Adrian Năstase

Adrian Năstase
Prime Minister of Romania
In office 28 December 2000 – 21 December 2004
President	Ion Iliescu
Preceded by	Mugur Isărescu
Succeeded by	Eugen Bejinariu (Acting)
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 21 December 2004 – 15 March 2006
Preceded by	Valer Dorneanu
Succeeded by	Bogdan Olteanu
In office 1992–1996
Preceded by	Dan Marţian
Succeeded by	Ion Diaconescu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 June 1990 – 18 November 1992
Prime Minister	Petre Roman Theodor Stolojan
Preceded by	Sergiu Celac
Succeeded by	Teodor Meleşcanu
Personal details
Born	(1950-06-22) 22 June 1950 Bucharest, Romania
Political party	Social Democratic Party (1993–present)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party (Before 1989) National Salvation Front (1989–1992) Democratic National Salvation Front (1992–1993)
Spouse(s)	Ilinca Preoteasa (Divorced) Dana Miculescu
Alma mater	University of Bucharest
Profession	Lawyer

Adrian Năstase (born June 22, 1950) is a Romanian politician who was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.

He competed as the Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by centre-right Justice and Truth (DA) Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu.

He was the President of the Chamber of Deputies from December 21, 2004 until 15 March 2006, when he resigned due to corruption charges.

Biography

Family background

Năstase was born in Bucharest to a family that originated from Hanul de Pământ village, Tărtăşeşti commune, Dâmboviţa County. His father, Marian Năstase, was an officer of the Royal Romanian Army. His father was marginalized after the rise of communism in 1947, but he got his position back after he joined the Romanian Communist Party. Soon after, he became part of the Romanian Communist nomenklatura, serving as director in the Education Ministry. His mother is named Elena and he has a sister, Dana Barb (née Năstase).

Communist period

Adrian Năstase finished high school at Nicolae Bălcescu High School (now Saint Sava National College) and then graduated from the University of Bucharest, receiving degrees from both the Department of Law and the Department of Sociology. He worked at various times as a professor, judge, and as president of several organizations involved with law and international relations.

While a student, he married the daughter of Communist dignitary Grigore Preoteasa but then divorced her. On 31 July 1985, he married Dana Miculescu, the daughter of Angelo Miculescu, another important Communist personality. They have two sons, Andrei (b. 12 February 1986) and Mihnea (b. 23 June 1993).

As was the case with many of Romania's post-1989 political elites, Năstase was a member of the Romanian Communist Party before the Revolution during the era of Nicolae Ceauşescu. Although he was young, he was trusted by senior Communist leaders and sent as Romania's representative to various international conferences on human rights. In 1983 he published an article called "Human rights - a retrograde concept", in which he attacked the Freedom House for its annual "rank" which called Communist Romania a "Not Free" country. Năstase, 1983

In 1989, he participated in a Romanian-Soviet Youth conference in Moscow and another one in Pyongyang, North Korea. In an interview given to Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda he talked openly against Perestroika.

Post-1989 political career

Năstase was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Romania as member of the National Salvation Front party on June 9, 1990 and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the governments of Petre Roman and Theodor Stolojan (June 28, 1990–October 16, 1992).

In 1992, he was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Democratic National Salvation Front (FDSN) and served as the President of the Chamber of Deputies. Between 1993 and 1997, he was also the executive president of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR, formerly the FDSN).

When the PDSR lost the 1996 elections, Năstase became leader of the opposition PDSR parliamentary group, vice-president of Chamber of Deputies, and member of Standing Bureau and Member of the Romanian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe where he was the Recording Secretary of Council of Europe commission on judicial problems and human rights with reference to illegal activities by religious sects.

After the victory of the PDSR in the 2000 legislative elections and the re-election of Ion Iliescu as President of Romania, Năstase was elected president of the PDSR, which soon changed its name to the Social Democratic Party (PSD) after merging with another party. Năstase remained PSD president until April 2005 when he was replaced as PSD president by former foreign minister Mircea Geoană at a PSD party congress. At the same congress, Năstase was elected to be PSD executive president, the second most senior position in the party.

Term as Prime Minister of Romania

Năstase was confirmed by the Parliament as Prime Minister on December 28, 2000, following his appointment to the position in days before by President Ion Iliescu. He held the position concurrently with his leadership of the PSD. His four years as Prime Minister were characterized by unprecedented political stability in post-communist Romania, continuous economic growth, and a foreign policy strongly oriented toward the West. Romania joined NATO, and committed Romanian troops in support of international efforts in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

His government completed accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) and aggressively passed legislation and implemented a number of reforms required for EU accession, anticipated to take place in 2007 or 2008. His government successfully negotiated the lifting of visa restrictions on Romanians traveling to EU Schengen treaty countries.

The privatization of large state-owned companies continued, with the selling of money-losing steel enterprise Sidex of Galaţi to the Indian company Ispat and of the oil company Petrom to Austrian company OMV.

