Decebal Traian Remeş
Encyclopedia
Decebal Traian Remeş is a Romania
n economist and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
for Maramureş County
from 1996 to 2000. In the Radu Vasile
and Mugur Isărescu
cabinets, he served as Finance Minister
from 1998 to 2000, while in the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
cabinet, he was Minister of Agriculture
during 2007.
, Maramureş County, he graduated from the Economic Studies Faculty of the University of Iaşi in 1971. From that year until 1978, he was an economist at an electronics factory in Săcele
, and from 1973 to 1978, he taught as assistant professor at the University of Braşov
. From 1978 to 1980, he was an inspector at a firm in his native county, followed by a position as chief accountant at a railway parts manufacturer there, from 1980 to 1990. Following the 1989 Revolution
, he was economic director and then director of a Baia Mare
firm. From 1995 to 1996, he headed a bank in that city. He has eleven published articles about finance and accounting in an economic magazine.
Joining the PNL in 1991, he was vice president of its Maramureş County chapter from 1992 to 1993 and president from 1993 to 1996. His first elective office came in 1992-1995, when he was vice president and then president of the Maramureş County Council. Elected
to the Chamber in 1996 on the lists of the victorious Romanian Democratic Convention
(CDR), he served a four-year term there, sitting on the budget, finance and banking committee, including as president from 1997 to 1998. During this period, he was named Finance Minister in September 1998, following the dismissal of Daniel Dăianu
, serving in the Vasile and Isărescu cabinets until December 2000, when the CDR lost power following an election
. As minister, he had to deal with the fallout from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which threatened to bankrupt Romania. During the summer of 2000, he submitted his resignation as minister due to the PNL's intention to form a left-wing alliance at the forthcoming elections; Isărescu rejected this, but he nonetheless left the PNL due to a perceived leftward shift in policy, to the party's nomination of Teodor Stolojan and not Isărescu to contest the upcoming presidential election
, and to a rivalry with leading party figure Valeriu Stoica
.
From 2001 to 2007, Remeş returned to private life, working as economic director for a Baia Mare agricultural firm. He also belonged to a number of political parties after quitting the PNL. He became head of a PNL splinter group in 2000, then joined the Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party
in 2002 and People's Action
, of which he was vice president, in 2003. He rejoined the PNL in 2005, serving as secretary general in 2006-2007, as well as head of the Maramureş County chapter during that period. Recalled to government, he served as Agriculture Minister under Tăriceanu from April to October 2007. Prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate
(DNA) allege that businessman Gheorghe Ciorbă sent former Agriculture Minister Ioan Avram Mureşan to meet with Remeş and offer him €
15,000, an Audi Q7
, and products worth 1,500 lei
: 100 L
of palinka
and 20 kg of pork offal
sausage called caltaboşi. In exchange, Remeş was to steer contracts to Ciorbă's businesses at public bids organised by his ministry. During its prime-time newscast, Romanian Television
(TVR) broadcast a video featuring Remeş allegedly accepting the bribe, leading to an outcry and his resignation. In the aftermath, Tăriceanu, rather than focus on what Remeş did, criticised TVR for carrying out the minister's "public execution", presaging a wider debate on the legitimacy of the airing. Suspended from the PNL for a year, Remeş had criminal charges of influence peddling filed against him in June 2008. The following year, he announced his intention to sue DNA, TVR
and the Presidency
in order to find out who leaked the video that prompted his resignation, asserting that he was the victim of a political order for his elimination.
He is married to Steliana Remeş.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n economist and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
(PNL), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
for Maramureş County
Maramures County
Maramureș is a county of Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.- History :* The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary. Since then Máramaros served as the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1920, the Trianon Peace...
from 1996 to 2000. In the Radu Vasile
Radu Vasile
Radu Vasile is a Romanian politician, historian and poet.-Education and Professional Activity:*1967 - Graduate, with exceptional results, of the Faculty of History - University of Bucharest...
and Mugur Isărescu
Mugur Isarescu
Mugur Isărescu is the Governor of the National Bank of Romania. From 22 December 1999 to 28 November 2000 he served as Prime Minister. He is a member of the Romanian Academy....
cabinets, he served as Finance Minister
Ministry of Public Finance (Romania)
The Ministry of Public Finance of Romania is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania.The minister's seat is currently held by the Democratic Liberal Party's Gheorghe Ialomiţeanu.The following agencies are subordinated to the Minister:...
from 1998 to 2000, while in the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Calin Popescu-Tariceanu
Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu is a Romanian politician. He was the Prime Minister of Romania between 29 December 2004 and 22 December 2008...
cabinet, he was Minister of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Romania)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania is one of the nineteen ministries of the Government of Romania.The current Minister is Valeriu Tabără. The first post-Communist Minister of Agriculture was Victor Surdu....
during 2007.
Biography
Born in BăseştiBasesti
Băseşti is a commune in Maramureş County, northern Romania. It is composed of four villages: Băseşti, Odeşti, Sălişte and Stremţ.-Famous people:*Gheorghe Pop de Băseşti , Austro-Hungarian and Romanian politician...
, Maramureş County, he graduated from the Economic Studies Faculty of the University of Iaşi in 1971. From that year until 1978, he was an economist at an electronics factory in Săcele
Sacele
Săcele is a city in Braşov County, Romania, in the region of Transylvania, with a population of 29,915 inhabitants in 2002. It is practically adjacent to the city of Braşov, its city centre being situated 15 km away from downtown Braşov.-History:...
, and from 1973 to 1978, he taught as assistant professor at the University of Braşov
Transylvania University of Brasov
Transylvania University is a state institution of higher education in Braşov, Romania which, by "offering education, scientific research and the number of students is one of the great universities of Romania, the representative of the region and university 7 Center" .It has sixteen faculties, a...
