Lucian Croitoru
Encyclopedia
Lucian Croitoru is a Romania
n economist. On October 15, 2009, following the defeat of Emil Boc
's government through a motion of no confidence
, President
Traian Băsescu
nominated Croitoru to be Prime Minister of Romania
. The nomination was opposed by a majority of Parliament, which adopted a declaration asking for his withdrawal, and vowing support for the candidature of Klaus Iohannis. Croitoru assembled a proposed cabinet, but this was voted down by Parliament on November 4.
, Ilfov County
. Between 1979 and 1982, he studied at the Faculty of Planning and Economic Cybernetics of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (ASE). He holds a 1995 doctorate from the same university, and has had additional studies in the United States
, the United Kingdom
and Austria
. From 1984 to 1998, Croitoru was a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economy. He taught international macroeconomics at ASE's Faculty of International Economic Relations from 1998 to 2003.
Following graduation in 1982, Croitoru worked as an economist at the Bucharest Well and Water Works for two years. His first stint in public service came between 1991 and 1995, when he worked as an expert at the Romanian Government's Department for Economic Reform. From 1995 to 1996, he was a consultant at Bucharest Investment Group; then, until 1997, he was a partner in a research project within the framework of the 1995 Phare
programme of the European Union
. He was also a research partner in the 1998 Phare framework project, from January 2001 to May 2002. These focused on public finance problems in transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, from January to September 1998, he was chief adviser to Finance Minister
Daniel Dăianu
. Starting that October, and until September 2003, he was adviser to the governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Mugur Isărescu
. In 2000, he was personal adviser to Isărescu while the latter was Prime Minister. In 2002, Croitoru became a consultant for USAID
and IRIS, as well as for Phare. From September 2003 to July 2007, he was chief adviser of the International Monetary Fund
's executive directorate for twelve primarily post-Communist countries. An expert in planning and implementing monetary, fiscal and business restructuring policy, in September 2007, he became Isărescu's adviser on monetary policy.
Croitoru is engaged to be married to Isărescu's daughter Lăcrămioara, and has one child.
(PD-L), was passed over by Parliament
in favour of Bogdan Olteanu
, a leading member of the National Liberal Party
(PNL) and a lawyer by profession, for the position of National Bank vice-governor. This provoked harsh accusations from the economic establishment that Parliament was politicizing the BNR. According to Evenimentul Zilei
newspaper, Olteanu was chosen after closed-door negotiations between the PNL and the Social Democrats
(or PSD, who had just quit a government coalition with the Democratic Liberals), in exchange for future PNL support of PSD appointees.
Just over a week later, President
Traian Băsescu
, citing the need for an individual well-versed in economic policy to steer Romania through the ongoing crisis
, nominated the politically independent
Croitoru as Prime Minister in place of Emil Boc
, whose cabinet fell after losing a motion of no confidence
two days earlier. The nomination was backed by the Democratic Liberal Party
, which is supporting Băsescu in the upcoming presidential election
, but drew criticism from the leaders of the Social Democratic Party
(Mircea Geoană
) and the National Liberal Party
(Crin Antonescu
), both of whom are challenging Băsescu in the race, backed non-economist Sibiu
Mayor Klaus Iohannis for the position, and vowed to challenge Croitoru's nomination at the Constitutional Court
or derail it in Parliament. In a meeting with Croitoru on October 20, the PNL and PSD, as well as the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
(UDMR) and the other ethnic minorities parties
, told Croitoru they would not vote for a cabinet headed by him, and asked him to refuse the nomination as Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, three days later, Croitoru announced his proposed cabinet, which included 14 ministers, down from 18 in the Emil Boc Cabinet
. The list included seven holdovers and seven new members, apart from Croitoru; eight were PD-L members and six independents, including one supported politically by the PD-L. The Youth and Sport, Small and Medium Enterprises, Tourism, Communications, and Regional Development Ministries were all slated to be folded into others, and the Relations with Parliament portfolio and post of Deputy Prime Minister were also eliminated in the proposal. All but two of the would-be ministers received negative recommendations from the parliamentary committees before which they appeared, and on November 4, with opposition by the PNL, PSD and UDMR holding steady, the proposed cabinet was voted down on a tally of 189 in favour and 250 against. Following the vote, Croitoru announced that his mission was over, having chosen the best cabinet he could, and would remain as an adviser at the National Bank of Romania, while an "irritated" Băsescu stated he would not name Iohannis, and would not give "moguls and oligarchs" such as Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
and Dan Voiculescu
the "satisfaction...of a government desired by them".
