Vasile Blaga
Vasile Blaga | |
---|---|
![]() Vasile Blaga in 2012 | |
Member of the European Parliament for Romania | |
Assumed office 2 July 2019 | |
President of the Senate of Romania | |
In office 29 November 2011 – 3 July 2012 | |
Preceded by | Mircea Geoană |
Succeeded by | Crin Antonescu |
Member of the Senate of Romania | |
In office 22 November 1996 – 10 December 2000 | |
In office 13 December 2004 – 19 December 2016 | |
Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
In office 9 June 1990 – 14 February 1992 | |
Minister of Internal Affairs | |
In office 23 December 2009 – 27 September 2010 | |
Prime Minister | Emil Boc |
Preceded by | Dan Nica |
Succeeded by | Traian Igaș |
In office 29 December 2004 – 4 April 2007 | |
Prime Minister | Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu |
Preceded by | Marian Săniuță |
Succeeded by | Cristian David |
President of the National Liberal Party | |
In office 18 December 2014 – 28 September 2016 Serving with Alina Gorghiu | |
Preceded by | Klaus Iohannis |
Succeeded by | Alina Gorghiu |
Leader of the Democratic Liberal Party | |
In office 2012–2014 | |
Preceded by | Emil Boc |
Succeeded by | Himself (merged with National Liberal Party) |
Personal details | |
Born | Petrileni, Bihor, Romania | 26 July 1956
Political party | National Liberal Party |
Other political affiliations | Democratic Liberal Party (merged into PNL in 2014) |
Spouse | Margareta Violett Blaga |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Polytechnic University of Timișoara[1] National Defence College of Bucharest |
Vasile Blaga (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile ˈblaɡa]; born 26 July 1956) is a Romanian politician who was Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, from 2011 to 2012. He also served as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice as 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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Traian_B%C4%83sescu_%289304365167%29.jpg/200px-Traian_B%C4%83sescu_%289304365167%29.jpg)
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[2] and of the Social Democrat mayor Bucharest's Sector 2, Neculai Onțanu,[3] as well as the opposition of National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (Romania).[4] Oprescu won the race on a 56-44 margin.[5] He was the president of the Democratic-Liberal Party until its dissolution in the summer of 2014, when it merged with the National Liberal Party, of which he served as co-president, along with Alina Gorghiu, until 28 September 2016.[6] On that date, Blaga was charged with influence peddling by the National Anticorruption Directorate and announced his resignation as party co-leader, though he maintained he is innocent.[7]
References
- ^ (in Romanian) Curriculum vitae at the Romanian Senate site
- ^ "Becali ţine cu Blaga" Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, in Evenimentul Zilei, 3 June 2008
- ^ "Onţanu îl sprijină pe Blaga!" Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Evenimentul Zilei, 3 June 2008
- ^ "Alianţe electorale ale partidelor împotriva PD-L", BBC Romanian, 3 June 2008
- ^ "BEM: Sorin Oprescu a fost declarat primar general al Capitalei" Archived 2009-09-10 at the Wayback Machine, Evenimentul Zilei, 17 June 2008
- ^ "Alina Gorghiu este noul copreședinte PNL, alături de Vasile Blaga". Digi24 (in Romanian). 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Vasile Blaga demisionează de la conducerea PNL. Nu mai candidează". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
External links
- 1956 births
- Living people
- People from Bihor County
- Politehnica University of Timișoara alumni
- Romanian presidential advisors
- Democratic Liberal Party (Romania) politicians
- Romanian Ministers of Interior
- Romanian Ministers of Regional Development
- Presidents of the Senate of Romania
- Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
- Prefects of Romania
- MEPs for Romania 2019–2024