Romanian politician
Dacian Julien Ciolo?
(
Romanian pronunciation:
[dat?i?an
?t?olo?]
; born 27 July 1969) is a Romanian
agronomist
who served as
Prime Minister of Romania
from November 2015 to January 2017. He previously served as
Agriculture Minister
under
C?lin Popescu-T?riceanu
between October 2007 and December 2008. In November 2009,
European Commission
President
Jose Manuel Barroso
nominated him to be the next
Agriculture Commissioner
, a position he assumed in February 2010 and held until his term expired in November 2014. In November 2015,
President
Klaus Iohannis
named him Prime Minister; Ciolo? assumed office after receiving approval from
Parliament
.
He remained until after the
2016 parliamentary election
, which was lost by the parties that called for Ciolo? to continue his term. Ciolo? is the founder of the
Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party
(PLUS) within the larger former political construction
USR PLUS
(2019?2021). Between October 2021 and February 2022, he led the
Save Romania Union
(USR), into which the party he founded was merged. In May 2019, he was
elected
a
Member of the European Parliament
(MEP), subsequently becoming leader of the new
Renew Europe
political group
. He relinquished the leadership upon becoming USR president.
In October 2021, following the ousting of Prime Minister
Florin Ci?u
through a motion of no-confidence, President Iohannis nominated Ciolo? as Prime Minister-designate but the Parliament rejected the proposal. The following May, he quit USR and launched a new party,
REPER
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Background and government career
[
edit
]
He was born in
Zal?u
, but spent much of his childhood with his grandparents in nearby
Pericei
village, where he developed an interest in farming. After graduating from the agricultural high school in
?imleu Silvaniei
in 1987, he attended the Faculty of Horticulture at the
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca
, earning a horticultural engineer's degree in 1994.
[1]
While a student, Ciolo? belonged to the
Romanian Hearth Union
’s youth wing; he states that his activities there were of a cultural nature, and had nothing to do with the party's extreme nationalist stance.
[2]
He also holds degrees in the economy of agricultural development from the
Ecole nationale superieure agronomique de Rennes
and from the
University of Montpellier 1
, where he respectively earned a master's in 1997 and a doctorate in 2006. He has belonged to the agricultural
think tank
Groupe de Bruges
since 2000.
[3]
Although in Romania Ciolo? was a political
independent
,
[4]
[5]
he was affiliated with the
European People's Party
(EPP) at the
European level
.
[6]
[7]
From 1991 to 1996, Ciolo? completed thirteen months' worth of internships on organic farms in the French region of
Brittany
. In the summer of 1995, he prepared a rural development project between
Savoie
and
Arge? County
, while working at the
Aveyron
agricultural chamber of commerce in
Rodez
during 1997, studying agricultural and rural development in the northern part of that
department
. In 1997 and 1999, he
interned
as an agro-economist at the
European Commission
's
Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
in
Brussels
, helping prepare the
Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development
(SAPARD). In 1998?1999, he directed a local rural development programme in Arge? County, again cooperating with Savoie. From 1999 to 2001, he worked at two agricultural development agencies in France, coordinating joint programmes with Romania in that field. From 2002 to 2003, as part of the European Commission's delegation to Romania, he helped manage SAPARD's implementation in his native country. From January 2005 to May 2007, he was an adviser to Romania's Agriculture Minister, and a representative in the
Council of the European Union
's
Special Committee on Agriculture
. From May to October 2007, he was undersecretary of state for European affairs at the ministry.
[3]
Following the resignation of
Decebal Traian Reme?
due to a corruption scandal,
[8]
he was appointed Agriculture Minister in October 2007, serving until the following December, when T?riceanu's
National Liberal Party
-led government left office after
a parliamentary election
.
[9]
Early in 2009, he returned to work at the Agriculture and Rural Development DG,
[10]
and that July,
President
Traian B?sescu
named him to head a one-year commission looking at public agricultural development policies.
