Constantin Mugur Isărescu (; born 1 August 1949) is the governor of the National Bank of Romania, a position he has been holding since September 1990, with the sole exception of a period of time of one year (22 December 1999 to 28 December 2000), during which he 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 ...

. In addition, he is also a member of the Romanian Academy.

Early life

Isărescu was born in Drăgășani,

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) that lies in south-central Romania. Located in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt (river), Olt River), it i ...

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

. His father was a school teacher who, after the establishment of the Romanian People's Republic, studied at the Academy of Economic Studies 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 ...

(ASE), worked as a bank executive during the 1950s, and then was a professor of accounting for 20 years. Isărescu studied

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, which he graduated in 1971, and where he was an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

between 1975 and 1989. In 1989, Isărescu defended his Ph.D. thesis on

exchange rate In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...

policies under the supervision of Costin Kirițescu. For 19 years, he worked as a researcher for the Institute of International Economics. He took a number of courses in the United States, writing several papers on capitalist economics. Isărescu claims it was as if he prepared for 20 years for the 1990 moment. During this period he gave notes under several aliases to the Communist Secret Services about ladies with different problems, about colleagues at the institute, and about the foreigners he was meeting. One alias Isărescu used to sign the information notes to the Securitate was "Manole". In February 1990, after the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

of 1989, he began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In March 1990, he was sent to work as an economic and monetary affairs secretary at the Romanian Embassy in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, being in charge of handling Romania's relations with the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. He expected that Romania would need IMF help within a couple of years, but he was surprised to find that the government depleted the

foreign-exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, ...

within six months and, as such, he was recalled to Romania in July 1990 to head the National Bank.

Governor of the National Bank of Romania

In September 1990, he was named Governor of the National Bank of Romania by the Romanian government. During the early years, he negotiated several agreements with the International Monetary Fund. His mandate was renewed by the Parliament of Romania in 1991, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. According to a World Record Academy article, Isărescu managed in 19 years of leadership at the National Bank of Romania to create and maintain a mysterious aura around the policies of the National Bank, and some pointed out that the agenda of the Bank remained independent from any Romanian Government. The same article states that some credit the National Bank team for saving Romania's economy from a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n-type collapse, raising the national

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

reserves beyond needs, cutting down

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

to single-digit figures and introducing the New Leu. In 2009, the World Record Academy named him as the longest-serving governor of a

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

. He was involved in a series of legislative debates regarding some consumer protection laws, as "datio in solutium" and

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

to Romanian leu conversion, when he had a pronounced role, strongly supporting banks against Romanian debtors, in last two years.

Prime Minister of Romania

In 1999, Isărescu was asked to become Prime Minister of Romania, which he accepted on the condition that he could return to the National Bank after it was over. Then-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 ...

agreed with the terms and on 16 December 1999 Isărescu was sworn in as

, but only for about a year, since in November 2000, the ruling coalition lost the election. In November 2000 Isărescu ran for

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

but was soundly defeated, coming in fourth place and receiving 9% of the vote. Thereafter, he returned to the National Bank of Romania for another term as governor. Although Isărescu served only one year as

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Isărescu is considered to have started the reform process, continued later by Adrian Năstase and

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania, prime minister of Romania from 2004 to 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...

. During his premiership, on February 15, 2000, Romania formally initiated negotiations with 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 ...

(a process started by the Romanian application in 1995 and European Commission approval on October 13, 1999). As governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu has coordinated Romania's monetary policy since 1990. Isărescu was considered several times between 2009 and 2012 as a suitable replacement for Emil Boc as

. Isărescu declined the offer from President Băsescu, refusing to re-assume his former office in order to remain Governor of BNR.

Other activities

International organizations

* European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), Ex-Officio Member of the General Board *

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors

Non-profit organizations

Club of Rome The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing list of global issues, global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in R ...

, Member * Trilateral Commission, Member

Recognition

Isărescu is a recipient of the Grand Cross and Sash ranks of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

. The Romanian Royal Family awarded him the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

References

External links

Parliament Decision for 2004-2009 Administration CouncilCurrent Administration Council
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Isarescu, Mugur 1949 births Living people People from Drăgășani Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies alumni Academic staff of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies Romanian economists Titular members of the Romanian Academy Candidates for President of Romania Prime ministers of Romania Governors of the National Bank of Romania Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania