Mircea Geoană

Mircea Geoană
President of the Senate
In office 19 December 2008 – 23 November 2011
Preceded by	Ilie Sârbu
Succeeded by	Petru Filip (Acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 December 2000 – 28 December 2004
Prime Minister	Adrian Năstase Eugen Bejinariu (Acting)
Preceded by	Petre Roman
Succeeded by	Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu
Personal details
Born	(1958-07-14) 14 July 1958 Bucharest, Romania
Political party	Social Democratic Party (before 2011; 2012–14)[1] Independent (2011–12) Romanian Social Party (2015–present)[2]
Spouse(s)	Mihaela Geoană
Alma mater	Polytechnic University of Bucharest University of Bucharest Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Religion	Romanian Orthodoxy
Website	Official website

Dan Mircea Geoană (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmirt͡ʃe̯a ˈd͡ʒe̯o̯anə]; born July 14, 1958 in Bucharest)^[3] is a Romanian 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who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from December 20, 2008 until he was revoked by the senators on November 23, 2011.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.^[4] 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 but rejoined the party in late 2012.

History

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.^[5] Iliescu also used harsh language to criticize Geoană, saying that Geoană acted "like a moron" (un prostănac) during a meeting of the PSD senators 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.^[6] Due to this remark of Iliescu, the characterization "moron" 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 Moron. Don't let The Moron ruin your life."^[7]

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,^[8] 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.^[9][10] 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,^[11] as a major judgement error on Geoana's behalf.^[12][13][14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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 colleagues in the Executive National Council of PSD where his dismissal was voted 50 to 5 while 3 abstained. 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.^[17] 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 was readmitted into the party banks in Autumn 2012, after a reconciliation with the PSD leadership.

He has been recently suggested as a candidate to the office of Secretary General of NATO.^[18]

Personal life

He is married to Mihaela Geoană, Former President of the Romanian Red Cross from 2007-2015; They both have a daughter and son together: Maria and Alexandru Ion.

References

External links

• (Romanian) Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mircea Geoană.

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 Cristian Dumitrescu* Călin Popescu Tăriceanu ^* interim (acting)