Daniel Marian Vanghelie (born 1968 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 of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

) is a Romanian politician, the former mayor of the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

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of Bucharest (2000–2016) and a former member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD). He ran for a fifth term in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

as an independent but was defeated by social-democratic candidate

Daniel Florea Daniel Florea may refer to: * Daniel Florea (politician) *Daniel Florea (footballer, born 1975) Daniel Florea (born 18 December 1975 in Vaslui) is a Romanian football coach and former player. International career Daniel Florea played 3 match ...

. Vanghelie came in 3rd place, receiving fewer votes than both the social democratic candidate and the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate, Ovidiu Raețchi. Due to allegations of corruption made against him by the Romanian ''PNA'', Vanghelie was excluded from the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) before the Bucharest 2004 local elections. Running at the time as an independent candidate, Vanghelie was the only of the six Bucharest district mayors to win from the first round, at a comfortable 27% margin. Following his electoral victory, he was re-accepted in PSD, although his

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files were not closed. Vanghelie's return into the Social Democratic Party (PSD) brought up to two the number of district mayoral seats the PSD held to in Bucharest. Best described as a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

, Vanghelie started his center-stage political career in the year 2000, when he was elected mayor in the same sector. Although he was not particularly well-known, Vanghelie made a name for himself through his populism. He promotes himself as a tell-it-like-it-is, if not particularly well-educated everyman, out to help the simple people. One of Vanghelie's most famous publicity stunts is the New Year's Celebrations the Fifth Sector Mayor's Office organizes every year, very popular with many of the residents of the ''sector'', which has the lowest average income in Bucharest. The slogan used by

Adriean Videanu Adriean Marian Videanu (; born 1 June 1962) is a businessman and former mayor of Bucharest, Romania. He is also a vice president of the Democratic Liberal Party of Romania, which was led by Emil Boc and the Minister of Economy in the Boc Cabinet ...

against him in the Bucharest 2005 mayor elections was ''count on the one who counts'' ( ro, contează pe cine contează), a catch-phrase meant to disparage Vanghelie's lower-class background and lack of formal education. Vanghelie did provoke a measure of public concern when he was unable to conjugate the verb ''a fi'' (to be) on national television, earning him the derisive nickname "Vanghelie Care Este" (Vanghelie Who Is). In 2008 he had General Iacob Lahovary's remains removed from his tomb at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. Th ...

; Vanghelie's grandfather, Constantin Niculae, was buried there, instead. In May 2021, Vanghelie was sentenced by the Bucharest Tribunal to 11 years and 8 months for corruption. The judge decided to convict Vanghelie for each of the three charges brought against him: bribery, abuse of office, and money laundering. Vanghelie and his wife Charlotte have a son, Alexandru (b. 1994). He has a half-brother, Paul. His parents divorced when Vanghelie was a young boy and his father, who is

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ish, emigrated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, where he is a businessman.

References

*
''Povestea lui Vanghelie, un primar de nota 5'' ("Vanghelie's story, a D mayor")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanghelie, Marian Mayors of the sectors of Bucharest Politicians from Bucharest Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians 1968 births Living people Jewish Romanian politicians Romanian politicians convicted of corruption