Vasile Blaga

Vasile Blaga
President of the Senate of Romania
In office 29 November 2011 – 3 July 2012
Preceded by	Mircea Geoană
Succeeded by	Crin Antonescu
Personal details
Born	(1956-07-26) 26 July 1956 Petrileni, Bihor, Romania
Political party	Democratic Liberal Party

Vasile Blaga (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile ˈblaɡa]; born 26 July 1956) is a Romanian politician and former Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, also a former Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice former Minister of Administration and Internal Affairs.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the Minister of Administration and Interior in the first Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu government (December 2004 – March 2007) as well as in one of the Emil Boc's governments. He resigned on 27 September 2010. On 28 November 2011, Blaga was appointed President of the Senate of Romania after the revocation of Mircea Geoana on 23 November. On 30 June 2012, he became the leader of PDL in an extraordinary session following the huge loss suffered by the party in the local elections earlier that month. He was dismissed from the office of President of the Senate on 3 July 2012.

Political career

Born in Petrileni, Bihor County, Blaga started his political career after the fall of Communism in Romania in 1989. He was a Member of Parliament in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, representing Bihor County, between 1990 and 1991, after which he became the Prefect of Bihor, serving until 1993.

Following the legislative election of 1996, he became a member of the Romanian Senate from the Democratic Party, representing Bihor County. He was reelected at the 2004 election for the Justice and Truth Alliance, of which the Democratic Party was a member, representing Bucharest (where he presently resides). Blaga was appointed as the Minister of Administration and Interior Affairs later in the same year.

In 2008, he was a candidate for the position of mayor of Bucharest from the Democratic-Liberal Party, seeking to replace incumbent mayor Adriean Videanu, who did not want to compete for a second term.

He came second in the first round of the elections, trailing independent Sorin Oprescu. For the second round, he gained the support of Gigi Becali's New Generation Party^[1] and of the Social Democrat mayor Bucharest's Sector 2, Neculai Onţanu.,^[2] as well as the opposition of National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (Romania).^[3] Oprescu won the race on a 56-44 margin.^[4]

v t e Presidents of the Senate of Romania Corpul Ponderator (Moderating Body) 1864 - 1866 Nifon Rusailă Senat 1866 - 1940 Nifon Rusailă Ștefan Golescu Nicolae Golescu Alexandru Plagino Nifon Rusailă Calinic Miclescu Constantin Bosianu Dimitrie Ghica Ion Emanoil Florescu Nicolae Crețulescu Ion Emanoil Florescu Constantin Boerescu Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Dimtrie Ghica Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza Eugeniu Stătescu Nicolae Gane Constantin Boerescu Eugeniu Stătescu Petre S. Aurelian Constantin Boerescu Petre S. Aurelian Constantin Budișteanu Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Theodor Rosetti Ion Lahovari Basile M. Missir Emanoil Porumbaru Dimitrie I. Dobrescu Paul Bujor Constantin Coandă Mihail Pherekyde Constantin I. Nicolaescu Constantin Coandă Constantin I. Nicolaescu Traian Bratu Mihail Sadoveanu Nicolae Costălescu Leonte Moldovan Constantin Dimitriu-Dovlecel Alexandru Lapedatu Nicolae Iorga Constantin Argetoianu Senat since 1990 Alexandru Bârlădeanu Oliviu Gherman Petre Roman Mircea Ionescu-Quintus Nicolae Văcăroiu Doru-Ioan Tǎrǎcilǎ* Ilie Sârbu Mircea Geoană Petru Filip* Vasile Blaga Crin Antonescu ^* interim (acting)

References

External links

• (Romanian) Profile of Vasile Blaga on the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site