Cristian Diaconescu

Cristian Diaconescu
Diaconescu at a meeting with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, May 2009
Minister of Justice
In office 10 March 2004 – 28 December 2004
President	Ion Iliescu
Prime Minister	Adrian Năstase
Preceded by	Rodica Stănoiu
Succeeded by	Monica Macovei
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 22 December 2008 – 1 October 2009
President	Traian Băsescu
Prime Minister	Emil Boc
Preceded by	Lazăr Comănescu
Succeeded by	Cătălin Predoiu (interim)
Personal details
Born	Bucharest
Nationality	Romanian
Political party	National Union for the Progress of Romania
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic Party (2002-2010) Romanian Communist Party (until 1989)
Military service
Rank	2nd Lieutenant

Cristian Diaconescu (Romanian pronunciation: [kristiˈan di.akoˈnesku]; born July 2, 1959) is a Romanian jurist and politician. A member of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and formerly of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he has sat in the Romanian Senate since 2004, representing Constanţa County from 2004 until 2008, and Bucharest since then. In the Adrian Năstase cabinet, he was Minister of Justice from March to December 2004; in the Emil Boc cabinet, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2008 and 2009.

He and his wife Mariana have a daughter.^[1][2]

Biography

He was born in Bucharest,^[1] where his father Mihai was a lawyer;^[2] he is a seventh-generation jurist.^[3] He completed his mandatory military service in 1978-1979 within a unit troops answering to the Securitate, Communist Romania's secret police, ending as a 2nd Lieutenant and later recalling that his instruction was purely in regular combat.^[2] In April 1982, he entered the ruling Romanian Communist Party, advancing from its mass organization, the Union of Communist Youth.^[2] Although he denied having held any executive positions within the party, a 2008 investigation by Evenimentul Zilei newspaper concluded that Diaconescu was promoted to a leadership office within the Association of Communist Students, and that he was judged a good student of Marxism.^[2] Diaconescu graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Bucharest in 1983, also earning a PhD in Law in 2007. He was an associate professor at Hyperion University in 1993, a professor at the Carol I National Defence University in 1997 and at the Institute of Law and International Relations from 1998 to 2000, and in 2004 was on the academic staff of the Spiru Haret University in its International Relations and European Studies Faculty.^[1]

In 1983, he was an apprentice lawyer in Găeşti;^[2] from 1983 to 1985, he worked as a judge at the Ilfov Agricultural Sector courthouse, and from 1985 to 1989, he was a judge at the Sector 4 courthouse.^[1] During this period, he would sometimes travel to villages for trials; according to Silviu Curticeanu (a former high-ranked Communist), these were held before packed audiences forcibly brought there, with judges usually selected based on political criteria often handing out especially harsh sentences for the "preventive-educational" effect these were supposed to have.^[2] Following the 1989 Revolution, from 1989 to 1990, he was a specialty inspector at the Justice Ministry,^[1] part of a team of youthful specialists who, as he recalled fifteen years later, unsuccessfully toured the country in an attempt to reshape the Communist-era justice system.^[3] Then, from 1990 to 1993, he was a diplomat in Romania's permanent delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 1993 to 1995, working at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Diaconescu coordinated the cooperation section in the OSCE political–military field. From 1995 to 1996 he was again a diplomat, part of Romania's permanent mission to international organisations in Vienna and deputy head of mission for the OSCE political–military and security fields. From 1996 to 1997, still a diplomat, he worked at the OSCE directorate of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. In 1997-1998, at the same ministry, he headed the directorate for OSCE and cooperation with sub-regional structures. Continuing at the ministry, from 1998 to 2000 he headed its general law and consular directorate; among his attributes was that of chief negotiator for bilateral treaties on borders and minority rights. From May to December 2000, he was deputy general secretary of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.^[1]