Adrian Năstase with George W. Bush.

Inflation decreased and the Romanian leu became stronger. However, critics pointed out that this was at least partially due to an influx of foreign currency into Romania from the estimated two million Romanians working abroad. GDP also grew substantially during each year of his term, with a growth of 8.3% achieved in 2004, the highest in the region. Average wages similarly grew, although they did not match the pace of economic growth. For example, in 2004 wages grew by 10.4%, with a 9.2% inflation rate, thereby leading to a real wage growth of 1.2%, in a year when GDP grew by 7%.

The Năstase government did not make substantial inroads on a number of important issues in Romanian society, such as agricultural policy: about 42% of Romanians continued to work in agriculture (compared to 3% of French and 19% of Poles). Critics also pointed out that economic growth was not evenly distributed among the social classes, and the percentage of people living below the poverty level remained high, especially in the rural areas.

Although the government took initial steps toward meaningful judicial reform, the government was repeatedly criticized, including by the EU, for failing to combat substantially widespread corruption, including at the highest levels.

2004 presidential candidacy

The 2004 presidential election cycle marked the end of the second term of President Ion Iliescu, who, according to the constitution, could not serve another term. The PSD selected Năstase to be its presidential candidate. His running mate (selected to be prime minister in the event of a Năstase win) was then Foreign Minister Mircea Geoană.

Throughout the autumn of 2004, opinion polls predicted Năstase would win, boosted in areas and among sectors where the PSD traditionally received strong support: in rural areas, in small and medium sized towns in the south and east of the country, and among pensioners and labor groups. The PSD, which remained by far the largest single political party in the country, was also expected to rely on its network of local party organizations to ensure voters came to the polls.

Năstase was ahead by a substantial margin during the November 28 first round of the presidential elections, although he received less than 50 percent of the vote, and therefore was required to compete in a December 12 run-off election against second place center-right Justice and Truth (DA) Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu. Independent civil society organizations alleged incidents of fraud in Năstase's favor during the first round of the elections, including alleged multiple voting by PSD supporters as a result of poor controls on voter identification, and flaws in the electronic vote tabulation.

At the time the polls closed on the evening of the run-off election, major media outlets released the results of exit polls showing a tie between Năstase and Băsescu. Nonetheless, Băsescu and his supporters interpreted the results as clear indication of a victory. Tens of thousands of Băsescu's supporters converged on University Square in the center of Bucharest, and in other parts of the country, to celebrate his presumed victory. The next morning, authorities released figures confirming Băsescu's win. Năstase received only 48.77% of the total vote.

Năstase later attributed his surprise defeat to a number of factors, including what he characterized as a failure of Humanist Party politicians to campaign on his behalf (the Humanist Party had an electoral pact with the PSD at the time); and the endorsement of Băsescu by Greater Romania Party (PRM) leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor. Other likely factors include Băsescu's strong performance during the second presidential debate, as well as persistent allegations of corruption against Năstase and the PSD.

Despite Năstase's presidential defeat, the PSD still won the largest bloc of seats in the Parliament in the concurrent legislative elections. Following the elections and in the interim period before Băsescu's DA Alliance was able to form a coalition majority, the PSD succeeded in obtaining sufficient support within the parliament to elect Năstase as president of the Chamber of Deputies. Former PSD Prime Minister Nicolae Văcăroiu was elected president of the Senate in the same circumstances. Năstase resigned as Prime Minister the day after Băsescu's inauguration. Later on, at the request of Cozmin Gusa, the campaign manager of Traian Băsescu, who resigned from Băsescu's party after he got elected, requested the release of the official results regarding the alleged fraud of the 2004 elections. The investigation concluded that there were no hard evidence of this fraud and that the elected president, Traian Băsescu, had no proofs to make that statement. The accusation of stealing the elections heavily helped Băsescu win the elections, some political analysts argue.

Allegations of corruption and other controversies

Allegation regarding highway construction concessions without competitive bidding

In 2003 and 2004, Năstase was accused of giving construction rights for one motorway (Braşov–Borş) without a competitive and open bidding process, to the American Bechtel Corporation after some high level talks between Năstase and the company leadership. The Năstase government claimed that this no-bid process was a necessity based on the short time allowed under their agreements with international funders to get the project started, and defended it as legal on the basis that it was a "national security" project.

2004 secret meeting recording

In October 2004 Năstase was recorded in a PSD meeting showing his alleged concern about an alleged 700 million USD bribe received by a government member upon the privatization of state-run petroleum company Petrom. Năstase has been recorded saying: "Today I have asked the General Prosecutor to investigate this, because if someone from the Government got $700 million and did not bring in his contribution to the election campaign, then he is twice guilty." An article, including the audio recording , was published by Evenimentul Zilei on December 4, 2004. Adrian Năstase declared afterwards it was only a joke.

