Elena Udrea
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Elena Gabriela Udrea (; born 26 December 1973) is a
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 ...
n politician. An independent who held office while in the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and then the
People's Movement Party The People's Movement Party ( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară, PMP) is a minor extra-parliamentary nominally centre-right Christian democratic, national-conservative political party in Romania. History The PMP was created as a political founda ...
(PMP), she was a 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 ...
from 2008 to 2016. In successive
Emil Boc Emil Boc (; born 6 September 1966) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 22 December 2008 until 6 February 2012 and is the current Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city of Transylvania, where he was first elected in Ju ...
cabinets, she served as Tourism Minister from 2008 to 2009 and as Regional Development and Tourism Minister from 2009 to 2012. Sentenced to six years in prison for corruption offenses, she sought asylum in Costa Rica in 2018. The following year, she gave up the asylum claim and returned to Romania.


Biography


Education and legal career

Udrea was born in
Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...
and completed secondary studies at the city's Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu National College."Despre mine" ("About Me")
, retrieved 25 February 2009
She then attended the faculty of Law and Public Administration at Bucharest's Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, graduating in 1996. In 2005, Udrea began studies at the
Carol I National Defence University The Carol I National Defence University ( ro, Universitatea Națională de Apărare "Carol I" (UNAp)) is an institution of higher education, located in Bucharest, Romania. It was established in 1889 by Ștefan Fălcoianu under the name Higher War ...
, receiving a master's degree in Military Science in 2007. She began work on a doctorate in the same field, but abandoned the endeavor in 2012. Udrea worked as a lawyer in Bucharest from 1997 to February 2005, resuming the practice of law that December.Curriculum Vitae
, retrieved 25 February 2009
At Dimitrie Cantemir, she began teaching political systems in autumn 2007,
''Cotidianul'', 10 December 2007, retrieved 25 February 2009
and she has authored or co-authored five works on geopolitics and globalisation. Some of her activities as a lawyer have drawn criticism from the non-governmental Political Investigation Group: for instance, it has questioned the fact that while an opposition city councillor in 2004, she represented the government-run Department for State Heritage Administration (RA-APPS), at one point receiving public contracts worth 710 million lei during a single week.