In December 2000, when the PDSR (PSD from 2001) returned to office, Diaconescu became Secretary of State for Bilateral Affairs at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Serving until January 2004, he was chief negotiator for the border treaty with Ukraine, for the basic political treaty with Russia and for the law on Hungarians in states bordering Hungary. He also joined the PSD in 2002. From January to March 2004, he was Secretary of State for European Affairs at the same ministry. From March to December 2004, he served as Minister of Justice.^[1] As such, he was responsible for conducting and closing negotiations with the European Commission on the Justice and Home Affairs chapter of the acquis communautaire; that November, he reported to the government that negotiations had been concluded, helping move Romania closer to European Union accession.^[4] At the 2004 election, which the PSD lost, he won a Senate seat, and chaired that body's defence, public order and national security committee. In 2005, he became a vice president of the PSD;^[1] that June, he was named PSD spokesman, a position he kept until January 2009, except during his mayoral campaign.^[5] (Additionally, in 2006, shortly before the National Anticorruption Directorate announced it would question his wife in its investigation into the loss of €1 million in state funds while she was a bank president,^[6] he announced he would resign his party positions partly in connection with this,^[7] but reversed course several days later.^[8]) Diaconescu reluctantly agreed to run for Mayor of Bucharest in June 2008, promising a doubling of the minimum monthly salary and an additional pension payment per year.^[9][10] He lost in the first round, coming in third with 13.2% of the vote.^[11] He was re-elected as senator in November 2008,^[12] and the following month, he was named to the Boc cabinet.^[13]

Upon winning confirmation as minister, among the priorities Diaconescu announced were a consolidation of Romania's position within the EU, including by pushing for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty; regional policy, including toward Moldova and the Black Sea area; and securing the rights of the Romanians of Serbia.^[14] Later, in an interview, he added that improving relations with Russia and China was also on his agenda, as well as having the EU focus on energy security.^[15] He visited the United States in May 2009, meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and commenting that Romania continued to be a "trustworthy partner" for the US, in turn an "essential ally" of Romania.^[16] The issue of Moldova vividly appeared on the agenda during the April 2009 civil unrest, when Diaconescu commented that the authorities there had "exceeded limits" by arresting protesters without explanation, requiring visas of Romanians wishing to enter the country, expelling all Romanian journalists, and "provoking" the Romanian government by accusing it of involvement in the events.^[17] He soon announced that Moldovans would be able to obtain Romanian citizenship more easily.^[18] Additionally, he had to deal with the sometimes tense situation faced by Romanian citizens living in Italy^[19] and the United Kingdom.^[20] Together with his PSD colleagues, Diaconescu resigned from the cabinet on October 1, 2009, in protest at the dismissal of vice prime minister and Interior Minister Dan Nica.^[21]

