY OF ROMANIA to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''. Retrieved 24 March 2017. He started his career as a journalist after graduating from Bucharest University Law School.

Political career

Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Mihalache served a complete term as Member of the

Romanian Chamber of Deputies ); – Committee for Industries and Services ( ro, Comisia pentru industrii și servicii); – Committee for Transport and Infrastructure ( ro, Comisia pentru transporturi și infrastructură); – Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Food Indu ...

, while in 2006 and 2007 he held a seat as Observer and then as Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Other public positions include

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Romanian Senate ) is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 136 seats (before the 2016 Romanian legislative election the total number of elected representatives was 176), to which members are elected by direct popular vote using party-list ...

(2013–2014), Deputy Secretary General of the Romanian Government (2012), Adviser to the

Romanian Prime Minister 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 s ...

(2001–2004). Mr. Mihalache was the President's chief of staff – Head of Presidential Chancellery and the Head of

Presidential Administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body. United States In American usage, the ter ...

since December 2014, immediately after the election of Klaus Iohannis as President of Romania – and one of Klaus Iohannis' closest advisors after he became president. On 8 June 2016

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 (Romania), Na ...

signed the presidential decree appointing Dan Mihalache as the Ambassador of Romania to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

, although voices from the Civil society expressed concern with Mihalache's appointment.

Controversy

In 2012 Dan Mihalache was discharged from the role as the Deputy Secretary General of the Romanian Government by the Prime Minister Victor Ponta as a result of Mihalache's comments regarding the warning raised by the Ambassador to Romania,

Mark Gitenstein Mark Henry Gitenstein (born March 7, 1947) is an American lawyer and diplomat who is serving as the United States ambassador to the European Union since 2022. He was nominated by President Joe Biden on July 27, 2021, and confirmed by the United ...

, against any modifications to the Romania's National Integrity Agency's law (whose main task is to ensure the performance of public dignities and positions in conditions of impartiality, integrity and transparency), which the Ambassador said could lead to a new set of discussions or even cancelling a proposed Romanian-American Strategic Partnership; Mihalache declared in an interview that he is not worried about the ambassador's warning and suggested that it may be better if the partnership didn't happen, considering who the director of Romania's National Integrity Agency is, leading to his dismissal by the prime minister. He later claimed that his declarations were taken out of context. In 2015 presidential adviser Dan Mihalache was caught on camera sleeping while waiting for the meeting between President Klaus Iohannis and his Serbian counterpart to end. The photo of Mihalache sleeping in a chair at the meeting table has become viral. Mihalache claimed he was not sleeping and it was a manipulation of the public by the tabloid media while president Klaus Iohannis declared that it was a poor attempt to discredit his team.Iohannis, despre imaginile cu Mihalache dormind: O încercare jalnică de a discredita echipa mea
Dan Anghel, 2015, ''adevarul.ro''. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

References

External links

Official websiteEuropean Parliament official photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihalache, Dan Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Social Democratic Party (Romania) MEPs MEPs for Romania 2007 Ambassadors of Romania to the United Kingdom University of Bucharest alumni 1971 births Living people