Mircea Geoana
Encyclopedia
Dan Mircea Geoană (ˈmirt͡ʃe̯a ˈd͡ʒe̯o̯anə; born July 14, 1958 in Bucharest
) is a Romania
n politician, who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from December 20, 2008 until he was revoked by the senators on November 23, 2011. From 21 April 2005 until 21 February 2010 he was the head of the Partidul Social Democrat (PSD, Social Democratic Party), one of Romania's largest parties. He was the candidate of the party for the position of President of Romania
in the 2009 presidential election
. He was dissmised from PSD following the refusal to resign as President of the Senate on 22 November 2011.
From December 28, 2000 to December 28, 2004, Geoană was the Foreign Minister of Romania, as part of the PSD government of Adrian Năstase
. After the Romanian legislative elections of 2004, he was replaced by Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu
from the Justice and Truth Alliance.
In 2001, Geoană was the chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
. In 2004, during the local government elections in Romania, he ran for Mayor of Bucharest
, but lost to Traian Băsescu
of the Democratic Party.
A career diplomat, from 1996 to 2000 Geoană served as Romania's ambassador
to the United States
. At the time, he was the youngest ambassador in Romania's diplomatic corps.
Considered a young reformer, Geoană was elected president of the party on April 25, 2005 by delegates at a PSD Party Congress held in Bucharest
. His victory represented a surprise defeat for the former President and founder of the PSD Ion Iliescu
, who was expected to defeat Geoană handily. Geoană's win was attributed by the media to last minute backroom dealing by party leaders opposed to Iliescu as well as to public gaffes made by Iliescu at the Party Congress
, including using the term comrades when referring to his party colleagues. Iliescu also used harsh language to criticize Geoană, saying that Geoană acted "like a foolish person" during a meeting of the PSD sentators in 2005. Iliescu was referring to Geoană's stance before the 2004 presidential run-off, when Geoană declared that the Hungarian minority party, UDMR, will join a PSD-led government. According to Iliescu's analysis, this declaration alienated the Romanian ultra-nationalist electorate who voted for Traian Băsescu
, thus costing Adrian Năstase the 2004 presidential election. Due to this remark of Iliescu, the characterization "foolish" was used by Geoană's political opponents repeatedly in his later career, as a form of negative campaign. For instance, during the 2009 presidential run-off with Traian Băsescu
, the latter used banners with his own image splattered with black paint reading "Banner ruined by the foolish person. Don't let the foolish person ruin your life."
At the PSD Congress on December 10, 2006, Geoană was re-elected as party President, with his platform, "Social Romania", defeating Sorin Oprescu
's.
In the final televised debated before the runoff round of the 2009 presidential elections
Geoană was accused by the incumbent Băsescu that he met the controversial businessman and media owner Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
the night before at Vântu's home. The meeting, which Geoană acknowledged, happened right after a former collaborator and close friend of Vântu, Nicolae Popa
, who had been convicted in absentia
for fraud and embezzlement to 15 years in jail in the Fondul Naţional de Investiţii (FNI) ponzi scheme scandal, was apprehended in Jakarta
, Indonesia
after evading justice for seven years. Since Băsescu had made a main theme of his campaign his fight against the "media moguls" including Vântu, and repeatedly claimed that Geoană is a front man for the moguls, this meeting between Geoană and Vântu was criticized by several journalists, including Cristian Tudor Popescu
, as a major judgement error on Geoana's behalf. Vântu also acknowledged the meeting, but mentioned similar meetings with Băsescu during the latter's 2004 bid for presidency, including one in an empty parking lot.
Immediately after the end of the 2009 presidential elections, an 18-second-long footage was broadcast depicting Geoană allegedly receiving
money from a person whose face cannot be seen. In the recording Geoană is silent, but the apparent voice of the female donor is heard saying: “I have EUR 5,000 here, my campaign contribution. I mean, this will help you now, but this is my contribution for an eligible position.” Geoana immediately described the tape as a "campaign fake", and other PSD leaders reacted similarly.
On 22 November 2011, after refusing to step down as the President of the Senate of Romania
following the request of the PSD leadership, he was ousted as member of the party, losing the confidence of his fellow coleagues in the Executive National Council of PSD where his dismissal was voted 50 to 5 while 3 absteined. In the following days he will have to step down as President of the Upper House of the Romanian Parliament
as he no longer has the support of a party group in the Senate. The following day he was revoked by the senators in the plenary meeting with 112 votes for,2 against and 5 abstentions. He remains an independent senator.
He is married to Mihaela Geoană and has a teenage daughter and son - Ana Maria and Alexandru Ion.
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
) is a Romania
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 politician, who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from December 20, 2008 until he was revoked by the senators on November 23, 2011. From 21 April 2005 until 21 February 2010 he was the head of the Partidul Social Democrat (PSD, Social Democratic Party), one of Romania's largest parties. He was the candidate of the party for the position of President of Romania
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 the 2009 presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 2009
The first round of 2009 Romanian presidential elections was held in Romania on 22 November and a run-off round between Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană was held on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls favored Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33%...
. He was dissmised from PSD following the refusal to resign as President of the Senate on 22 November 2011.
History
Adrian Nastase
Adrian Năstase is a Romanian politician who was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.He competed as the Social Democratic Party candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by centre-right Justice and Truth Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu.He was...
