Gheorge Flutur is a Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n politician, member of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Romania)

The Liberal Democratic Party was a political party in Romania, formed in December 2006 as a breakaway group from the National Liberal Party...

. He was previously a member of the National Liberal Party

National Liberal Party (Romania)

The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...

, which he resigned from in November 2006. Between December 2004 and November 2006, Flutur was the Minister of Agriculture in the Tăriceanu

Calin Popescu-Tariceanu

Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu is a Romanian politician. He was the Prime Minister of Romania between 29 December 2004 and 22 December 2008...

 government (as a Liberal Party member). In December 2006, Flutur joined the new Liberal Democratic Party as vice-president in December 2006.

Homophobic comments

Flutur generated controversy in June 2007 when, as the vice-president of the Liberal Democrats, he was asked how he would react if a party colleague of his was gay. Flutur replied by stating that, "We haven't thought about this but, personally, I would firmly be one who would support colder relations with this person. In this way, Christian morality must be the one that we should follow."

In a Cotidianul

Cotidianul

thumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007...

editorial published in reaction to Flutur's remark, Costi Rogozanu accused the politician of "fundamental hypocrisy" and homophobic populism

Populism

Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...

.

In June 2007, during Bucharest's annual GayFest

GayFest

GayFest is the annual gay pride festival of Bucharest, Romania, which first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May-June of each year, lasting for nearly a week. It is organised by the non-profit organisation ACCEPT, the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organisation...

, Flutur also stated in a TV interview that he has "a poor opinion" of LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 people, and that he disapproves of the liberties they have obtained.

The National Council for Combating Discrimination

National Council for Combating Discrimination

The National Council for Combating Discrimination is an agency of the Romanian government, established in 2001 and responsible for applying Romanian and European Union anti-discrimination laws and managing the National Anti-Discrimination Plan. The legal status of the CNCD was established by the...

, Romania's equality body, condemned Flutur's "homophobic discourse and inappropriate language".

2010 floods

During July 2010, Gheorghe Flutur, the president of Suceava County

Suceava County

Suceava is a county of Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia and few villages in Transylvania, with the capital city at Suceava.- Demographics :...

 Council, told the Mediafax

Mediafax

Mediafax is a Romanian media company headquartered in Bucharest and founded in 1991. It is a part of the MediaPro Group and its primary line of business is a news and photography service that covers the needs of 90% of the Romanian printed media and 70% of the national TV and radio stations...

 news agency that his region was one of the worst hit in the country in the morning of the 29th as he coordinated local relief work in his flood-affected county.