Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu ( ) (born January 14, 1952) is a Romanian politician. He was the Prime Minister of Romania between December 29, 2004 and December 22, 2008. He is the former president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR), two positions he assumed in 2004.

Youth

Calin Popescu-Tăriceanu was born in Bucharest. His mother, Alexandrina Louise Lăzărescu, is of Greek ancestry–her mother was fully Greek while her father was half-Romanian, half-Greek. He has been married three times and has two children. Popescu-Tăriceanu is a graduate of the Technical Constructions Institute in Bucharest and has a Master's Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Beginnings in politics

Between 1996 and 1997, he served as Minister of Industries and Commerce in Victor Ciorbea's government. Between 1996 and 2004 he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania, representing Bucharest. Between 2000 and 2004, he was vice president of the PNL group in Parliament, as well as vice president of the Budget, Finances and Insurance Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.

Prime Minister

Following the victory of Traian Băsescu in the 2004 presidential election, Băsescu appointed Popescu-Tăriceanu as Prime Minister, in line with a pre-electoral agreement between the two parties of the Justice and Truth Alliance. The new government took office on December 29; it was approved by Parliament by a vote of 265 for and 200 against.

On July 7, 2005, Popescu-Tăriceanu announced that he and his cabinet would resign in order to trigger early elections. The announcement of the resignation was prompted by the Constitutional Court's decision to block a set of laws designed to reform the judicial system. President Traian Băsescu had been pushing for early elections since his victory in the 2004 elections. On July 19, Popescu-Tăriceanu reversed the decision and announced he would not resign, citing the severe floods that hit the country (for example the Comăneşti floods). Floods killed 66 people in Romania that year, leaving thousands homeless.At that point, relations began to publicly sour between Popescu-Tăriceanu and President Băsescu, who refused to meet with the Prime Minister in the days following the announced reversal.

In the view of former President Emil Constantinescu, however, relations between Popescu-Tăriceanu and President Băsescu started to become strained following allegations of Băsescu's past membership in the Securitate (during Communist Romania).

In September 2005, a newspaper alleged that on April 9, 2004, Tăriceanu bought 10 million shares of the Rompetrol company based on insider information , shares that were sold later that year after he became Prime Minister. Several other publicly known persons were cited to testify about their involvement in questionable transactions with Rompetrol shares, including the company's CEO, Dinu Patriciu.

On April 5, 2006 Basescu stated that he regrets naming Tariceanu Prime-Minister, and accused him of partnership with other groups.

On June 29, 2006, Tăriceanu officially announced that the National Liberal Party supports the withdrawal of Romanian troops from international battle zones where they are deployed without a mandate from the United Nations, NATO, or the European Union. This mainly concerns the Romanian troops in Iraq (present there following the Iraq War). This position is strongly opposed by President Băsescu.

On March 14, 2007, Popescu-Tăriceanu postponed the elections for the European Parliament claiming that the political environment was too unstable due to discussions regarding President's impeachment, the subsequent referendum, and the fact that President Basescu asked for a referendum regarding uninominal elections. The media also pointed out that Popescu-Tăriceanu's National Liberal Party stood to perform poorly in the elections if they were held at the time.



On March 21, 2007, he assumed ad interim the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs, 43 days after Ungureanu's resignation, because President Băsescu refused to accept the nomination of Adrian Cioroianu. On April 5, 2007, the Constitutional Court decided "The Romanian President's refusal to name a member of Government at the proposal of Prime Minister started a jurisdictional conflict of a constitutional nature.[...] The Romanian President has no right to veto, but he can ask the Prime Minister to renounce his proposal, if he observes that the proposed person does not meet the legal conditions required to be a member of Government". The same day, Cioroianu assumed the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On April 1, 2007, Tariceanu dismissed the ministers of the pro-Băsescu Democratic Party and formed a minority government with the Democratic Union of Hungarians; the government was approved by Parliament on April 3, with the support of the Social Democratic Party.

Popescu-Tăriceanu's government survived a no-confidence vote on October 3, 2007, following a motion brought by the Social Democratic Party. Although 220 members of parliament voted in favor of the motion and only 152 voted against it, the motion fell short of the necessary 232 votes.

