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PM Ciolos announces replacement of four ministers
Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos discharged on Tuesday four ministers: Dan Costescu (Transports), Marius Bostan (Communications), Adrian Curaj (Education) and Dan Stoenescu (Minister-Delegate for Relations with Romanians Abroad.
"After a preparation period, the Government enters a new stage, of results delivery (...) I have decided today to operate some changes in the Government. (...) I want to thank ministers Adrian Curaj, Dan Costescu, Marius Bostan and Dan Stoenescu", the premier said in a media briefing at the Victoria Palace.
Ciolos announced he will nominate on Wednesday Marius Dumitru as Minister of Education, Sorin Buse as Minister of Transport, Maria Ligor as Minister-Delegate for Relations with Romanians Abroad (head of the relevant department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and the head of his Chancellery, Dragos Tudorache, as interim Minister of Communications and for Information Society.
The prime minister explained his decision as a way to "breath new life" into his team.
"The ministers I am replacing also mostly did their job. In all the four ministries (...) there are things that advanced well; it's just (...) I want a new impetus, a new impulse. The priority of the new ministers in the four fields will be (...) to accelerate the delivery of results in projects already started, which from my point of view did not advance quick enough. Do on one hand, the acceleration of these projects, and on the other hand, I want new people to come with new breath, with a slightly different approach, which should allow using our remaining time for some things to which the Government has committed," he said.
For the Ministry of Transport, the focus is on the execution of the motorway projects and the reform of the National Company of Motorways and National Roads, Ciolos mentioned.
He expects the new minister-delegate at the Department for Relations with the Romanians Abroad to speed the preparations for the parliamentary elections due this fall by informing the diaspora about the possibility of voting by mail; also, to facilitate the reconnection of Romanians abroad to their homeland and to offer them opportunities to return or work with Romania in business.
The Education needs more substance in the pre-university schools and a faster decision on plagiarism.
As regards the Communications and IT, the computer systems of various administrations are not compatible with each other. The interim minister will be assisted by an IT coordinator to bring consistency into the system, Ciolos concluded.
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Petru Sorin Buse will replace Dan Costescu at the Transports Ministry's helm.
Buse was born in 1960 in Bucharest. He graduated in 1985 from the Faculty of Machine Building Technology of the University Politehnica of Bucharest.
He worked as tooling designer for the Electronica company in Bucharest.
In 1990, he moved to Canada, where he worked for five years as a design manager and automotive industry technical manager. His employers wer suppliers of General Motors, Honda, Chrysler, Suzuki, Mercedes, etc., according to http://www.cariereonline.ro/.
From 1995 to 2008, he worked for the Toyota Company, and raised to deputy CEO of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, in charge of opening industrial operations in Woodstock, Ontario.
He started to work for the Renault Group in 2008, being involved in the group's strategy for Russia; deputy CEO of the Engineering Centre of Renault Technologie Roumanie, appointed in July 2009; CEO of Renault Technologie Roumanie from December 2010 to April 2015, Renault's largest engineering centre outside France, employer of approximately 2,100 engineers, according to www.wall-street.ro.
On 26 May 2016, he was appointed deputy CEO of Tarom, Romania's state-owned airline, to act as CEO until the appointment of a new top manager.
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Ioan Dragos Tudorache will replace Marius Bostan at the Ministry of Communications.
Tudorache, born on 14 January 1975, is the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery.
He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi in 1997; he got a Master's Degree in EU Law, Cum Laude, at the Stockholm University, in 1999, and another Master's Degree in EU Law at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2015.
His professional background includes:
March 2015 - November 2015, Head of Unit, Coordination and Strategy, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium;
November 2013 - March 2015, Head of Unit, International Affairs, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium;
March 2009 - November 2013, Head of Unit, Interim Executive Director of the Agency eu-LISA (2012), IT Large Projects: Schengen and visa information systems, Directorate - General Justice, Freedom and Security, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium;
May 2007 - March 2009, Schengen Facility Coordinator, DG Justice, Freedom and Security, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
March 2005 - May 2007, Task Manager, Justice and Anti-Corruption, European Commission Delegation, Bucharest, Romania;
2003 - 2005, Head of Legal Department, UN team of international judges, the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo;
2000 - 2003, Head of Unit and coordinator of analysis cell, Department for Rule of Law and Protection of Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mission in Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo
1997 -2002, Judge, Galati Law Court.
He speaks English and French.
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Mircea Dumitru will replace Adrian Curaj at the of Ministy National Education and Scientific Research.
Dumitru, born on 14 July 1960 in Bucharest, is the rector of the University of Bucharest.
He graduated from the Music High School no. 1 of Bucharest (July 1979) and from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (July 1985).
He is Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Bucharest, 1998, and in the same year became Doctor of Philosophy of Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
He started his scientific academic activity as a trainee teacher, at School no. 241, in Lipia-Gruiu, Ilfov County (1985-1987), according to his resume on www.unibuc.ro, then he was a an instructor-teacher at Pioneers' House, Buftea, Ilfov County (1987-1988) and later, a substitute teaching assistant at the University Politehnica of Bucharest, Department of Philosophy (1988-1990).
