Tudor Chiuariu
Encyclopedia
Tudor-Alexandru Chiuariu (born July 13, 1976) is a Romania
n lawyer and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), he served as Justice Minister in the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
cabinet from April to December 2007, and has represented Bacău County
in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
since December 2008. He is also the spokesperson of the PNL since September 2008.
to Carmen, a schoolteacher, and Alexandru, an economist, and has an older brother. The family moved to Suceava
when Tudor was four; his father died three years later. His mother's parents taught in Cernăuţi
until 1940, when the area was occupied by Soviet troops and they fled to near Rădăuţi
–a background Chiuariu cites as a motivation for measures he took while Justice Minister to simplify procedures for members of the Romanian diaspora
to regain citizenship. His father was from Grămeşti
, Suceava County
, born into a family of small landowners (răzeşi). From 1995 to 1999, Chiuariu attended the Law Faculty of the University of Iaşi.
bar
. He took additional law courses at Bucharest
's Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy in 2002-2003, and since 2004 has been pursuing a doctorate in penal law at Iaşi. From 2000 to 2007, he taught Law at the Petre Andrei University of Iaşi
, where he has also been involved in research since 2000 and in editing its law review
since 2006. In 2008 he lectured at the National Institute of Administration, and since that year he has been associate lecturer at the George Bacovia University of Bacău. He has written a number of journal articles in his field. Chiuariu is unmarried.
Chiuariu joined the PNL in 1997. From that year until 2002, he was vice president of the Iaşi National Liberal Youth chapter, and in 2001-2002 he was a member of the permanent bureau of the Iaşi PNL chapter. From 2002 to 2005, he was vice president of the party's committee on justice and human rights, while from 2005 to 2007, he was vice president of its court of honour and arbitration. Since December 2007, elected as such immediately after his resignation as Justice Minister, he has been adjunct general secretary of the PNL, and has served as its spokesman since September 2008. He held a number of positions within the Romanian Government between 2005 and 2008, when the PNL held the office of Prime Minister
. From 2005 to 2007, he was a member in the council for coordinating implementation of the government's National Anti-corruption Strategy. Also, from January 2005 to April 2007, he was a state secretary at the prime minister's chancellery, as head of the government's anti-fraud department. From 2005 to 2006, he was president of the inter-ministerial commission meant to finalise a uniform system for paying civil servants' salaries.
; the prime minister had been feuding for some time with her and with President
Traian Băsescu
, a strong Macovei supporter. Chiuariu's appointment was viewed by some with suspicion; multiple press reports identified him as a former lawyer of "local baron" Relu Fenechiu
, although Chiuariu denied it. His term in office was marked by controversy almost from the start. He began by dismissing Macovei's state secretaries and advisers, among whom judges were well represented, replacing them for the most part with Iaşi lawyers, some of whom had no experience as judges. Less than a month after his investiture, the National Anticorruption Directorate
(DNA) opened a case against him, alleging he had illegally consented to a governmental decision transferring an over-8,000 m2 parcel of public land on Calea Victoriei
in central Bucharest into the private control of Poşta Română
; a 300-room hotel was planned. The decision reputedly came in order to cover up ties forged illegally in 2005 between Poşta Română and a private real estate group. One civil servant had resigned rather than approve the transfer, which was then done by a Chiuariu aide; anonymous Justice Ministry employees charged that Tăriceanu had asked the same of Macovei but been turned down multiple times. In May, he asked the Supreme Council of Magistracy (CSM) to dismiss Doru Ţuluş, a DNA prosecutor and head of the section investigating his own case; this stirred loud protests within the judicial system, including inside Chiuariu's ministry, and was rejected in October.
Also in May, he became embroiled in a conflict with DNA chief attorney Daniel Morar
, who accused him of telephoning to request being informed about DNA activities before the press, and not to complete files on certain politicians at the time, when a presidential impeachment campaign
was ongoing. Chiuariu denied the accusations, but the CSM later found he had applied "a certain amount of pressure" on DNA. At the end of June, Chiuariu sent a letter to the European Commission
, then finalising a country report on Romania, asking it to eliminate laudatory passages regarding DNA's work; this too was rejected. At the same time, he accused his predecessor of acting against Romania's interests by sending negative reports to the Commission regarding the progress of judicial reform.
In October, he initiated an emergency decree effectively blocking criminal investigations into eight current and former ministers, including himself—the committee that then advised the president on the matter was replaced with another. Once the DNA case was initiated, Chiuariu became a lightning rod of criticism directed at the government by Băsescu. He pointed to Chiuariu's case while fighting impeachment in May, and called the minister "a shield, a protection for potential lawbreakers" and "an impudent young mafioso". In late November, Băsescu asked Tăriceanu to dismiss Chiuariu, but the latter said he had "other priorities". The following month, Băsescu publicly asked for his resignation, and was poised to suspend Chiuariu and approve a criminal investigation against him, following a ruling by the Constitutional Court
allowing him to do so without recourse to any committee. The latter preemptively announced his resignation on December 10, denouncing the "masquerade" promoted by Băsescu, and the "institutions distorted by servility" subjecting him to a "ridiculous farce". The resignation was welcomed by Democratic Party
president Emil Boc
and Liberal Democratic Party
vice president Valeriu Stoica
, while Chiuariu's PNL colleague and party vice president Ludovic Orban
said he had no reason to quit, and Greater Romania Party
vice president Lucian Bolcaş praised his battle with DNA.
to the Chamber, where he serves on the justice, discipline and immunity committee, as well as on the joint committee on European affairs. Since September 2008 he has also been the spokesperson of the PNL.
