UPDATE: Romanian President Traian Basescu's new head of protocol Valeriu Arteni, a communist-era diplomat, dismissed after half a day in office

Romania President Traian Basescu named a new head of presidential protocol – Valeriu Arteni, a former ambassador to South Korea. In the communist 1970’s, Arteni was Romania’s Ambassador to Vietnam and Pakistan. Romanian media informs that Arteni was co-opted by the structures of communist-era secret police, the Securitate, while in college and pursued his university studies at Hanoi University.

UPDATE: Only hours after naming him head of presidential protocol, Traian Basescu decided to dismiss Arteni from his new office.

In an interview, Arteni had confessed that he left in a cultural exchange program and that he truly believed in the noble ideals of that time.

Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) general Octavian Harseu declared in a 2006 interview that in 1972 he recommended Arteni to be sent to Hanoi for his studies. After finishing his studies, Arteni was hired as a diplomat in the Romanian embassy there and soon afterwards, he became ambassador.