. From 1978 to 1980, he was an inspector at a firm in his native county, followed by a position as chief accountant at a railway parts manufacturer there, from 1980 to 1990. Following the 1989 Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, he was economic director and then director of a Baia Mare
Baia Mare
Baia Mare is a municipality in northwestern Romania and the capital of Maramureş County. The city is situated about 600 kilometres from Bucharest, the capital of Romania, 70 kilometres from the border with Hungary and 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine...
firm. From 1995 to 1996, he headed a bank in that city. He has eleven published articles about finance and accounting in an economic magazine.
Joining the PNL in 1991, he was vice president of its Maramureş County chapter from 1992 to 1993 and president from 1993 to 1996. His first elective office came in 1992-1995, when he was vice president and then president of the Maramureş County Council. Elected
Romanian legislative election, 1996
Legislative elections were held in Romania on 3 November 1996, together with the Presidential election. The elections were won by the Romanian Democratic Convention, an alliance of liberal, Christian Democratic and green parties. This marked the first time that the Party of Social Democracy was out...
to the Chamber in 1996 on the lists of the victorious Romanian Democratic Convention
Romanian Democratic Convention
The Romanian Democratic Convention was an electoral alliance of several political parties of Romania, active from early 1992 until 2000....
(CDR), he served a four-year term there, sitting on the budget, finance and banking committee, including as president from 1997 to 1998. During this period, he was named Finance Minister in September 1998, following the dismissal of Daniel Dăianu
Daniel Daianu
Daniel Dăianu is a Romanian economist, professor and politician. He has been a member of the European Parliament since end of 2007, when he was elected on the National Liberal Party's lists....
, serving in the Vasile and Isărescu cabinets until December 2000, when the CDR lost power following an election
Romanian legislative election, 2000
Legislative elections where be held in Romania on November 26, 2000, together with the Presidential election. The Greater Romania Party made big gains, as did the PDSR, which became the ruling party. The formerly governing Romanian Democratic Convention lost all its seats and was shortly...
. As minister, he had to deal with the fallout from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which threatened to bankrupt Romania. During the summer of 2000, he submitted his resignation as minister due to the PNL's intention to form a left-wing alliance at the forthcoming elections; Isărescu rejected this, but he nonetheless left the PNL due to a perceived leftward shift in policy, to the party's nomination of Teodor Stolojan and not Isărescu to contest the upcoming presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 2000
These are the results of the Romanian presidential election of November 26, run-off held on December 10, 2000:-First round:-Run-off:...
, and to a rivalry with leading party figure Valeriu Stoica
Valeriu Stoica
Valeriu Stoica is a Romanian politician and academic. A professor of civil law at the University of Bucharest, he became a member of the National Liberal Party in 1990, and was first vice-president of the party between 1997 and 2001 and president between 2001 and 2002...
.
From 2001 to 2007, Remeş returned to private life, working as economic director for a Baia Mare agricultural firm. He also belonged to a number of political parties after quitting the PNL. He became head of a PNL splinter group in 2000, then joined the Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party
Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party (Romania)
The Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party is a Romanian Christian-Democratic party...
in 2002 and People's Action
People's Action (Romania)
The People's Action was a minor Romanian right-wing political party, founded and led by former President Emil Constantinescu. It had no seats in the Parliament of Romania nor in the European Parliament.In April 2008, it merged into the National Liberal Party....
, of which he was vice president, in 2003. He rejoined the PNL in 2005, serving as secretary general in 2006-2007, as well as head of the Maramureş County chapter during that period. Recalled to government, he served as Agriculture Minister under Tăriceanu from April to October 2007. Prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate , formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office , is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offenses that caused a material damage higher than €200,000 or whose value of the involved amounts or goods is...
(DNA) allege that businessman Gheorghe Ciorbă sent former Agriculture Minister Ioan Avram Mureşan to meet with Remeş and offer him €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
15,000, an Audi Q7
Audi Q7
The Audi Q7 is a full-size luxury crossover SUV unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of the Q7 began in autumn of 2005 in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is the first SUV offering from Audi and went on sale in 2007. Later, Audi's second SUV, the Q5, was unveiled as a 2009...
, and products worth 1,500 lei
Romanian leu
The leu is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani . The name of the currency means "lion". On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu to a new leu . 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL...
: 100 L
Litér
- External links :*...
of palinka
Palinka
Pálinka or Palincă is a traditional fruit brandy made in regions of the Carpathian Basin. Modern commercial production occurs in Hungary, Romania and parts of Austria. It is commonly made from the fermentation of plums, but other fruits used include apricots, apples, pears, peaches and cherries...
and 20 kg of pork offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
sausage called caltaboşi. In exchange, Remeş was to steer contracts to Ciorbă's businesses at public bids organised by his ministry. During its prime-time newscast, Romanian Television
Romanian television
Romanian television may refer to:* Communications media in Romania* Televiziunea Română, TVR, the national television network* List of Romanian language television channels...
(TVR) broadcast a video featuring Remeş allegedly accepting the bribe, leading to an outcry and his resignation. In the aftermath, Tăriceanu, rather than focus on what Remeş did, criticised TVR for carrying out the minister's "public execution", presaging a wider debate on the legitimacy of the airing. Suspended from the PNL for a year, Remeş had criminal charges of influence peddling filed against him in June 2008. The following year, he announced his intention to sue DNA, TVR
Romanian television
Romanian television may refer to:* Communications media in Romania* Televiziunea Română, TVR, the national television network* List of Romanian language television channels...
and the Presidency
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
in order to find out who leaked the video that prompted his resignation, asserting that he was the victim of a political order for his elimination.
He is married to Steliana Remeş.