Controversies

Tăriceanu has been accused by President Băsescu of interfering with justice in Dinu Patriciu's benefit, because prosecutors detained Patriciu for longer than the 24 hours allowed by law. The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest stated that if it turns out to be something else than a legitimate investigation, it would have a harmful effect on Romanian business climate. Mircea Geoană compared this case with Putin-Hodorkovski match. BBC: Reacţii la cazul Dinu Patriciu
Adevarul: Dinu Patriciu, retinut dupa zeci de ore de audieri The next day, Tăriceanu called the Attorney General Ilie Botoş to ask about the charges against Patriciu. Emil Boc declared that in a similar situation he would have done the same thing.

On 24 January 2006, Monica Macovei, then Minister of Justice, made public a meeting with Tăriceanu which took place 7 months before (in June 2005), and to which Tăriceanu invited Dinu Patriciu. Patriciu complained to Macovei about alleged procedural problems regarding his case. Macovei accused Tăriceanu of interfering with justice. On 20 February 2006 Tăriceanu declared on TVR1:" I recognise my fault. I didn't act correctly. But I didn't influence justice." "Îmi recunosc vina. Nu am procedat corect. Dar nu am influenţat justiţia"

Elena Udrea recalled that, while she was Presidential Counsellor, she saw a note written by Tăriceanu. In a few days President Băsescu found the note and made it public, saying that "The Prime Minister suggested to me a partnership, but, unfortunately, with our oligarchies" "Domnul prim-ministru imi propunea un parteneriat, dar, din pacate, cu oligarhiile noastre". The note was about a complaint from Petromidia about the 27 May procedure problems:

Dear Traian,
1.

I send you annexed a document released by Petromidia, regarding the ongoing investigations.
2.

If you have the opportunity to speak at the Prosecuting Magistracy about the subject?

In May 2007, Patriciu won a lawsuit against Romanian Intelligence Service(SRI), who illegally tapped his phones for two years. He received from SRI 50,000 RON as moral prejudice.

Another controversy around Călin-Popescu Tăriceanu is the one regarding the Citroën dealership located near the DN1 road, the most circulated route in Romania (linking Bucharest with Prahova Valley and Transylvania). The main concern was that the location was backed by a group of lobbyists who protected it . Also in the showroom's proximity is located one of the biggest commercial complexes in the whole Central and Eastern Europe - Băneasa Shopping City - including a Mall, an Ikea showroom, and a Carrefour complex.The most interesting part is that former Prime-Minister was one of the investors who started the company running the show-room.

See also

• Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Cabinet

References

1. Press Releases-"The perception about Romania has improved in the last months", have said to the Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu the representatives of the Hellenic Association from Romania and those of the Romanian Orthodox Community "Stefan cel Mare si Sfant", that he met to Athena, in the evening
2. " Premierul Tariceanu preocupat de romanii emigrati in Grecia", Ziua, 7 July 2005.
3. " Morcovul şi Conopida", Kritik.
4. Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, Vicepresedinte al Partidului National Liberal, Membru al Camerei Deputatilor
5. EurMonitor Guvernare: Inundatii dezastruoase Transparenta Guvernare europeana: Integrare uniunea europeana stiri UE eveniment finantari aderare joburi - EurActiv.ro
6. Cotidianul: Basescu: Regret ca l-am numit pe Tariceanu premier
7. Antena 3: Comunicat de presa al Curtii constitutionale
8. "Romania's prime minister names new Cabinet of minority government", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), April 2, 2007.
9. Adam Brown, "Romanian Lawmakers Approve New Cabinet in First Test of Support", Bloomberg.com, April 3, 2007.
10. "Romania's government survives no-confidence motion", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), October 3, 2007.
11. U.S. Department of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005
12. Telefon pentru Patriciu - Convorbire 'doar' de-un minut - stiri Actualitate - 9AM
13. Tariceanu despre intalnirea din 2005 cu Macovei si Patriciu: Nu am procedat corect - Realitatea TV - Politică
14. HotNews.ro - Basescu dezvaluie continutul biletelului trimis de Tariceanu
15. BBC: Dinu Patriciu câştigă procesul împotriva SRI

Bibliography

• Evenimentul Zilei, December 14 , 2005, "Emil Constantinescu a adus documente despre care spune că atestă colaborarea preşedintelui Traian Băsescu cu Securitatea"
• Jurnalul National, February 9, 2006. "Urmează Tăriceanu?"