Professional profile of Romania's PM nominee Theodor Stolojan

President Traian Basescu nominated on Wednesday Democratic-Liberal (PD-L) representative Theodor Stolojan for the seat of prime minister following the November 30 general elections. Stolojan said today he will continue talks with the Social Democrats (PSD) to form the government, which then has to be approved by the Parliament. Stolojan is an economist with an experience going way back into the communist era but who was generally seen as a reformist following the 1989 revolution.

Theodor Stolojan’s professional profile:

Serving in various positions within the Finance Ministry starting 1972:

1972 – 1977 economist at the State Budget Department;

1978 – 1982 head of the State Budget Accounting division;

1988 – 1989 deputy manager and manager of the International Financial and Currency Relations Department; Inspector General at the State Income Department and Consultant at the Finance Ministry.

He remains at the Finance Ministry following the 1989 Revolution, first as deputy Finance Minister and then, for the period of June 1990-April 2001, as Finance Minister
He then becomes head of the National Privatization Agency working on the first draft Law on privatization and on the creation of the State Property Fund.
He becomes Prime Minister following the second miner’s crusade to Bucharest in September 1991, which led to the fall of the Petre Roman government.
He was forced into deciding the recapitalization of Romanian banks as the Romanian economy was going through hard times and five state-owned banks were close to bankruptcy
He served as Prime Minister for the period of October 1991-November 1992, during which he also made another important decision – that of price liberalization without the liberalization of the exchange rate.
During his stay as Prime Minister Romania faced a wave of trade union protests and continuously increasing inflation.
Her then worked for the World Bank and Romanian business group Tofan
In 1996 he supported the presidential candidacy of Ion Iliescu, who was not reelected however. Iliescu, who returned to power for the period of 2000-2004, remains an influential figure of the Social Democratic Party, with which the Stolojan’s Democratic Liberals are trying to negotiate a government
He returned to politics in 2000 running for presidency on behalf of the National Liberal Party. He came third with 11.78%, behind Ion Iliescu and far-right leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor
He was elected president of the National Liberal Party in August 2002. In 2003, the party allied with now-President, then-Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu’s Democrats (the D.A. Alliance) and in early 2004 announced he would run for presidency later that year. However, in October 2004 he announced his withdrawal as PNL leader and from the presidential race, arguing he had health problems. His place is taken by Basescu, who would be elected president.
Following the 2004 elections he becomes an aide for Basescu and keeps criticizing PNL president Calin Popescu Tariceanu in a political crisis which leads to Stolojan’s expulsion from the party in October 2006.
He and his supporters among the Liberal ranks form a new party, the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD). Stolojan becomes president of the new group.
In November 2007 he is elected member of the European Parliament. In December that year, his party decides to merge with the Democratic Party (PD), the main group supporting President Basescu. The merger of PLD and PD results into the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L), with Stolojan first deputy president.