2006 blocking of accounts

In November 2006, the National Anticorruption Department decided three bank accounts belonging to the ex-prime minister to be frozen. According to the prosecutors, the blocked sums account for a suspected corruption act.

Gifts from Ion Ţiriac

On 4 November 2004, Năstase received from Ion Ţiriac a Mercedes S500 (worth USD100,000) for a bet they had [4]. The Romanian law requires high-ranking officials to declare any gift worth more than USD200 in less than 30 days after they receive it, but Năstase failed to declare it as of 7 December. Both Ţiriac and Năstase stated that the bet was actually a joke meant to create publicity for a government project aimed at building over 400 gyms. Eventually Năstase refused to accept the car, and asked Ţiriac to donate instead 20,000 balls (soccer, handball, volleyball) for the newly built gyms.

In the TV debate of the presidential election, Năstase declared that he was considering quitting his hobby of hunting. However, on 22-23 January 2005, Năstase took part in a boar hunt in Balc, Bihor County, which was dubbed a 'massacre' by the Romanian press, ecologist organizations and other hunters. In the two-day hunt, 185 boars were killed, 23 by Adrian Năstase.

The hunting property Năstase uses is rented and maintained by Ţiriac, who invests heavily in it (in the range of millions of USD) and uses it to invite very important and wealthy persons from all over the world to facilitate business deals.

2006 "Aunt Tamara" scandal

In January 2006, Năstase included on a legally required wealth disclosure statement an inheritance of over 1 million euros from his wife's elderly aunt. Năstase claimed that the aunt, who had lived modestly on a pension, had come upon the fortune by selling jewels she had owned for decades and investing some of the funds in real estate. The media speculated that the Năstases used the inheritance as an opportunity to launder money and carry out illegal land deals. Năstase "temporarily suspended" himself as executive president of PSD while prosecutors investigated the alleged crime.

Undervalued land leads to resignation of posts

In 1998, Năstase bought a 700 m² lot in a posh neighborhood of Bucharest, from controversial businessman Gabriel Bivolaru, for a price that was estimated by real-estate agents to be less than 1/25 of its worth. On this land, his company built a luxury apartment building. Initially, an inquiry by the National Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office failed to bring charges. In November 2005, the case was reopened by the prosecutors and on 7 February 2006 he was officially charged with taking a bribe and with trafficking influence.

As a result of this charge, Năstase lost a vote of confidence among his party’s leadership and decided to resign on March 15, 2006 as speaker of the lower chamber of parliament and as executive president of the Social Democrats.

August 2008 Parliament decision

On August 13, The Parliament rejected the request of National Anticorruption Department to begin a trial against Adrian Nastase. The Parliament said that there was not enough evidence in order to start the trial.

Publications

Năstase has published over 150 pieces on International law in Romanian and foreign journals, and has held over 140 talks at international meetings; publications include:

• Human Rights: a Retrograde Concept
• The Political Idea of Change
• International Economic Law II
• Parliamentary Humor
• Romania and the New World Order
• The Construction of Europe and Constitutional Supremacy
• Romania's Treaties (1990–1997)
• Personal Rights of the National Minorities
• Regulations in International Law
• The Battle for Life
• Romania-NATO 2002
• NATO Enlargement.

See also

• List of national leaders
• List of Prime Ministers of Romania

External links

• Template:Ro icon Official blog
• Template:Ro icon Adrian Năstase (official site)
• Template:Ro icon Adrian Năstase on Politic.ro
• Template:Ro icon article in Evenimentul Zilei, on the alleged $700m Petrom bribe (includes audio footage)
• Transcripts of PSD meetings
• Recordings of secret sessions rock PSD
• http://freenet-homepage.de/CEDO/nastase.html

References

• Goşu, Armand, "25 noiembrie 1989: Năstase, avocatul lui Nicolae Ceauşescu" ("November 25, 1989: Năstase, advocate for Nicolae Ceauşescu"), Evenimentul Zilei, December 3, 2004;
• Năstase, Adrian, "Drepturile omului, un concept retrograd" ("Human Rights - A Retrograde Concept"), Concepţii şi controverse în domeniul drepturilor omului, în viitorul social, magazine of the Academia Ştefan Gheorghiu, Jan-Feb 1983, 45-50. Reprinted by Academia Caţavencu, 16 November 2004 in its Scînteia supplement, a collection of authentic articles written during Communist times by today's politicians, in a format parodying the official Communist Party paper Scînteia;
• Roibu, Iuliana "Autostrada Borş-Braşov, construita de Bechtel" ("Borş-Braşov motorway to be built by Bechtel"), Evenimentul Zilei, December 16, 2003.
• Realitatea TV, Adrian Năstase, pus sub acuzare February 7, 2006
• Gândul, "Adrian Năstase în atenţia DNA în dosarul „Aurul Dacic“", 8 March 2006