Introduction

Traian Băsescu, a former ship’s captain and mayor of Bucharest, successfully fought the country’s 2004 presidential elections on an anti-corruption platform. He took over from Ion Iliescu, who had served as president for much of the post-communist period. Băsescu was suspended from office in April 2007 but resumed his role a month later after a national referendum supported his reinstatement. He was narrowly re-elected in Dec. 2009.

Early Life

Băsescu was born in Basarabi near the port of Constanta on 4 Nov. 1951 and graduated from the Marine Institute in Constanta in 1976. He then joined the merchant navy, controlled in the communist era by NAVROM, winning promotion to captain in 1981 and to admiral of the merchant fleet in the mid-1980s. In 1987 he became head of NAVROM and in 1989 entered the political scene as general director of the State Inspectorate of Civic Navigation in the ministry of transport. After the dramatic collapse of the Ceauşescu regime in Dec. 1989, Băsescu was promoted to deputy minister of transport. He became minister of transport in 1991 in the government dominated by the National Salvation Front (FSN), which had received mass support in the first post-communist elections on 20 May 1990.

Following a split in the FSN in 1992, Băsescu joined Petre Roman in the new centre-left Democratic Party and, in 1996, he co-ordinated Roman’s unsuccessful presidential campaign. Băsescu was re-elected as a Democratic Party MP in 1996 and served as minister of transport until 2000, when he stood as the Democratic Party candidate in the Bucharest mayoral election. He won and began co-ordinating the regeneration of large areas of the city, gaining praise for his direct approach to addressing problems—from cracking down on the notorious packs of stray dogs to improving traffic flow and municipal central heating systems.

Following disagreements with Petre Roman, Băsescu replaced him as leader of the (opposition) Democratic Party in 2001. Two years later, in Sept. 2003, Băsescu became a co-chairman of the centre-right Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), forged between his Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party (PNL). Băsescu’s rule as mayor of Bucharest proved popular and he was re-elected in June 2004. He then decided to contest the 2004 presidential election as the DA candidate. Campaigning on an anti-corruption and pro-Western platform, he defeated the PSD candidate in the second round run-off in Dec.

Career Peak

Băsescu’s first task as president was the formation of a new DA government, which became possible when the small Humanist Party (since renamed the Conservative Party) pledged its support, in addition to the backing of the ethnic Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania. Băsescu appointed the PNL leader and former minister of the economy Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu to the post of prime minister. In his inaugural address Băsescu said that fighting corruption would remain his priority and that he intended to steer Romania towards membership of the European Union. This was achieved on 1 Jan. 2007 as Romania and Bulgaria became the EU’s 26th and 27th member states. He also stressed the need to strengthen strategic partnerships with the USA and the UK, as well as to improve relations with Russia and the former Soviet states.

Although allied within the ruling DA, Băsescu’s relations with Popescu-Tăriceanu deteriorated to the point where, in April 2007, Popescu-Tăriceanu won a vote in parliament to suspend Băsescu for ‘grave infringements of the constitution’ and the Democratic Party was excluded from the government. Former prime minister Nicolae Văcăroiu was appointed interim president. However, Băsescu returned to office on 23 May 2007 after he was backed by 74.5% of voters in a referendum on his leadership. He then promised to campaign for electoral reform to increase MPs’ accountability to the electorate and for a law that could be used to remove former senior officials of the Ceauşescu regime from their offices. In Dec. 2007 he called on Popescu-Tăriceanu to dismiss his justice minister because of corruption allegations. Also in Dec. 2007 the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L). Concerns over high-level corruption also prompted the EU in Feb. 2008 to threaten sanctions against Romania. In April 2008 Băsescu hosted a summit meeting of NATO leaders in Bucharest.

Following inconclusive parliamentary elections in Nov. 2008, Băsescu nominated Theodor Stolojan, an economist and former prime minister, to head a new government. Stolojan soon withdrew his acceptance and Băsescu then asked Emil Boc, the leader of the Democratic Liberal Party, to form the new administration, which was approved by parliament in Dec. 2008. However, in Oct. 2009 this government lost a confidence vote, although Boc carried on in a caretaker capacity until the pending presidential elections as Băsescu’s subsequent nominees for prime minister-designate were not acceptable to parliament.

At the end of 2009 Băsescu stood for presidential re-election. His narrow win over Mircea Geoană of the PSD-PC alliance with 50.3% of the run-off vote was challenged by his opponent who claimed electoral fraud. Băsescu then turned again to Boc to form a new government, which was approved by parliament but which laboured with economic recession and austerity. With his government increasingly unpopular, Boc resigned in Feb. 2012. Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu succeeded him as prime minister but his government also fell after only 2 months following a vote of no confidence in parliament. Victor Ponta of the Social Liberal Union then established an administration to govern until elections later in the year.

In July 2012 Băsescu faced a further challenge to his authority, this time from his new prime minister, and was suspended from office following a parliamentary vote pending efforts to impeach him. However, he survived an impeachment referendum as the majority vote to remove him failed to meet the required minimum turnout of the electorate and he resumed office in Aug. In the Dec. 2012 parliamentary elections Ponta’s government won a clear majority against parties backed by Băsescu, after which the president and prime minister signed an agreement guaranteeing their institutional co-operation and respect for the constitution. However, in late 2013 Băsescu was reported to be reviewing the agreement after the deputy prime minister, Liviu Dragnea, was charged with attempting to influence the outcome of the impeachment referendum.

Having served the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms as head of state, Băsescu was ineligible to take part in the presidential elections of Nov. 2014. He was succeeded as president by Klaus Iohannis, who took office on 21 Dec. 2014.