He has remained a critic of the president, for instance accusing him of responsibility for the "paralysis" in the country's judicial system in September 2009, after magistrates effectively went on strike to protest against the reduction of their salaries by 50–60%.
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 lawyer and politician. 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...
(PNL), he served as Justice Minister in the Călin Popescu-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...
cabinet from April to December 2007, and has represented Bacău County
Bacau County
Bacău is a county of Romania, in Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeş-Făget, in Transylvania.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 706,623 and the population density was 113/km²....
in 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...
since December 2008. He is also the spokesperson of the PNL since September 2008.
Early life
Chiuariu was born in BotoşaniBotosani
Botoșani is the capital city of Botoșani County, in northern Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu and Nicolae Iorga.- Origin of the name :...
to Carmen, a schoolteacher, and Alexandru, an economist, and has an older brother. The family moved to Suceava
Suceava
Suceava is the Suceava County seat in Bukovina, Moldavia region, in north-eastern Romania. The city was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1388 to 1565.-History:...
when Tudor was four; his father died three years later. His mother's parents taught in Cernăuţi
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina, which is currently divided between Romania and Ukraine...
until 1940, when the area was occupied by Soviet troops and they fled to near Rădăuţi
Radauti
Rădăuţi is a municipality in Suceava County, Romania with a population of 27,759 inhabitants.-Geography and demographics:Rădăuţi is situated in Bucovina, northern Moldavia, on a plain between the Suceava and Suceviţa rivers, north from Suceava, at 375 m altitude...
–a background Chiuariu cites as a motivation for measures he took while Justice Minister to simplify procedures for members of the Romanian diaspora
Romanian diaspora
The Romanian diaspora is the ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in the states surrounding Romania, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine and Serbia. The diaspora does include the people of...
to regain citizenship. His father was from Grămeşti
Gramesti
Grămeşti is a commune located in Suceava County, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Bălineşti, Botoşaniţa Mică, Grămeşti, Rudeşti and Verbia....
, 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 :...
, born into a family of small landowners (răzeşi). From 1995 to 1999, Chiuariu attended the Law Faculty of the University of Iaşi.
Career
Since 2000, he has worked as a lawyer, and is a member of the IaşiIasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
. He took additional law courses at 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....
's Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy in 2002-2003, and since 2004 has been pursuing a doctorate in penal law at Iaşi. From 2000 to 2007, he taught Law at the Petre Andrei University of Iaşi
Petre Andrei University of Iaşi
The Petre Andrei University of Iaşi is a private university in Iaşi, Romania, founded in 1990. It was named in honor of the Romanian philosopher Petre Andrei.-Structure:Faculties* Faculty of Law* Faculty of Economics...
, where he has also been involved in research since 2000 and in editing its law review
Law review
A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...
since 2006. In 2008 he lectured at the National Institute of Administration, and since that year he has been associate lecturer at the George Bacovia University of Bacău. He has written a number of journal articles in his field. Chiuariu is unmarried.
Chiuariu joined the PNL in 1997. From that year until 2002, he was vice president of the Iaşi National Liberal Youth chapter, and in 2001-2002 he was a member of the permanent bureau of the Iaşi PNL chapter. From 2002 to 2005, he was vice president of the party's committee on justice and human rights, while from 2005 to 2007, he was vice president of its court of honour and arbitration. Since December 2007, elected as such immediately after his resignation as Justice Minister, he has been adjunct general secretary of the PNL, and has served as its spokesman since September 2008. He held a number of positions within the Romanian Government between 2005 and 2008, when the PNL held the office of 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...
. From 2005 to 2007, he was a member in the council for coordinating implementation of the government's National Anti-corruption Strategy. Also, from January 2005 to April 2007, he was a state secretary at the prime minister's chancellery, as head of the government's anti-fraud department. From 2005 to 2006, he was president of the inter-ministerial commission meant to finalise a uniform system for paying civil servants' salaries.
As Justice Minister
In April 2007, Chiuariu was named Justice Minister following Tăriceanu's dismissal of Monica MacoveiMonica Macovei
Monica Luisa Macovei is a Romanian politician, lawyer and former prosecutor, currently a Member of the European Parliament from the Democratic Liberal Party. She was the Minister of Justice of Romania in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu...
; the prime minister had been feuding for some time with her and with 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...
, a strong Macovei supporter. Chiuariu's appointment was viewed by some with suspicion; multiple press reports identified him as a former lawyer of "local baron" Relu Fenechiu
Relu Fenechiu
Relu Fenechiu is a Romanian businessman and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party , he has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Iaşi County since 2004.-Biography:...