. After the Romanian legislative elections of 2004, he was replaced by Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu
Mihai Razvan Ungureanu
Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu is a Romanian historian, diplomat and politician. He was the foreign minister of Romania from December 28, 2004 to March 12, 2007...
from the Justice and Truth Alliance.
In 2001, Geoană was the chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
. In 2004, during the local government elections in Romania, he ran for Mayor of Bucharest
Mayor of Bucharest
The Mayor of Bucharest , sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for city-wide affairs, such as the water system, the transport system and the main boulevards...
, but lost to Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
of the Democratic Party.
A career diplomat, from 1996 to 2000 Geoană served as Romania's ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At the time, he was the youngest ambassador in Romania's diplomatic corps.
Considered a young reformer, Geoană was elected president of the party on April 25, 2005 by delegates at a PSD Party Congress held in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. His victory represented a surprise defeat for the former President and founder of the PSD Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
, who was expected to defeat Geoană handily. Geoană's win was attributed by the media to last minute backroom dealing by party leaders opposed to Iliescu as well as to public gaffes made by Iliescu at the Party Congress
Party Congress
A party congress is a general conference of a political party. The congress is attended by delegates who represent the party membership. In most parties the party congress is the highest decision making body of the organisation and elects the party's leadership bodies such as the National Executive...
, including using the term comrades when referring to his party colleagues. Iliescu also used harsh language to criticize Geoană, saying that Geoană acted "like a foolish person" during a meeting of the PSD sentators in 2005. Iliescu was referring to Geoană's stance before the 2004 presidential run-off, when Geoană declared that the Hungarian minority party, UDMR, will join a PSD-led government. According to Iliescu's analysis, this declaration alienated the Romanian ultra-nationalist electorate who voted for Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, thus costing Adrian Năstase the 2004 presidential election. Due to this remark of Iliescu, the characterization "foolish" was used by Geoană's political opponents repeatedly in his later career, as a form of negative campaign. For instance, during the 2009 presidential run-off with Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, the latter used banners with his own image splattered with black paint reading "Banner ruined by the foolish person. Don't let the foolish person ruin your life."
At the PSD Congress on December 10, 2006, Geoană was re-elected as party President, with his platform, "Social Romania", defeating Sorin Oprescu
Sorin Oprescu
Sorin Mircea Oprescu is a Romanian independent politician and medical doctor who is currently serving as Mayor of Bucharest.-Political activity:...
's.
In the final televised debated before the runoff round of the 2009 presidential elections
Romanian presidential election, 2009
The first round of 2009 Romanian presidential elections was held in Romania on 22 November and a run-off round between Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană was held on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls favored Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33%...
Geoană was accused by the incumbent Băsescu that he met the controversial businessman and media owner Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu is a Romanian businessman and owner of the Realitatea-Caţavencu media company. In 2008 he was considered the 5th richest man in Romania with an estimated net worth between 800 and 850 million euros....
the night before at Vântu's home. The meeting, which Geoană acknowledged, happened right after a former collaborator and close friend of Vântu, Nicolae Popa
Nicolae Popa (businessman)
Nicolae Popa is a controversial Romanian businessman. In 2006 he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail for fraud and embezzlement related to the 2000 collapse of the Fondul Naţional de Investiţii ponzi scheme with an estimated prejudice of 1.2 million euros spread between some 130,000...
, who had been convicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
for fraud and embezzlement to 15 years in jail in the Fondul Naţional de Investiţii (FNI) ponzi scheme scandal, was apprehended in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after evading justice for seven years. Since Băsescu had made a main theme of his campaign his fight against the "media moguls" including Vântu, and repeatedly claimed that Geoană is a front man for the moguls, this meeting between Geoană and Vântu was criticized by several journalists, including Cristian Tudor Popescu
Cristian Tudor Popescu
Cristian Tudor Popescu is a Romanian journalist, essayist and short-story writer. Author of science fiction stories during his youth, he has also hosted talk shows for various television stations, and had contributions as a literary critic and translator...
, as a major judgement error on Geoana's behalf. Vântu also acknowledged the meeting, but mentioned similar meetings with Băsescu during the latter's 2004 bid for presidency, including one in an empty parking lot.
Immediately after the end of the 2009 presidential elections, an 18-second-long footage was broadcast depicting Geoană allegedly receiving
money from a person whose face cannot be seen. In the recording Geoană is silent, but the apparent voice of the female donor is heard saying: “I have EUR 5,000 here, my campaign contribution. I mean, this will help you now, but this is my contribution for an eligible position.” Geoana immediately described the tape as a "campaign fake", and other PSD leaders reacted similarly.
On 22 November 2011, after refusing to step down as the President of the Senate of Romania
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
following the request of the PSD leadership, he was ousted as member of the party, losing the confidence of his fellow coleagues in the Executive National Council of PSD where his dismissal was voted 50 to 5 while 3 absteined. In the following days he will have to step down as President of the Upper House of the Romanian Parliament
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
as he no longer has the support of a party group in the Senate. The following day he was revoked by the senators in the plenary meeting with 112 votes for,2 against and 5 abstentions. He remains an independent senator.
He is married to Mihaela Geoană and has a teenage daughter and son - Ana Maria and Alexandru Ion.