[11]
Nomination and term as EU Commissioner for Agriculture
[
edit
]
In October 2009, the
Emil Boc
government, hoping to secure the
Agriculture portfolio
in the second
Barroso Commission
, nominated Ciolo? as Romania's EU Commissioner.
[12]
The proposal was criticised by the opposition
National Liberals
(PNL) and
Social Democrats
(PSD), who saw it as a last-ditch maneuver by a government on the brink of collapse, as well as by the
Party of European Socialists
, who believed that the position ought to have gone to a Social Democrat.
[5]
Boc's cabinet did indeed collapse the day after nominating Ciolo?, when it lost a
motion of no confidence
.
[13]
At the end of November, Barroso nominated Ciolo? to the Agriculture position, observing that he was the "most competent" of those submitted for consideration, and lauding his "modern vision" of agriculture and rural development.
[14]
[15]
The
British
magazine
Farmers Weekly
considered the nomination "a controversial choice", citing recent mismanagement by Romania of EU funds, but also acknowledged his "broad agricultural experience".
[16]
England and Wales' National Farmers Union
as well as
Scotland's NFU
welcomed the appointment.
[17]
Italian
Minister of Agriculture
Luca Zaia
[18]
and
French
President
Nicolas Sarkozy
likewise congratulated Ciolo?.
[19]
German
news agency
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
and British newspaper
The Independent
both criticised the nomination due to the funds mismanagement issue, with French daily
Ouest-France
alleging that the cause of British indignation was the perception that Ciolo? would be akin to a second French EU Commissioner, given his close ties to that country.
[20]
After winning approval from the
European Parliament
in February 2010,
[21]
Ciolo? set forth his priority: maintaining a "thriving agricultural sector" in order to ensure
food security
, environmental preservation and protection of the countryside, help combat
global warming
and maintain a "fair standard of living" for farmers. As part of this objective, he promised to continue adapting and restructuring the
Common Agricultural Policy
.
[22]
In July 2015, Barroso's successor
Jean-Claude Juncker
named Ciolo? as his special adviser on international food security.
[23]
As Prime Minister
[
edit
]
In November 2015,
Prime Minister
Victor Ponta
resigned following protests sparked by a
deadly nightclub fire
, and
President
Klaus Iohannis
appointed Ciolo? as his successor.
[24]
The latter proposed
a technocratic cabinet
composed of twenty-one members, a third of them women.
[25]
The cabinet won approval from
Parliament
on a 389?115 vote: the main
Social Democrats
(PSD) and
National Liberals
(PNL) were both in favour, although a number of legislators from the former party defied the leadership to vote against the cabinet. Additionally, the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
(ALDE) was opposed.
[26]
[27]
He considers his two main achievements while in office to have been an increase in transparency, including the online release of salaries and expenditures for public institutions and financing contracts; and a reduction in bureaucracy that involved the elimination of numerous formalities.
[28]
Ahead of the
2016 parliamentary election
, Ciolo? received the endorsement on behalf of the National Liberals (PNL) and of the
Save Romania Union
(USR), in turn urging voters to back either party.
[29]
When these parties lost the election, the prime minister expressed his regret;
[30]
the following month, he was succeeded by
Sorin Grindeanu
.
[31]
Return to politics
[
edit
]
In March 2018, Ciolo? announced the creation of a new political party, the Romania Together Movement.
[32]
Because the legal registration of the new political party took too long, Ciolo? announced on 15 December 2018 the existence of a new party, already registered by some anonymous collaborators, called the
Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party
(
Romanian
:
Partidul Libert??ii, Unit??ii ?i Solidarit??ii
, PLUS), thus dropping the former political project.
[33]
In January 2019, at the first national convention of PLUS, Ciolo? was elected president of the newly emerged political party with 99.17% of the votes.
[34]
The following month, Ciolo? announced the establishment of the
2020 USR-PLUS Alliance
between PLUS and the
Dan Barna
-led
Save Romania Union
(USR).
