Ristea Priboi
Encyclopedia
Ristea Priboi is a Romania
n intelligence agent and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party
(PSD), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
for Vrancea County
from 2000 to 2004.
, Dolj County
, in 1968 he graduated from the school of the Communist regime
's Securitate
secret police in Băneasa
, also obtaining a Law degree in 1971. In 1970, he was appointed as an officer in the Securitate's Department of Foreign Intelligence (DIE). His espionage missions included the United Kingdom
(1974–1978), Sweden
, France
, Spain
, Norway
, Denmark
, Belgium
, the Netherlands
and Greece
. After the 1989 revolution
that toppled the regime, he continued his work in the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), with his last assignment being to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
. There, he assured friendly relations between the Romanian government of President
Ion Iliescu
and that of Serbian President
Slobodan Milošević
. He contributed to the organisation of fuel smuggling to Serbia, infringing upon the embargo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 713
as a result of the Yugoslav Wars
. Romanian authorities carried out the smuggling in 1995 with the help of the secret services and of private companies controlled by former Securitate officers. He formally retired in 1997.
While in the Securitate, one of Priboi's roles was as deputy to General Nicolae Pleşiţă
, chief of the DIE department responsible for Radio Free Europe (RFE). During this time, the department coordinated a 1981 bomb attack on the RFE headquarters, perpetrated by Carlos the Jackal
, as well as attempts to assassinate RFE employees and the dissident writer Paul Goma
. According to investigations by historian Marius Oprea
, Priboi also conducted political police activities inside Romania. Oprea asserts he was involved in the 1981 actions of the Securitate against a large group of intellectuals—the Transcendental Meditation affair. He also places him at the repression of the Braşov Rebellion
of 1987, citing two witnesses who claim they were investigated by him, including one who accuses him of participation in acts of torture.
In 1994, Priboi became an adviser on issues of national security for Adrian Năstase
, whose hunting partner, mentor, and godfather
to one of his sons he was, and who was the Chamber's president (1992–1996) and vice president (1996–2000) before becoming Prime Minister
in 2000. Priboi was himself elected to the Chamber in 2000
, taking an oath that he had never collaborated with the Securitate, saying he had only been "employed" by the agency. While there, he sat on the committee for defence, public order and national security, and on the joint committee providing oversight to the activities of Serviciul Român de Informaţii
. He became president of this committee in February 2001, which led to public revelations of Priboi's Securitate past. The press, civil society, and part of the political opposition criticised him, while Năstase (who had backed Priboi's ascension to the position) and Iliescu came to his defence, with the latter maintaining that he should not be blamed for having been a Securitate employee. His position seemed at odds with Romania's aspiration to join NATO, with one opposition senator, Radu F. Alexandru of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), labelling it "a provocation and a lack of responsibility". Priboi resigned in April, although he remained on the committee and continued as one of Năstase's closest confidants. In November 2002, the committee cleared Priboi of involvement in internal Securitate activities and specifically the Braşov Rebellion, finding he had been engaged "exclusively" in foreign intelligence. At the same time, Oprea and fellow historian Adrian Cioroianu
stated they had evidence he had been involved, respectively, at Braşov and in the Transcendental Meditation affair, prompting Priboi to announce he would sue them. He did file a defamation lawsuit against Oprea and Werner Sommerauer, the Braşov worker who accused Priboi of torture, but lost in court. The CNSAS, an institution charged with investigating Securitate affiliations, also investigated Priboi in March 2001, finding he did not engage in "activities of political police", prompting protest from member Mircea Dinescu
, who opined that his monitoring of RFE met the "political police" designation.
Unofficial sources cited by România Liberă
newspaper claim that Priboi continued his intelligence work even while in the Chamber, and although numerous complaints were issued against him, no charges were allowed to proceed until the PSD lost the 2004 election
. In February 2006, facing formal accusations of influence peddling and bribery on behalf of businessman Genică Boerică, and thought to have assisted in the criminal activities of Omar Hayssam
, he fled the country. The charges in the Boerică case were dropped in 2007, as prosecutors could not determine with certainty that he had received bribes or abused his political position. He continued to be investigated for giving and accepting bribes in a case that also involved Năstase, and did not make a public appearance in Romania until March 2008. The case was sent to be tried in October 2009, but was suspended after the Constitutional Court
intervened. As of 2010, Priboi is a consultant at the Bucharest
branch of a Bulgaria
n energy company.
