Dan Stoenescu

Dan Stoenescu (born 4 November 1980) is a Romanian career diplomat, political scientist and journalist. He was a Minister in the Romanian government of technocrats, under Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. Throughout his career, he manifested a steady interest in the protection of rights of the Romanian diaspora^[1] and in the preservation of the language, culture and civilization of ethnic Romanians abroad.^[2] In March 2017 he was appointed Romanian ambassador to Tunisia.

Stoenescu is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, English, Portuguese, Romanian, and has a basic knowledge of Arabic.

Education

He received a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from Austin College, in Sherman, Texas, in 2003,^[3] a master of arts degree in globalization and development from Warwick University in Great Britain in 2005, a graduate diploma in forced migration and refugee studies from the American University in Cairo in 2006, and a PhD in political science from the University of Bucharest in 2009, where he wrote his dissertation on modern Arab nationalism and Islamic identity after 1987. He attended courses at the European Security and Defence College^[4] in Brussels, Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael^[5] in the Hague, Matías Romero Institute^[6] in Mexico City and Saifi Institute^[7] for Arabic Language in Beirut.

Career

Stoenescu was Minister-delegate for Romanians abroad from 17 November 2015 to 7 July 2016, in the government of technocrats, led by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. Previously, he had diplomatic postings in Madrid ^[8] and Beirut^[9] and was president of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) in Lebanon for two consecutive mandates ^[10] as a representative of the Romanian Cultural Institute.

Between 2009-10 he worked in the Department on Policies for the Relationship with Romanians Abroad.^[11]

Starting in September 2015 he was responsible for the Romanian schools in Spain as First Secretary at the Romanian Embassy in Spain.^[12]

Dan Stoenescu volunteering with Sudanese refugees at the African Hope School in Cairo, Egypt (2002)

He previously lived in Egypt when he worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) offices in Cairo. Dan Stoenescu also worked as a journalist for various newspapers and magazines in Romania,^[13] United States, UK, Egypt, Lebanon,^[14] and the Republic of Moldova. He was involved in Egypt with non-governmental organizations such as African Hope,^[15] in the United States he volunteered for the Center for the Survivors of Torture as well as in Central America for El Salvador’s Siglo XXIII.

Between 2005 and 2009 he was a lecturer in the political science department at the University of Bucharest,^[16] and thereafter at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute.^[17]

In 2000, he established the Worldwide Romanians Youth League (Liga Tinerilor Români de Pretutindeni) ^[18] and later on the Center for Democratic Education Romania.^[19]

Among many academic honors and distinctions he was awarded the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, Ford Foundation scholarship, First Phi Theta Kappa All-California Academic Team, Presbyterian Church USA Samuel Roberson award, and distinctions from California governor Gray Davis, assembly member Wilma Chan, and senator Don Perata.^[20]

Ministerial Mandate (2015-2016)

Meeting of Minister delegate Dan Stoenescu with Pope Francis

The mandate of the minister delegate brought many changes and innovations in terms of political and diplomatic measures and demarches in the relation of the Romanian government with the Romanian communities abroad. Amongst the first measures taken in the beginning of the mandate were transparency initiatives such as publication of the financed projects and the establishment of an online platform for projects.^[21]

In the beginning of his mandate, Stoenescu announced a new direction for Romanian institutions in offering new business and investment opportunities using European funds for Romanians of the Diaspora who wish to return home.^[22] Therefore, the Ministry of European Funds and the Department Policies for the Relation with Romanians Abroad launched, in October 2016, a 30 million euros program called "Diaspora Start-up", as part of the Human Capital Operational Program (POCU) 2014-2020.^[23] The program offered a financing line for Diaspora Romanians that returned recently and intend to open a business in an urban area in Romania. It is a program exclusively for developing entrepreneurship and establishing new businesses.^[24] Another innovative measure was the launching of the AgroDiaspora program meant to inform Romanians living abroad about the investment opportunities in the Romanian agriculture available through accessing European funds.^[25] In order to develop entrepreneurial skills within the Diaspora, a new online program called "Worldwide Romanian Entrepreneurs" was launched offering hundreds of free scholarships.^[26]