In 1990 he was main editor II at Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest.
He was an assistant professor, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Theoretical and Logic Philosophy (1990-1996); lecturer, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Theoretical and Logic Philosophy (1996-1999); Associate Professor, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Theoretical and Logic Philosophy (1999 - 2004); professor, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Theoretical and Logic Philosophy (2004); PhD supervisor in Humanities, Philosophy (2005).
He attended several specialist courses abroad, such as: Fulbright Junior Scholar, Department of Philosophy, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (1993-1994); Teaching Assistant, Department of Philosophy, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (1994-1998); Fellow, New Europe College, Bucharest (1998-2001); Visiting Scholar, Department of Philosophy and Religion, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (1999); Visiting Scholar, The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York (1999); Deputy Assistant Professor and Visiting Scholar, Department of Philosophy, New York University (January-May 2001); visiting professor, MA course, ''Jean Moulin'' University, Lyon, France (February - March 2009); visiting professor, PhD course, University of Helsinki (May 2010, May 2011, June 2013).
He was deputy dean, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (1999-2000); Dean, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (2000-2004 and 2004-2008), member on the Philosophy Board for educational competitions CNATDCU; Head of department, Department of Theoretical and Logic Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (2008); deputy rector, University of Bucharest (2008-2011); Chairman, humanities and Arts panel, CNATDCU (2010-2012); CNATDCU member (2012-2016); Rector of the University of Bucharest (2011-2015 and since December 2015) and president of the Committee of Philosophy and member on the General Board of the National Council for Attesting Titles, Diplomas and University Certificates (CNATDCU) (2016).
He was awarded the 'Mircea Florian' Prize of the Romanian Academy (2001) for the work 'Modality and Incompleteness. Modal logic as a higher-order logic,' Paideia Publishing House, Bucharest; Order 'Bernardo O'Higgins' in the rank of Grand Officer, conferred by the President of Chile (July 2005).
Member on the scientific board of the New Europe College (2002-2008), member of Institute International de Philosophie, Paris (2009-present), member of Advanced Reasoning Forum (1999-present), president of the Romanian Association of Analytical Philosophy (2011-present); member of the organizing committee (programme) of The 6th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy, Jagellonian University, Institute of Philosophy (August 21 to 26, 2008, Krakow, Poland); member of the organizing committee (programme) of The 22nd World Congress of Philosophy,
Seoul National University (July 30-August 5, 2008, South Korea) - moderator of the Philosophy of cognitive sciences section; member of the organizing committee (programme) of The 7th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy, University of Milan (sept. 2011); member of the organizing committee (program) of The 8th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy, University of Bucharest (Sept. 2014); president of the European Society of Analytical Philosophy (2011-2014).
He has published three books of author and is co-author of a textbook of logic and reasoning. He coordinated the collection 'Contemporary Philosophy' of Polirom Publishing House, Iasi, and published dozens of studies and articles in specialized journals and volumes.
Corresponding member of the Romanian Academy since September 2014.
He speaks fluent English and his French and German are at intermediate level.
He is married and has two children.
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Maria Ligor will replace Dan Stoenescu as Minister-Delegate for the Relations with Romanians Abroad.
Ligor was born on 1 January 1967, in Bucharest.
She graduated from the University Politehnica of Bucharest in 1990, then the post-graduate courses of International Relations of the National School for Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA) in 1993.
Ligor specialized in European political and administrative affairs, at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and in political sciences at the Universite Libre of Brussels, and at the European Institute of the University of Geneva. She also followed leadership and governmental management courses organized by Harvard University, the Kokkalis programme in Athens, Greece.
In 1996, Ligor was an intern at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg; in 1997, she was given a Robert Schuman grant at the European Parliament.
Maria Ligor is a career diplomat since 1996. She worked for the Romanian Embassy in Luxemburg (1997) and in Brussels, within Romania's Mission to the European Union (1998-2002).
In 2003-2006, she became general director for European Affairs in the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE), during the EU accession negotiations; she contributed to the completion of these negotiations and to the preparations for the signing of the Accession Treaty.
From April to May 2012, she was a secretary general ad interim of the MAE.
She was a Romanian ambassador to the Spain from July 2006 to August 2011, when she also held the quality of Permanent Representative to the World Tourism Organisation.
In January 2012 - May 2013, Ligor was an ambassador with special tasks - a special representative for promotion of democracy.
She is a representative of Romania to the Governors' Council and elected member of the Executive Committee of the European Endowment For Democracy since November 2012.
On 30 May 2013, she was appointed ambassador to Canada. From the same year, Ligor is a Permanent Representative of Romania to the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
She was bestowed the National Order for Virtue in rank of Knight (2004); Order for Diplomatic Virtue in rank of Officer (2007); the Cross of the Royal House of Romania and the Saint Emperors Constantine and Helen Order on behalf of Patriarch Daniel (2010). In January 2012, the King of Spain bestowed upon her the Great Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic.
She is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and has some knowledge of Italian.
She is married and mother of one daughter.