Priboi and his wife Mariana have two children.
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 intelligence agent and politician. A member 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...
(PSD), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
for Vrancea County
Vrancea County
Vrancea is a county in Romania, with its seat at Focşani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov River, is in Muntenia.-Demographics:...
from 2000 to 2004.
Biography
Born in BrădeştiBradesti, Dolj
Brădeşti is a commune in Dolj County, Romania with a population of 4,785 people. It is composed of six villages: Brădeşti, Brădeştii Bătrâni, Meteu, Piscani, Răcarii de Jos and Tatomireşti....
, Dolj County
Dolj County
Dolj -Jiu, "lower Jiu", toward Gorj ) is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova .- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 734,231 and a population density of 99/km²....
, in 1968 he graduated from the school of the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
's Securitate
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
secret police in Băneasa
Baneasa
Băneasa is a borough in the north side of Bucharest, near the Băneasa Lake . Like all north-side districts of Bucharest, it is relatively sparsely populated, with large areas of parkland...
, also obtaining a Law degree in 1971. In 1970, he was appointed as an officer in the Securitate's Department of Foreign Intelligence (DIE). His espionage missions included 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...
(1974–1978), Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. After the 1989 revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
that toppled the regime, he continued his work in the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), with his last assignment being to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
. There, he assured friendly relations between the Romanian government of 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...
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
and that of Serbian President
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
. He contributed to the organisation of fuel smuggling to Serbia, infringing upon the embargo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 713
United Nations Security Council Resolution 713
United Nations Security Council Resolution 713, adopted unanimously on September 25, 1991, after receiving representations from a number of Member States and commending the efforts of the European Community in the region, the Council decided to impose, under Chapter VII, an arms embargo on the...
as a result of the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
. Romanian authorities carried out the smuggling in 1995 with the help of the secret services and of private companies controlled by former Securitate officers. He formally retired in 1997.
While in the Securitate, one of Priboi's roles was as deputy to General Nicolae Pleşiţă
Nicolae Pleşiţă
Nicolae Pleşiţă was a Romanian intelligence official and secret police investigator. From 1980 to 1984, he led the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Securitate, the secret service of Communist Romania...
, chief of the DIE department responsible for Radio Free Europe (RFE). During this time, the department coordinated a 1981 bomb attack on the RFE headquarters, perpetrated by Carlos the Jackal
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....
, as well as attempts to assassinate RFE employees and the dissident writer Paul Goma
Paul Goma
Paul Goma is a Romanian writer, also known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refugee and currently resides in France as a stateless person...
. According to investigations by historian Marius Oprea
Marius Oprea
Marius Oprea is a Romanian historian , poet and essayist.He studied history at the University of Bucharest, and earned a Ph.D. with a thesis on the role and evolution of the Communist-era secret police, the Securitate between 1948 and 1964...
, Priboi also conducted political police activities inside Romania. Oprea asserts he was involved in the 1981 actions of the Securitate against a large group of intellectuals—the Transcendental Meditation affair. He also places him at the repression of the Braşov Rebellion
Brasov Rebellion
The 1987 Rebellion of Braşov was a revolt against Nicolae Ceauşescu's economic policies in Communist Romania.- Prelude :Beginning in late 1986, the seeds of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 were sown, as workers throughout this Soviet Bloc country mobilized in protest of communist leader Nicolae...
of 1987, citing two witnesses who claim they were investigated by him, including one who accuses him of participation in acts of torture.
In 1994, Priboi became an adviser on issues of national security for Adrian Năstase
Adrian Nastase
Adrian Năstase is a Romanian politician who was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.He competed as the Social Democratic Party candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by centre-right Justice and Truth Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu.He was...
