Vasile Blaga

Vasile Blaga (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile ˈblaɡa]; born 26 July 1956) is a Romanian politician who was Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, from 2011 to 2012. He also served as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice as Minister of Administration and Internal Affairs.

Vasile Blaga
Blaga in 2012
Member of the European Parliament for Romania
Assumed office
2 July 2019
President of the Senate of Romania
In office
29 November 2011 – 3 July 2012
PresidentTraian Băsescu
Preceded byMircea Geoană
Succeeded byCrin Antonescu
Member of the Senate of Romania
In office
22 November 1996 – 10 December 2000
ConstituencyBihor County
In office
13 December 2004 – 19 December 2016
ConstituencyBucharest
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
18 June 1990 – 14 February 1992
ConstituencyBihor County
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
29 December 2004 – 4 April 2007
Prime MinisterCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Preceded byMarian Săniuță
Succeeded byCristian David
In office
1 October 2009 – 27 September 2010
Prime MinisterEmil Boc
Preceded byDan Nica
Succeeded byTraian Igaș
Minister of Regional Development and Public Administration
In office
22 December 2008 – 27 November 2009
Prime MinisterEmil Boc
Preceded byDan Motreanu
Succeeded byElena Udrea
Prefect of Bihor County
In office
1991–1993
President of the National Liberal Party
In office
18 December 2014 – 28 September 2016
Serving with Alina Gorghiu
Preceded byKlaus Iohannis
Succeeded byAlina Gorghiu
Leader of the Democratic Liberal Party
In office
30 June 2012 – 17 November 2014
Preceded byEmil Boc
Succeeded byKlaus Iohannis (merged within the National Liberal Party)
Personal details
Born (1956-07-26) 26 July 1956
Petrileni, Bihor, Romania
Political partyNational Liberal Party
(2014–present)
Other political
affiliations		National Salvation Front (1990–1993)
Democratic Party (1993–2007)
Democratic Liberal Party (2007–2014)
SpouseMargareta Violett Blaga
Children2
Alma materPolytechnic University of Timișoara[1]
Carol I National Defence University

A member of the Democratic Party (PD), he was the Minister of Administration and Interior in the first Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu government (December, 2004–March, 2007) as well as in one of the Emil Boc's governments. He resigned on 27 September 2010.

On 28 November 2011, Blaga was appointed President of the Senate of Romania after the revocation of Mircea Geoană on 23 November. On 30 June 2012, he became the leader of PDL in an extraordinary session following the huge loss suffered by the party in the local elections earlier that month. He was dismissed from the office of President of the Senate on 3 July 2012.

Political career
Vasile Blaga and President Traian Băsescu in October 2012

Born in Petrileni, Bihor County, Blaga started his political career after the fall of Communism in Romania in 1989. He was a Member of Parliament in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, representing Bihor County, between 1990 and 1991, after which he became the Prefect of Bihor, serving until 1993.

Following the legislative election of 1996, he became a member of the Romanian Senate from the Democratic Party, representing Bihor County. He was reelected at the 2004 election for the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), of which the Democratic Party (PD) was a member, representing Bucharest (where he presently resides). Blaga was appointed as the Minister of Administration and Interior Affairs later in the same year.

In 2008, he was a candidate for the position of mayor of Bucharest from the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), seeking to replace incumbent mayor Adriean Videanu, who did not want to compete for a second term.

He came second in the first round of the elections, trailing independent Sorin Oprescu. For the second round, he gained the support of Gigi Becali's New Generation Party (PNG)[2] and of the Social Democrat mayor Bucharest's Sector 2, Neculai Onțanu,[3] as well as the opposition of National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD).[4] Oprescu won the race on a 56-44 margin.[5] He was the president of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) until its dissolution in the summer of 2014, when it merged with the National Liberal Party (PNL), of which he served as co-president, along with Alina Gorghiu, until 28 September 2016.[6] On that date, Blaga was charged with influence peddling by the National Anticorruption Directorate and announced his resignation as party co-leader, though he maintained he is innocent.[7]

Electoral history

Mayor of Bucharest
Election Affiliation
Votes Percentage Position
2008 PDL242,700
41.4%
 2nd 

References
  1. (in Romanian) Curriculum vitae at the Romanian Senate site
  2. "Becali ţine cu Blaga" Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, in Evenimentul Zilei, 3 June 2008
  3. "Onţanu îl sprijină pe Blaga!" Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Evenimentul Zilei, 3 June 2008
  4. "Alianţe electorale ale partidelor împotriva PD-L", BBC Romanian, 3 June 2008
  5. "BEM: Sorin Oprescu a fost declarat primar general al Capitalei" Archived 2009-09-10 at the Wayback Machine, Evenimentul Zilei, 17 June 2008
  6. "Alina Gorghiu este noul copreședinte PNL, alături de Vasile Blaga". Digi24 (in Romanian). 18 December 2014.
  7. "Vasile Blaga demisionează de la conducerea PNL. Nu mai candidează". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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