[35]
That May, he
was elected
a
Member of the European Parliament
.
[36]
He subsequently became leader of the new
Renew Europe
political group
, having secured support from
En Marche
,
Ciudadanos
and parties from Germany and the Netherlands.
[37]
He left that post in autumn 2021 in order to focus on domestic politics.
[38]
In October 2021, following the merger of USR with PLUS, Ciolo? was elected the first president of the unified party, defeating Barna on a 50.9 to 49.1 margin.
[39]
Later that month, following the collapse of the
Florin Ci?u
government, Iohannis once again named Ciolo? as Prime Minister.
[40]
Ciolo? and his proposed cabinet were voted down in Parliament, on a vote of 88?184.
[41]
In February 2022, after his program was rejected by subordinates in the USR leadership, Ciolo? resigned as party president.
[42]
That May, he quit USR altogether, citing dissatisfaction with the new leadership, and launched a new party,
Renewing Romania's European Project
(REPER).
[43]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 2000, Ciolo? married Valerie Villemin, a French agriculture expert he met while studying in France. The ceremony took place in his grandparents' village of Pericei. The couple have no children.
[44]
[45]
[46]
He has a younger brother, Sorin.
[47]
His father insisted on
Dacian
as a first name, while his French middle name comes from
Julien Sorel
, protagonist of
The Red and the Black
, a book that Ciolo?'s mother read while pregnant with him.
[48]
Ciolo? is a member of the
Romanian Orthodox Church
.
[46]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
(in Romanian)
Alina Pop,
"Dacian Ciolo?, de pe hotarul din Pericei la Palatul Victoria" ("Dacian Ciolo?, from the Pericei Border to Victoria Palace")
,
Adev?rul
, 10 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Mihnea M?ru??,
"Dacian Ciolo?, primul interviu dup? lansarea PLUS" ("Dacian Ciolo?, First Interview after PLUS Launch")
, PressOne, 17 December 2018; accessed August 25, 2021
- ^
a
b
(in Romanian)
Profile at the Romanian Government site; accessed October 12, 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
Steliana Bancu, "Dacian Ciolo? refuz? postul de secretar de stat la Agricultur? ?i pleac? la Bruxelles" ("Dacian Ciolo? Refuses State Secretary Post at Agriculture Ministry and Leaves for Brussels"),
Gardianul
, 9 January 2009; accessed October 12, 2009
- ^
a
b
(in Romanian)
Dan Carp, "Ciolo? aruncat in lupt?" ("Ciolo? Thrown into Battle"),
Ziua
, 13 October 2009; accessed 13 October 2009
- ^
"Barroso gets new EU Commission team"
, BBC News, 25 November 2009; accessed November 28, 2009
- ^
"Barroso II: 13 EPP Commissioners receive key portfolios", European People's Party, 27 November 2009; accessed November 28, 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
"T?riceanu a transmis Pre?edin?iei nominalizarea lui Dacian Ciolo? ca ministru al Agriculturii" ("T?riceanu Transmits to the Presidency the Nomination of Dacian Ciolo? as Agriculture Minister")
, Mediafax, 12 October 2007; accessed October 12, 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
Guvernul C?lin Popescu-T?riceanu
, Agerpres; accessed 12 October 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
Cristi Ciuperc?, Clarice Dinu,
"Boc i-a trimis lui B?sescu nominalizarea lui Ciolo?" ("Boc Sends B?sescu Ciolo?' Nomination")
,
Evenimentul Zilei
, 13 October 2009; accessed 13 October 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
Dan Odagiu,
"Cine este Dacian Ciolo??" ("Who Is Dacian Ciolo??")