, although Chiuariu denied it. His term in office was marked by controversy almost from the start. He began by dismissing Macovei's state secretaries and advisers, among whom judges were well represented, replacing them for the most part with Iaşi lawyers, some of whom had no experience as judges. Less than a month after his investiture, the National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate , formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office , is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offenses that caused a material damage higher than €200,000 or whose value of the involved amounts or goods is...
(DNA) opened a case against him, alleging he had illegally consented to a governmental decision transferring an over-8,000 m2 parcel of public land on Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei is a major avenue in central Bucharest. It leads from Splaiul Independenţei to the north and then northwest up to Piaţa Victoriei, where Şoseaua Kiseleff continues north....
in central Bucharest into the private control of Poşta Română
Posta Româna
CN Poşta Romănă SA is the national operator in the field of postal services in , sole supplier of universal service in any point on the Romanian territory, providing prices accessible to all the users thereof and at high quality standards....
; a 300-room hotel was planned. The decision reputedly came in order to cover up ties forged illegally in 2005 between Poşta Română and a private real estate group. One civil servant had resigned rather than approve the transfer, which was then done by a Chiuariu aide; anonymous Justice Ministry employees charged that Tăriceanu had asked the same of Macovei but been turned down multiple times. In May, he asked the Supreme Council of Magistracy (CSM) to dismiss Doru Ţuluş, a DNA prosecutor and head of the section investigating his own case; this stirred loud protests within the judicial system, including inside Chiuariu's ministry, and was rejected in October.
Also in May, he became embroiled in a conflict with DNA chief attorney Daniel Morar
Daniel Morar
Daniel Marius Morar is the Chief Attorney of the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate , the agency responsible for investigating, preventing and prosecuting corruption-related offenses....
, who accused him of telephoning to request being informed about DNA activities before the press, and not to complete files on certain politicians at the time, when a presidential impeachment campaign
Romanian presidential impeachment referendum, 2007
The Romanian presidential impeachment referendum of 2007 was conducted in order to determine whether the president of Romania Traian Băsescu should be forced to step down.On April 19, 2007 the Romanian parliament suspended Băsescu...
was ongoing. Chiuariu denied the accusations, but the CSM later found he had applied "a certain amount of pressure" on DNA. At the end of June, Chiuariu sent a letter to the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, then finalising a country report on Romania, asking it to eliminate laudatory passages regarding DNA's work; this too was rejected. At the same time, he accused his predecessor of acting against Romania's interests by sending negative reports to the Commission regarding the progress of judicial reform.
In October, he initiated an emergency decree effectively blocking criminal investigations into eight current and former ministers, including himself—the committee that then advised the president on the matter was replaced with another. Once the DNA case was initiated, Chiuariu became a lightning rod of criticism directed at the government by Băsescu. He pointed to Chiuariu's case while fighting impeachment in May, and called the minister "a shield, a protection for potential lawbreakers" and "an impudent young mafioso". In late November, Băsescu asked Tăriceanu to dismiss Chiuariu, but the latter said he had "other priorities". The following month, Băsescu publicly asked for his resignation, and was poised to suspend Chiuariu and approve a criminal investigation against him, following a ruling by 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....
allowing him to do so without recourse to any committee. The latter preemptively announced his resignation on December 10, denouncing the "masquerade" promoted by Băsescu, and the "institutions distorted by servility" subjecting him to a "ridiculous farce". The resignation was welcomed by Democratic 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...
president 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...
and 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...
vice president Valeriu Stoica
Valeriu Stoica
Valeriu Stoica is a Romanian politician and academic. A professor of civil law at the University of Bucharest, he became a member of the National Liberal Party in 1990, and was first vice-president of the party between 1997 and 2001 and president between 2001 and 2002...
, while Chiuariu's PNL colleague and party vice president Ludovic Orban
Ludovic Orban
Ludovic Orban is a Romanian engineer and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party , he was Minister of Transport from April 2007 to December 2008 in the second Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet. He has also been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Bucharest since 2008.He and...
said he had no reason to quit, and Greater Romania Party
Greater Romania Party
The Greater Romania Party is a Romanian radical right-wing, ultra-nationalist political party, led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The party is sometimes referred to in English as the Great Romania Party....
vice president Lucian Bolcaş praised his battle with DNA.
Subsequent career
From January to December 2008, he returned to the prime minister's chancellery as an adviser on matters of justice, home affairs and anti-fraud. He first appeared before DNA that February, insisting after an hour-long meeting with prosecutors on the political nature of the charges. That November, he was electedRomanian legislative election, 2008
Legislative elections were held in Romania on November 30, 2008. The Democratic Liberal Party won most seats in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although the alliance headed by the Social Democratic Party won a fractionally higher vote share.-Electoral System:President Traian Băsescu...
to the Chamber, where he serves on the justice, discipline and immunity committee, as well as on the joint committee on European affairs. Since September 2008 he has also been the spokesperson of the PNL.
He has remained a critic of the president, for instance accusing him of responsibility for the "paralysis" in the country's judicial system in September 2009, after magistrates effectively went on strike to protest against the reduction of their salaries by 50–60%.