Political career

Udrea began her political activity in 2002 as a legal adviser to 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 Fo ...
(PSD). She joined the National Liberal Party (PNL) that year, becoming a Bucharest city councillor in June 2004, during the period of the
Justice and Truth Alliance The Justice and Truth Alliance (originally in ro, Alianţa Dreptate şi Adevăr; or D.A. for short, meaning "yes" in Romanian) was a political alliance comprising two political parties in Romania, namely the centre-right liberal National Libera ...
. She held that office until the following February, and during that time was president of the council's committee on law and discipline. In October 2005 she resigned from the PNL, joining the Democratic Party (PD; precursor to today's PD-L) in February 2006. In December, she was elected the party's executive secretary, becoming a vice-president of the PD-L a year later. In these capacities, she promoted the party and spoke approvingly of the president, for instance ahead of the 2008 local election. From February to November 2005, while away from her law practice, Udrea was a state counsellor and head of the Presidential Chancellery under
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 ...
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 ...
. Among her roles were summarizing secret documents addressed to the Presidency, approving lists of invitees to
Cotroceni Palace Cotroceni Palace ( Romanian: ''Palatul Cotroceni'') is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Museum. History T ...
and representing the Presidency at various events. During this period, she launched a series of attacks on
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-pre ...
, who had fallen out of favour with Băsescu; these centred on Tăriceanu's opposition to having early elections. She also drew notice for speaking during a televised interview about a "President of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
" (which is a
monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
) and of that country as a member of 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 de ...
(which it is not). Udrea resigned her post after eight months, citing the "profoundly unjust" attacks on her and others involved in Băsescu's anti-corruption drive, and her desire not to become a liability for her boss. These controversies centred around the RA-APPS affair and alleged links she and her husband had to the parking firm Dalli, headed by what Băsescu had termed the "personal mafia" of his 2004 election rival
Adrian Năstase Adrian Năstase (; born 22 June 1950) is a Romanian jurist, academic/professor, blogger, and former politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from October 2000 to December 2004. He competed in the 2004 presidential election as th ...
. Moreover, she was characterised as "the blonde from Golden Blitz"—a
Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once covered ...
restaurant once frequented by Băsescu and the owners of which had business ties to Udrea's husband—having been photographed there with President-elect Băsescu in 2004. (Despite rumours to the contrary, she stated in an interview that her relationship with the President was "strictly professional".) Mircea Marian
"Blonda de la Cotroceni nu se îngrijorează că preşedintele Norvegiei nu ne vrea in UE" ("The Cotroceni Blonde Isn't Worried that the Norwegian President Doesn't Want Us in the EU")
''Adevărul'', 20 April 2005, retrieved 25 February 2009
Following her resignation, Udrea continued to act as a presidential surrogate, soon afterwards accusing the prime minister of placing a call to a prosecutor on behalf of his friend and business partner Dinu Patriciu on the day of Patriciu's arrest. She returned to this theme in 2007, when she alleged that Tăriceanu had written the president a note soliciting the latter's intervention in the case. At the 2008 legislative election, Udrea won 43.4% of the vote in her district, enough to gain a seat in Parliament for Bucharest once redistribution took place. Three days after the legislative session opened, she was sworn into the new office of Tourism Minister. All government employees on two floors of the
Victoria Palace The Victoria Palace () is a government building on the large Victory Square () in Bucharest, housing the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet. The Victory Palace was designed in 1937 to house the Foreign Ministry, and nearly complete in 19 ...
were evicted in order to make room for the new ministry. As minister, her goals included raising tourism's share of Romania's GDP from 3.5% in 2008 to 10% by 2012, and a renewed focus on the country's
spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...
s. Roxana Grigorean
"Elena Udrea spune că va face tot posibilul ca turismul să aducă 20 mld. euro la PIB în 2012" ("Elena Udrea Says She Will Do Everything Possible for Tourism to Contribute 20 Billion Euros to the GDP in 2012")
''Ziarul Financiar'', 20 February 2009, retrieved 26 February 2009
During the summer of 2009, a parliamentary committee headed by
Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...
of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) investigated alleged abuses at the ministry, including documents signed in Udrea's name by her subordinates, a flawed contracting process, the spending of unallocated funds, and the disbursement of money to town halls based on political rather than tourist-potential criteria. In September, the committee's report recommended her dismissal and criminal charges for abuse of office, conflict of interest and negligence; she refused to resign and denounced the "fabricated accusations". That October, she became interim
Environment Minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...
following the resignation of her PSD cabinet colleagues, including Nicolae Nemirschi, the previous occupant of that ministry. In December, a new cabinet, also led by Boc, came into office; there, Udrea held the Regional Development and Tourism portfolio. Along with the rest of the cabinet, she resigned in February 2012 amid anti-government protests. In July 2010, following the departure of Liviu Negoiţă, she became interim head of the Bucharest PD-L chapter, assuming the post on a permanent basis later that year when she was the only candidate to fill it, and vowing in her acceptance speech to "rid" the capital of
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Sorin Oprescu Sorin Mircea Oprescu (; born 7 November 1951) is a Romanian independent politician and medical doctor who previously served as Mayor of Bucharest between 2008 and 2015. Political activity Oprescu first ran for Mayor of Bucharest in 1998 backe ...
. She resigned from this position in the wake of the 2012 local election that saw the PD-L perform poorly in Bucharest, including Oprescu's winning a new term with a majority of votes cast. Shortly thereafter, she also quit her position as PD-L vice-president. For the
2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, Udrea ran in a seat based in the city of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Although placing second, she won another term through redistribution. In March 2013, Udrea ran for the PD-L leadership but was defeated by incumbent
Vasile Blaga Vasile Blaga (; born 26 July 1956) is a Romanian politician who was Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, from 2011 to 2012. He also served as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice as Minister of Ad ...
on a 51-44 margin. In January 2014, Udrea, whom Blaga was preparing to expel from the PD-L, resigned from the party following disagreements with his leadership record, and joined the
People's Movement Party The People's Movement Party ( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară, PMP) is a minor extra-parliamentary nominally centre-right Christian democratic, national-conservative political party in Romania. History The PMP was created as a political founda ...
(PMP). That June, she was elected PMP president, defeating Daniel Funeriu on a 78-22 margin. In August, the PMP candidate for the November presidential election,
Cristian Diaconescu Cristian Diaconescu (; born 2 July 1959) is a Romanian jurist and politician. He previously belonged to the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), as well as to the People's Movement Party (PMP) ...
, quit the party and went ahead with a campaign as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
amid moves by Udrea to assume his role. Subsequently, a party congress chose the latter as its new candidate, the only dissenting vote coming from Cristian Preda. At the election, she finished in fourth place, with 5.2% of the vote, and while not explicitly endorsing the Christian Liberal Alliance's Klaus Iohannis for the ensuing runoff, did urge her supporters to vote against the PSD's
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 of ...
.