Archived
2009-11-30 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Cotidianul
, 28 November 2009; accessed 28 November 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Dacian Ciolo?, candidatul Romaniei pentru postul de comisar european" ("Dacian Ciolo?, Romania's Candidate for European Commissioner")
, Mediafax, 12 October 2009; accessed October 12, 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Guvernul Boc 2 a fost demis" ("Boc 2 Government Dismissed")
, Mediafax, 13 October 2009; accessed 13 October 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Dacian Ciolo?, comisar european pentru Agricultur?" ("Dacian Ciolo?, European Commissioner for Agriculture")
,
Evenimentul Zilei
, 27 November 2009; accessed November 27, 2009
- ^
Joshua Chaffin (27 November 2009).
"Barroso spells out new Commission's agenda"
.
Financial Times
.
- ^
Philip Clarke (27 November 2009).
"Romanian takes EU's top agriculture job"
.
Farmers Weekly
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-12-07
. Retrieved
2009-11-28
.
- ^
Alistair Driver (27 November 2009).
"Romanian to take over as EU farm chief"
.
Farmers Guardian
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-12-07.
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Ministrul italian al agriculturii il felicit? pe Ciolo? pentru portofoliul atribuit in CE" ("Italian Agriculture Minister Congratulates Ciolo? for Portfolio Handed to Him in EC")
,
Cotidianul
, 28 November 2009; accessed 28 November 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Sarkozy salut? nominalizarea lui Ciolo? la func?ia de comisar pentru agricultur?" ("Sarkozy Salutes Ciolo?' Nomination as Agriculture Commissioner")
,
Cotidianul
, 28 November 2009; accessed 28 November 2009
- ^
(in Romanian)
Mariana Apostol,
"Nem?ii ?i britanicii ?i-au infipt col?ii in Ciolo?" ("Germans and British Attack Ciolo?")
,
Evenimentul Zilei
, 29 November 2009; accessed 29 November 2009
- ^
"Euro MPs back new European Commission"
, BBC News Online, 9 February 2010; accessed 20 September 2010
- ^
Mandate
at the Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner's site; accessed 20 September 2010
- ^
(in Romanian)
M?d?lina Mihalache,
"Pre?edintele Comisiei Europene, Jean Claude-Juncker, l-a numit consilier pe Dacian Ciolo?" ("European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker Names Dacian Ciolo? Adviser")
,
Adev?rul
, 1 July 2015; accessed 9 July 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
M?d?lina Mihalache, Sebastian Zachmann,
"Dacian Ciolo?, premierul ales de Klaus Iohannis" ("Dacian Ciolo?, the Premier Selected by Klaus Iohannis")
,
Adev?rul
, 10 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Vasile M?gr?dean,
"Cine sunt mini?trii propu?i de premierul desemnat" ("Who Are the Ministers Proposed by the Designated Premier")
, Mediafax, 15 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
M?d?lina Mihalache, Sebastian Zachmann, Radu Eremia,
"Guvernul Ciolo? a fost votat de o majoritate lejer?" ("Ciolo? Government Approved with Wide Majority")
,
Adev?rul
, 17 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
C?t?lina M?noiu,
"ALDE nu voteaz? Cabinetul Ciolo?" ("ALDE Not Voting for Ciolo? Cabinet")
, Mediafax, 16 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Constantin Rudni?chi,
"Scurt bilan? al guvernului Ciolo?" ("Record of the Ciolo? Government in Brief")
,
RFI
Romania, 8 December 2016; accessed 16 December 2016
- ^
(in Romanian)
Gabriel Pecheanu,
"Dacian Ciolo?, indemn ca romanii s? voteze PNL sau USR" ("Dacian Ciolo?, Appeal for Romanians to Vote PNL or USR")
, Mediafax, 8 December 2016; accessed 16 December 2016
- ^
(in Romanian)
Sebastian Zachmann,
"Ciolo?, prima reac?ie dup? alegeri" ("Ciolo?, First Post-Election Reaction")
,
Adev?rul
, 12 December 2016; accessed 16 December 2016
- ^
(in Romanian)
Mihai Diac,
"Ciolo? ?i Grindeanu vor avea o discu?ie detaliat?, joi" ("Ciolo? and Grindeanu to Have Detailed Discussion Thursday")
,
Romania Liber?