, and in 2000 became a Commander of the Order of the Star of 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 economist. On October 15, 2009, following the defeat of Emil Boc
Emil Boc
Emil Boc is the Prime Minister of Romania, having served since December 2008. In June 2004, he was elected Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city in Transylvania. Boc is also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, who designated him as Prime Minister in 2008. On October 13, 2009, his...
's government through a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
, President
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
nominated Croitoru to be Prime Minister of Romania
Prime Minister of Romania
The Prime Minister of Romania is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers , when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called The Council of Ministers...
. The nomination was opposed by a majority of Parliament, which adopted a declaration asking for his withdrawal, and vowing support for the candidature of Klaus Iohannis. Croitoru assembled a proposed cabinet, but this was voted down by Parliament on November 4.
Academic and government career
Croitoru was born in OtopeniOtopeni
Otopeni is a town in Ilfov County, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the road to Ploieşti. It has 10,215 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the town....
, Ilfov County
Ilfov County
Ilfov is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest...
. Between 1979 and 1982, he studied at the Faculty of Planning and Economic Cybernetics of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (ASE). He holds a 1995 doctorate from the same university, and has had additional studies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. From 1984 to 1998, Croitoru was a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economy. He taught international macroeconomics at ASE's Faculty of International Economic Relations from 1998 to 2003.
Following graduation in 1982, Croitoru worked as an economist at the Bucharest Well and Water Works for two years. His first stint in public service came between 1991 and 1995, when he worked as an expert at the Romanian Government's Department for Economic Reform. From 1995 to 1996, he was a consultant at Bucharest Investment Group; then, until 1997, he was a partner in a research project within the framework of the 1995 Phare
Phare
The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union....
programme of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. He was also a research partner in the 1998 Phare framework project, from January 2001 to May 2002. These focused on public finance problems in transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, from January to September 1998, he was chief adviser to Finance Minister
Ministry of Public Finance (Romania)
The Ministry of Public Finance of Romania is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania.The minister's seat is currently held by the Democratic Liberal Party's Gheorghe Ialomiţeanu.The following agencies are subordinated to the Minister:...
Daniel Dăianu
Daniel Daianu
Daniel Dăianu is a Romanian economist, professor and politician. He has been a member of the European Parliament since end of 2007, when he was elected on the National Liberal Party's lists....
. Starting that October, and until September 2003, he was adviser to the governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Mugur Isărescu
Mugur Isarescu
Mugur Isărescu is the Governor of the National Bank of Romania. From 22 December 1999 to 28 November 2000 he served as Prime Minister. He is a member of the Romanian Academy....
. In 2000, he was personal adviser to Isărescu while the latter was Prime Minister. In 2002, Croitoru became a consultant for USAID
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
and IRIS, as well as for Phare. From September 2003 to July 2007, he was chief adviser of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
's executive directorate for twelve primarily post-Communist countries. An expert in planning and implementing monetary, fiscal and business restructuring policy, in September 2007, he became Isărescu's adviser on monetary policy.
Croitoru is engaged to be married to Isărescu's daughter Lăcrămioara, and has one child.
Prime Ministerial nomination
In October 2009, Croitoru, supported by the Democratic Liberal PartyDemocratic Liberal Party (Romania)
The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...
(PD-L), was passed over by Parliament
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
in favour of Bogdan Olteanu
Bogdan Olteanu
Bogdan Olteanu is a Romanian politician and lawyer. He was the president of the Chamber of Deputies between 2006 and 2008....
, a leading 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...
(PNL) and a lawyer by profession, for the position of National Bank vice-governor. This provoked harsh accusations from the economic establishment that Parliament was politicizing the BNR. According to Evenimentul Zilei
Evenimentul Zilei
Evenimentul Zilei is one of the leading newspapers in Romania. Based in Bucharest, the Romanian-language daily has a paid daily circulation of 110,000...
newspaper, Olteanu was chosen after closed-door negotiations between the PNL and the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(or PSD, who had just quit a government coalition with the Democratic Liberals), in exchange for future PNL support of PSD appointees.