In February 2010, Diaconescu sought election as PSD president, but withdrew from the race several hours before the party congress that would decide the winner opened. Subsequently, journalist Floriana Jucan alleged that Diaconescu had been subject to round-the-clock surveillance for ten days prior to the congress, and that party colleagues had carried out the monitoring in order to blackmail him. Near the end of the month, he resigned from the party and from its vice presidency, also filing a judicial complaint asking for an investigation into his surveillance. Initially sitting as an independent in Gabriel Oprea's group,^[22][23] he followed the latter into the newly-founded UNPR, being elected honorary president in May.^[24]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} (Romanian) Profile at the Romanian Government site; accessed June 29, 2009
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} (Romanian) "Cristian Diaconescu, judecător pe uliţă" ("Cristian Diaconescu, Judge on the Road"), Evenimentul Zilei, 15 February 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
3. ^ ^{a b} (Romanian) Florentina Stoian, "Cristian Diaconescu - a şaptea generaţie de jurişti din familie" ("Cristian Diaconescu - Seventh Generation of Jurists in His Family"), Adevărul, 3 October 2005; accessed June 29, 2009
4. ^ (Romanian) Biography, cristiandiaconescu.ro; accessed June 29, 2009
5. ^ (Romanian) "Bogdan Niculescu Duvăz, noul purtător de cuvânt al PSD" ("Bogdan Niculescu Duvăz, New PSD Spokesman"), Mediafax, 26 January 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
6. ^ (Romanian) Răzvan Popa, "Soţia pesedistului Cristian Diaconescu, în vizorul DNA" ("Wife of PSD Member Cristian Diaconescu Targeted by DNA"), Gândul, 3 July 2006; accessed June 29, 2009
7. ^ (Romanian) Florin Negruţiu, "Cristian Diaconescu face grevă politică în numele soţiei sale" ("Cristian Diaconescu on Political Strike in His Wife's Name"), Gândul, 29 June 2006; accessed June 29, 2009
8. ^ (Romanian) Lavinia Dimancea, "Demisie - Diaconescu revine" ("Resignation - Diaconescu Returns"), Jurnalul Naţional, 3 July 2006; accessed June 29, 2009
9. ^ (Romanian) Adriana Duţulescu, "Cum a devenit Cristian Diaconescu candidatul PSD" ("How Cristian Diaconescu Became the PSD Candidate"), Cotidianul, 11 April 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
10. ^ (Romanian) Dan Duca, "Cristian Diaconescu a început răguşit campania pentru Bucureşti. Iliescu şi Vanghelie au făcut show" ("A Hoarse Cristian Diaconescu Begins His Campaign for Bucharest. Iliescu and Vanghelie Put on a Show"), Cotidianul, 16 April 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
11. ^ (Romanian) "Oprescu şi Blaga în turul doi pentru Primăria Bucureşti" ("Oprescu and Blaga in Second Round for Bucharest Mayor"), BBC Romanian, 2 June 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
12. ^ (Romanian) Election results, alegeri.tv; accessed June 29, 2009
13. ^ (Romanian) "Guvern de regăţeni, cu 'moţ' ardelean" ("Old Kingdom Government, with a Few Transylvanians"), Adevărul, 19 December 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
14. ^ (Romanian) "Comisiile au avizat nominalizarea lui Cristian Diaconescu ca ministru de Externe" ("Committees Approve Cristian Diaconescu's Nomination as Foreign Minister"), Mediafax, 20 December 2008; accessed June 29, 2009
15. ^ (Romanian) "Diaconescu: Unii încearcă să-şi fundamenteze cariera în MAE pe o ofertă politică" ("Diaconescu: Some Try to Build Their MAE Career on a Political Offer"), Mediafax, 11 January 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
16. ^ (Romanian) "România+SUA=Love. Ministrul de externe, Cristian Diaconescu, a calificat relaţiile româno-americane drept foarte bune, chiar şi cu noua administraţie" ("Romania+USA=Love. Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu Calls Romanian-American Relations Very Good, Even under the New Administration"), Gardianul, 13 May 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
17. ^ (Romanian) "Cristian Diaconescu: Autorităţile de la Chişinău au depăşit limita" ("Cristian Diaconescu: Chişinău Authorities Exceed Limit"), Jurnalul Naţional, 16 April 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
18. ^ (Romanian) "Diaconescu: Nu vom acorda cetăţenia română în masă pentru moldoveni" ("Diaconescu: We Will Not Grant Moldovans Romanian Citizenship En Masse"), Mediafax, 28 April 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
19. ^ (Romanian) "Ministrul de externe: Situaţia din Italia 's-a mai calmat'" ("Foreign Minister: Italy Situation 'Calmer'"), Mediafax, 2 March 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
20. ^ (Romanian) "140 de români vor să se întoarcă acasă din Irlanda de Nord" ("140 Romanians Want to Come Home from Northern Ireland"), Cotidianul, 21 June 2009; accessed June 29, 2009
21. ^ (Romanian) "Miniştrii PSD şi-au depus demisiile la cabinetul premierului Emil Boc" ("PSD Ministers Submit Their Resignations in the Office of Prime Minister Emil Boc"), Mediafax, 1 October 2009; accessed October 1, 2009
22. ^ (Romanian) Marinela Raţă, "Diaconescu, urmărit 10 zile, înaintea alegerilor din PSD" ("Diaconescu, Followed 10 Days, Prior to PSD Elections"), Evenimentul Zilei, 21 February 2010; accessed September 16, 2010
23. ^ (Romanian) Florin Ciornei and Marinela Raţă, "Diaconescu a demisionat din PSD" ("Diaconescu Resigns from PSD"), Evenimentul Zilei, 24 February 2010; accessed September 16, 2010
24. ^ (Romanian) Oana Dan, "Sârbu, Oprea, Diaconescu, la conducerea UNPR" ("Sârbu, Oprea, Diaconescu, in UNPR Leadership"), Evenimentul Zilei, 1 May 2010; accessed September 16, 2010

External links

• (Romanian) Official site
• (Romanian) Parliamentary profile

Persondata
Name	Diaconescu, Cristian
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 2, 1959
Place of birth	Bucharest
Date of death
Place of death