, 4 January 2017; accessed 4 January 2017
- ^
(in Romanian)
Maria Tufan,
"In sfar?it, Dacian Ciolo? a anun?at noul partid" ("Finally, Dacian Ciolo? Announces New Party")
,
Adev?rul
, 30 March 2018; accessed 31 March 2018
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo? are, oficial, partid: PLUS. Ce s-a intamplat cu Mi?carea Romania Impreun? (Dacian Ciolo? has officially a party: PLUS. What happened with the Romania Together Movement)"
(in Romanian). Digi24. 15 December 2018
. Retrieved
18 December
2018
.
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo? a fost ales pre?edinte al PLUS"
.
adevarul.ro
(in Romanian). 2019-01-26
. Retrieved
2019-01-30
.
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo? ?i Dan Barna au b?tut palma: "S-a n?scut principala for?? de opozi?ie: Alian?a 2020 USR+PLUS"
"
.
Digi24
(in Romanian). 2 February 2019.
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Cine sunt europarlamentarii pe care Romania ii trimite la Bruxelles" ("Who Are the MEPs Romania Is Sending to Brussels")
,
Deutsche Welle
, 28 May 2019; accessed June 3, 2019
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Dacian Ciolo? a fost ales liderul grupului Renew Europe din Parlamentul european" ("Dacian Ciolo? Elected Leader of Renew Europe European Parliament Group")
, G4Media, 19 June 2019; accessed June 19, 2019
- ^
(in Romanian)
"Dacian Ciolo? anun?? c? renun?? la func?ia de lider al ‘Renew Europe’ in Parlamentul European" ("Dacian Ciolo? Announces Resignation as Leader of Renew Europe in the European Parliament")
, G4Media, 1 October 2021; accessed November 30, 2021
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo? a fost ales pre?edintele USR PLUS"
(in Romanian). Digi24. 1 October 2021
. Retrieved
1 October
2021
.
- ^
Pricop, Sebastian; Dudescu, Denisa (11 October 2021).
"Klaus Iohannis l-a desemnat pe Dacian Ciolo? prim-ministru"
.
Libertatea
. Retrieved
11 October
2021
.
- ^
"Guvernul Ciolo? a fost respins la votul din Parlament"
(in Romanian). Digi24. 20 October 2021
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo?, dup? demisia din fruntea USR: 'Nu puterile mi-au lipsit mie, ci increderea c? putem colabora impreun?'
"
(in Romanian). Libertatea. 7 February 2022
. Retrieved
9 February
2022
.
- ^
"Dacian Ciolo? a demisionat din USR, al?turi de al?i patru europarlamentari. Ei lanseaz? Partidul REPER"
(in Romanian). G4Media. 31 May 2022
. Retrieved
8 July
2022
.
- ^
(in Romanian)
"So?ia premierului nu este romanc?" ("Premier's Wife Is Not Romanian")
, Capital.ro, 11 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Anca Simionescu,
"Ce planuri are Dacian Ciolo? pentru romanii din afara grani?elor" ("Dacian Ciolo?' Plans for Romanians Abroad")
,
Evenimentul Zilei
, 5 December 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
a
b
(in Romanian)
Radu Eremia,
"Ciolo?, despre religia sa: Eu sunt cre?tin-ortodox" ("Ciolo?, about His Religion: I Am an Orthodox Christian")
,
Adev?rul
, 22 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Alina Pop,
"Dacian Ciolo?, 'povestit' de vecinii din satul natal" ("Dacian Ciolo?, as Told by Native Village Neighbors")
,
Adev?rul
, 15 November 2015; accessed 8 December 2015
- ^
(in Romanian)
Gabriel Pecheanu,
"Premierul Dacian Ciolo? a explicat de ce il cheam? ?i Julien" ("Premier Dacian Ciolo? Explains Why He Is Also Called Julien")
, Mediafax, 1 November 2016; accessed 10 April 2018
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