Just over a week later, President
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, citing the need for an individual well-versed in economic policy to steer Romania through the ongoing crisis
Late 2000s recession in Europe
While the recession of the late 2000s began in the United States, the crisis spread to Europe rapidly and has affected much of the region with several countries already in recession as of February 2009, and most others suffering marked economic setbacks...
, nominated the politically independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
Croitoru as Prime Minister in place of Emil Boc
Emil Boc
Emil Boc is the Prime Minister of Romania, having served since December 2008. In June 2004, he was elected Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city in Transylvania. Boc is also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, who designated him as Prime Minister in 2008. On October 13, 2009, his...
, whose cabinet fell after losing a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
two days earlier. The nomination was backed by the Democratic Liberal Party
Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)
The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...
, which is supporting Băsescu in the upcoming presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 2009
The first round of 2009 Romanian presidential elections was held in Romania on 22 November and a run-off round between Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană was held on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls favored Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33%...
, but drew criticism from the leaders of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(Mircea Geoană
Mircea Geoana
Dan Mircea Geoană 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...
) and 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...
(Crin Antonescu
Crin Antonescu
George-Crin-Laurenţiu Antonescu is a Romanian politician, currently serving as President of the National Liberal Party . He was a candidate for the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2009. He is a member of the Senate, his election having taken place during the 2008 legislative election...
), both of whom are challenging Băsescu in the race, backed non-economist Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
Mayor Klaus Iohannis for the position, and vowed to challenge Croitoru's nomination at the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of Romania
The Constitutional Court of Romania is the institution which rules on whether the laws, decrees or other bills enacted by Romanian authorities are in conformity with the Constitution....
or derail it in Parliament. In a meeting with Croitoru on October 20, the PNL and PSD, as well as the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
The Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, is the main political organisation representing the ethnic Hungarians of Romania....
(UDMR) and the other ethnic minorities parties
Romanian ethnic minorities parties
The Romanian Constitution , under the contitions imposed by the Electoral Law, reserves a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the party and cultural association of each ethnic minority in Romania...
, told Croitoru they would not vote for a cabinet headed by him, and asked him to refuse the nomination as Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, three days later, Croitoru announced his proposed cabinet, which included 14 ministers, down from 18 in the Emil Boc Cabinet
Boc I Cabinet
The first Boc Cabinet of the Government of Romania was composed of 20 ministers, listed below. It was sworn in on 22 December 2008, the same day it received the vote of confidence from the Parliament of Romania. It was a grand coalition government, formed by the PD-L and the PSD...
. The list included seven holdovers and seven new members, apart from Croitoru; eight were PD-L members and six independents, including one supported politically by the PD-L. The Youth and Sport, Small and Medium Enterprises, Tourism, Communications, and Regional Development Ministries were all slated to be folded into others, and the Relations with Parliament portfolio and post of Deputy Prime Minister were also eliminated in the proposal. All but two of the would-be ministers received negative recommendations from the parliamentary committees before which they appeared, and on November 4, with opposition by the PNL, PSD and UDMR holding steady, the proposed cabinet was voted down on a tally of 189 in favour and 250 against. Following the vote, Croitoru announced that his mission was over, having chosen the best cabinet he could, and would remain as an adviser at the National Bank of Romania, while an "irritated" Băsescu stated he would not name Iohannis, and would not give "moguls and oligarchs" such as Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu
Sorin Ovidiu Vântu is a Romanian businessman and owner of the Realitatea-Caţavencu media company. In 2008 he was considered the 5th richest man in Romania with an estimated net worth between 800 and 850 million euros....
and Dan Voiculescu
Dan Voiculescu
Dan Voiculescu is a Romanian politician and former business man. He is the Vicepresident of the Romanian Senate and founding president of the Conservative Party in Romania. ....
the "satisfaction...of a government desired by them".
Publications and awards
Croitoru has written several books and over 150 articles on economics. In 1995, he received the PS Aurelian Prize from the Romanian AcademyRomanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
, and in 2000 became a Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
.