, whose hunting partner, mentor, and godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
to one of his sons he was, and who was the Chamber's president (1992–1996) and vice president (1996–2000) before becoming Prime Minister
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...
in 2000. Priboi was himself elected to the Chamber in 2000
Romanian legislative election, 2000
Legislative elections where be held in Romania on November 26, 2000, together with the Presidential election. The Greater Romania Party made big gains, as did the PDSR, which became the ruling party. The formerly governing Romanian Democratic Convention lost all its seats and was shortly...
, taking an oath that he had never collaborated with the Securitate, saying he had only been "employed" by the agency. While there, he sat on the committee for defence, public order and national security, and on the joint committee providing oversight to the activities of Serviciul Român de Informaţii
Serviciul Român de Informatii
The Romanian Intelligence Service is the Romanian domestic intelligence service. It is considered the descendant of the former Departamentul Securităţii Statului , of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The official decree The Romanian Intelligence Service (', SRI) is the Romanian domestic...
. He became president of this committee in February 2001, which led to public revelations of Priboi's Securitate past. The press, civil society, and part of the political opposition criticised him, while Năstase (who had backed Priboi's ascension to the position) and Iliescu came to his defence, with the latter maintaining that he should not be blamed for having been a Securitate employee. His position seemed at odds with Romania's aspiration to join NATO, with one opposition senator, Radu F. Alexandru 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), labelling it "a provocation and a lack of responsibility". Priboi resigned in April, although he remained on the committee and continued as one of Năstase's closest confidants. In November 2002, the committee cleared Priboi of involvement in internal Securitate activities and specifically the Braşov Rebellion, finding he had been engaged "exclusively" in foreign intelligence. At the same time, Oprea and fellow historian Adrian Cioroianu
Adrian Cioroianu
Adrian Mihai Cioroianu is a Romanian historian, politician, journalist, and essayist. A lecturer for the History Department at the University of Bucharest, he is the author of several books dealing with Romanian history...
stated they had evidence he had been involved, respectively, at Braşov and in the Transcendental Meditation affair, prompting Priboi to announce he would sue them. He did file a defamation lawsuit against Oprea and Werner Sommerauer, the Braşov worker who accused Priboi of torture, but lost in court. The CNSAS, an institution charged with investigating Securitate affiliations, also investigated Priboi in March 2001, finding he did not engage in "activities of political police", prompting protest from member Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu is a Romanian poet, journalist and editor.He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan Dinescu, a metalworker and Aurelia . Dinescu studied at the Faculty of Journalism of the Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy, and was considered a gifted young poet during his youth, with several poetry...
, who opined that his monitoring of RFE met the "political police" designation.
Unofficial sources cited by România Liberă
România Libera
România Liberă is one of the leading newspapers in Romania. Based in Bucharest, the Romanian-language daily has a paid daily circulation of 40,000....
newspaper claim that Priboi continued his intelligence work even while in the Chamber, and although numerous complaints were issued against him, no charges were allowed to proceed until the PSD lost the 2004 election
Romanian legislative election, 2004
The Romanian legislative election of 2004 was held on 28 November 2004. 137 seats in the Senate of Romania and 314 seats in the Chamber of Deputies were up for election.The 2004 legislative election was held simultaneously with the presidential election...
. In February 2006, facing formal accusations of influence peddling and bribery on behalf of businessman Genică Boerică, and thought to have assisted in the criminal activities of Omar Hayssam
Omar Hayssam
Omar Hayssam is a Syrian-born Romanian financier who was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison after a Romanian court found him guilty of masterminding the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005.-Early life:...
, he fled the country. The charges in the Boerică case were dropped in 2007, as prosecutors could not determine with certainty that he had received bribes or abused his political position. He continued to be investigated for giving and accepting bribes in a case that also involved Năstase, and did not make a public appearance in Romania until March 2008. The case was sent to be tried in October 2009, but was suspended after 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....
intervened. As of 2010, Priboi is a consultant at the Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
branch of a Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n energy company.
Priboi and his wife Mariana have two children.