To consolidate the cultural links between Romania and its kin ethnic groups in the near abroad, a series of demarches were started in order to establish Romanian Information Centers in Bălți (Republic of Moldova),^[27]Ismail (Ukraine) ^[28] and Solotvino (Ukraine).^[29] The Romanian Information Centers in Bălți and Ismail, established by minister Stoenescu, were inaugurated in December 2016.^[30]

Furthermore, a project called the Common Communication Space Romania – Republic of Moldova was initiated in order to support cooperation and convergence projects between press institutions, civil society and governmental institutions on a bilateral level. As part of this strategic project it was established the Romania – Republic of Moldova Mass media Consultative Council – a consultation forum for the civil society, management representatives of press institutions and journalists from both states to harmonize and integrate media laws and public policies in the area of mass media communication.^[31]

Minister delegate Dan Stoenescu commemorating the Massacre of Fântâna Albă, Northern Bukovina (Ukraine)

During his mandate he always stressed the importance of implementing measures that fight against the artificial division of Romanian communities between Romanians and Moldovans,^[32] Romanians and Vlachs,^[33] Romanians and Aromanians.^[34]

For a stronger common inter-institutional demarche in support of Romanian communities, the minister delegate always brought along during his visits abroad representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Commissions for Romanians Abroad in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania as well as of other ministries.^[35] The minister delegate was the first high-ranking official member of the Dacian Cioloș government to visit the Republic of Moldova^[36]

In early March 2016, the minister delegate went on a diplomatic mission to Malaysia as special envoy of President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș to appeal to the Malaysian authorities to pardon and commute the capital punishment for the Romanian inmate Ionut Gologan.^[37]

In the perspective of the 2016 Parliamentary elections, he launched together with the Electoral Permanent Authority a widespread campaign to inform Romanians living abroad about the legislative changes regarding the new possibility of voting by mail and organizing new voting sections in ones area of residence.^[38]

Moreover, he initiated a legislative modification of Law no.321/2006 to ensure greater transparency on non-refundable financing for programs, projects and activities in support of Romanian communities living abroad.^[39]

The Romanian media recognized the innovations brought by his mandate: "unlike the politicians that had Stoenescu's portfolio, his work was an enormous leap forward"^[40]

Published works

• "Islamic and Arab Perspectives on Machiavelli’s Virtù", Studia Politica, vol IX, nr.1, 2009.
• "The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Road Towards the Ummah", Studia Politica, vol VIII, nr.3, 2008.
• "Palestinian Nationalism: From Secularism to Islam", Studia Politica, vol. VII, no. 2, 2007.
• With Dana Pleşa, International Relations and Globalisation in the Middle East, Semne Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005. (ISBN 973-624-310-9)
• "The Concept of Civil Society and the Viability of a Global Civil Society", Sfera Politicii, nr.116-117/2005, pp. 75–79.
• "Focus on Romanians – a monitoring report on discrimination of Romanians abroad in 2004", Liga Tinerilor Români de Pretutindeni.

References

External links

• Dan Stoenescu, “The impact of globalisation on contemporary sub-state terrorism with particular reference to the Muslim World” in International Relations and Globalisation in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu and Dana Pleşa, Semne Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005, pp. 32–62, on the American Center for International Policy Studies website.
• Dan Stoenescu, “Ethnic cleansing in the Middle East before the Second World War“ in International Relations and Globalisation in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu and Dana Pleşa, Semne Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005, pp. 85–98, on the American Center for International Policy Studies website.
• Dan Stoenescu, “Modern Arab Nationalism“ in International Relations and Globalisation in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu and Dana Pleşa, Semne Publishing House,Bucharest, 2005, pp. 110–122, on the American Center for International Policy Studies website.
• Dan Stoenescu, “Globalising prostitution in the Middle East“ in International Relations and Globalisation in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu and Dana Pleşa, Semne Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005, pp. 266–283, on the American Center for International Policy Studies website.
• Les centres culturels européens en réseau : Rencontre avec Dan Stoenescu
• NOW Lebanon: Culture cluster - Five European cultural centers join forces in Lebanon
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark: Lebanese civil society and cultural actors take part in the EUNIC Euro-Mediterranean Forum in Jordan
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Department Policies for the Relations with Romanians Abroad: Mandate balance (November 2015 – July 2016) in the Romanian language