Legal problems

In January 2015, she was questioned by prosecutors from the
National Anticorruption Directorate The National Anticorruption Directorate ( ro, Direcția Națională Anticorupție (DNA)), formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office ( ro, Parchetul Național Anticorupție), is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating ...
on charges of money laundering and false statements on declarations of assets, as part of a wider investigation into the
Microsoft licensing corruption scandal The Microsoft licensing corruption scandal was a political scandal and criminal investigation in Romania, involving large bribes paid to Romanian government members in exchange for approving increases in license fees for Microsoft products. It was c ...
. As a result, she stepped aside as PMP president, with Eugen Tomac taking over the party on an interim basis. The following month, she was indicted on two counts of influence peddling and one count of money laundering. The case was able to proceed after her parliamentary immunity was lifted. A second case involves charges of receiving bribes for a 2011 gala event in honor of boxer
Lucian Bute Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980) is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012, successfully making nine consecutive defenses and reaching a peak r ...
. Udrea ran as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
in the 2016 election and won some 3000 votes, well short of the approximately 25,000 needed to capture a seat. In March 2017, she was convicted of bribery and abuse of power in the Bute case, receiving a six-year prison sentence, subject to appeal. Udrea reacted by characterizing the proceedings as a matter of life and death, stating she would not accept to go to prison for what she termed "completely unproven accusations" and "bold-faced lies"; she subsequently filed an appeal. That appeal was rejected in June 2018, when the
High Court of Cassation and Justice The High Court of Cassation and Justice ( ro, Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de Cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of c ...
upheld the six-year sentence. At the beginning of 2018 Udrea had fled to Costa Rica, where she requested the
right of asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
. Following the High Court ruling, the Romanian authorities announced their intention to seek Udrea's extradition, despite the lack of a treaty between the two countries regulating the procedure. On 3 October 2018, Elena Udrea and , the former Chief-Prosecutor of the Romanian
Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism ( ro, Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată și Terorism, DIICOT) is a law enforcement agency of the Romanian government tasked with investigating a ...
, who also requested the right of asylum in Costa Rica, were detained by the Costa Rican
Judicial Investigation Department Founded in 1973, the Judicial Investigation Department (Spanish, ''Organismo de Investigación Judicial'', OIJ) is a dependency of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica. Since October 2015, its director has been Walter Espinoza Espinoza. T ...
at
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
's request and brought before the Criminal Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José. A day later, the Criminal Court decided to remand Udrea and Bica for two months pending the presentation of the extradition papers by the Romanian authorities. However, she was released from jail on 26 December 2018 following the cancelation of her extradition process by Romania. The extradition process was canceled because her six-year sentence in the "Gala Bute" trial had been suspended by the High Court of Cassation and Justice on 21 December 2018 following the Constitutional Court's ruling that all high court's judge panels had not been formed legally. Subsequently, Udrea returned to Romania on 8 July 2019, after the
Constitutional Court of Romania The Constitutional Court of Romania ( ro, Curtea Constituțională a României) is the institution which rules on whether the laws, decrees or other bills enacted by Romanian authorities are in conformity with the Constitution. It consists of nin ...
had decided on 3 July that the three-judge panels who tried corruption cases were also illegal because not all judges in these panels were specialized in corruption. In July 2020, the Romanian businessman Radu Budeanu admitted having intermediated a bribe from another businessman (whose identity remains unknown) to Udrea. The bribe was meant to make Udrea help the businessman renew long-term contracts between his commercial energy companies and the state-owned company
Hidroelectrica Hidroelectrica is a leader in electricity production and the main provider of technological services required in the National Energy System in Romania. The company is currently managed in a dual system, by a Management Board, under the supervisio ...
. Although he initially promised Udrea US$5 million, Budeanu claimed to have intermediated several payments summing up to $3.8 million between November 2011 and February 2012.


Personal life

The businessman became her husband when the couple married on Udrea's 30th birthday in 2003, at the Romanian Consulate in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
."Filaj la Boc: Căţărarea şi descălecarea Elenei Udrea" ("The Boc Lineup: Elena Udrea's Rise and Settlement")
, ''Jurnalul Naţional'', 6 January 2009, retrieved 25 February 2009
They divorced in June 2013. In August 2011, Udrea generated controversy when she wore a
Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...
dress that some media outlets claimed cost £14,310, to which she responded that the actual cost was some twenty times less. Three months later, she appeared on the cover of the Romanian magazine '' Tabu'' wearing a rubber dress and thigh-high boots. On 20 September 2018, Elena Udrea gave birth to a baby girl in Costa Rica.


Electoral history


Presidential elections


See also

*
List of corruption scandals in Romania This is a list of notable corruption scandals in Romania. Investigations resulting in final sentences Investigations resulting in convictions, subject to appeal International scandals * Dan Nica (Minister of Communications) was accused by th ...


Notes


External links


Official site

Profile at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site


{{DEFAULTSORT:Udrea, Elena 1973 births Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu National College alumni Councillors in Romania Democratic Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Living people Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians People from Buzău Romanian women lawyers Romanian Ministers of Regional Development Romanian presidential advisors Women members of the Romanian Cabinet People's Movement Party politicians Candidates for President of Romania 21st-century Romanian politicians 21st-century Romanian women politicians Romanian politicians convicted of crimes Romanian white-collar criminals