Radu Duda, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen

Infobox Romanian Royalty|highness
name = Prince Radu
title = Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen


imgw =
titles = "HRH" Prince Radu of Romania
"HSH" Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen
Mr Radu Duda
full name =
spouse = Princess Margarita of Romania
issue =
royal house = House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
father = Rene Duda
mother = Gabriela Constandache
date of birth = birth date and age|1960|6|7
place of birth = Iaşi, Romaniainfobox hrhstyles


royal name=Prince Radu of Romania
dipstyle=His Royal Highness
offstyle=Your Royal Highness
altstyle=Sir|

Radu Duda, Prince of Romania [http://www.familiaregala.ro/upload/p0002_FundamentalRules.pdf Fundamental Rules of the Royal Family of Romania] , [http://www.familiaregala.ro/ The Romanian Royal Family website] as retrieved on January 8, 2007] , Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen was born on 7 June 1960 in Iaşi, Romania, as Radu Duda. In 1996 he married Princess Margarita of Romania. On January 1, 1999 he was named Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen by Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern, the Head of the Sigmaringen branch of the Hohenzollern family, his legal name becoming Radu Hohenzollern Veringen Duda [ro icon [http://www.cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=16726&art=40834 "The Actor Duda in The Role of A Lifetime: Prince Consort of Romania] ," Cotidianul, January 3, 2008] [ [http://www.cancelarie.ro/declaratii/Hohenzollern_Veringen_Duda_Radu.pdf 2005 "Income Statement," filled out in Romanian by Hohenzollern Veringen Duda, Radu] ] [ [http://www.cancelarie.ro/declaratii/Hohenzollern_Veringen_Duda_Radu_i.pdf 2005 "Interest Statement," filled out in Romanian by Hohenzollern Veringen Duda, Radu] ] [ro icon [http://www.cancelarie.ro/declavere_h.html "Income Statement", Prime-Minister's Chancellery Website as of July 14, 2006] ] [ro icon [http://www.romimpwatch.org/ro/newsPage.php?id_news=2018 "Public Letter to The SRI Director", Romanian Imprisonment Watch, Visby, Sweden, September 17, 2004] ] [ro icon [http://www.playboyromania.ro/articol.php?id=420 "Interview - Prince Radu", Playboy Romania] ] . Prince Radu does not have a coat of arms, as one was not specified by the princely decree which granted his name change, neither was he granted a "Highness" predicate by the same decree. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2196970,00.html "People,"] 'The Guardian', October 23, 2007] However, other royal families [ [http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/content/documents/Press%20Pack.pdf "The Wedding of HRH The Prince Charles of Wales and Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles," Prince Charles' website as of December 1, 2006] ] [http://www.royalcourt.se/ovrigt/pressrum/pressmeddelanden/aretspressmeddelanden/5.1a2467a10ad032dc2680005841.html] [ [http://www.noticias.info/archivo/2004/200405/20040522/20040522_24587.shtm Noticias - Boda Real: Ubicación De Los Invitados En La Catedral ] ] have recognized his use of the "Serene Highness" predicate. The new Statute of the Romanian Royal Family signed by King Michael I of Romania on December 30, 2007, made public Radu's title of "Prince of Romania" with the style of "Royal Highness," which King Michael had bestowed upon him earlier on January 5, 2005. [ro icon [http://www.princeradu.ro/?id2=0005&lng= Prince Radu] , [http://www.princeradu.ro/ Prince Radu's website] as of September 12, 2008] Through the same Statute Radu is to bear the title "His Royal Highness The Prince Consort of Romania" upon Michael's death [ ro icon [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/473235/Principesa-Margareta-mostenitoarea-coroanei-regale/ "Princess Margarita, heiress to the throne of Romania,"] Evenimentul Zilei, December 30, 2007] . He is a member of the Romanian Royal Family. Either in the company of his wife Princess Margarita or most often alone [ro icon [http://www.dilemaveche.ro/index.php?nr=120&cmd=articol&id=632 "May 10 - Sad Destiny, Memorable Date", Dilema Veche, May 12, 2006] ] , the Prince represents the Royal Family on various occasions.

Education and work

He graduated from the University of Drama and Film in Bucharest, 1984 and had over 20 years of artistic activity in Romania as well as in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. He was the Artistic Director of the first project in Romania of art therapy for abandoned children in orphanages. The project, started in 1993, was developed in eight cities over six years.

Prince Radu played a major role in the planning and organisation of the official tours undertaken by King Michael I of Romania in 1997 and 2002 for the integration of Romania in NATO, as well as creating the concept of the King's "Millennium Tour" in Romania in 2000. In the NATO tours the King visited the United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, meeting with heads of state and government. He accompanied the King on most of these visits.

In 2002 he graduated from the National College of Defence of Romania, and the George C. Marshall College, Garmisch, Germany. In 2003 he graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security.

In September 2002 he was appointed Special Representative of the Romanian Government for Integration, Co-operation and Sustainable Development. He is also Advisor to HM King Michael I, Patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Board of Directors of "House of NATO" Association in Bucharest, and Honorary Member of the Senate of "Aurel Vlaicu" University of Arad and of the University of Oradea, Romania.

Since 2005 he is a Romanian Army Colonel and holds a doctorate in Military Science from the National Defence University of Bucharest.

Prince Radu is the author of several books:"Dincolo de mască" (Bucharest: Unitext, 1997), "L'Âme du masque" (Brussels, 1998), "Război, un exil, o viaţă" (Bucharest, 2000; translated into English as "Anne of Romania: A War, an Exile, a Life", Bucharest: Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2002), "Michael of Romania: A Tribute" (San Francisco and Bucharest, 2001), "Kildine" (Bucharest, 2003; a translation into Romanian of the fairy-tales book of Queen Marie of Romania), "Seven" (Bucharest: Nemira, 2003), "The Royal Family of Romania" (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2004), "Persona" (Bucharest: Nemira, 2006), "The Elisabeta Palace" (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2006)

Prince Radu lectures and makes speeches in Romania, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Japan, India, Lithuania, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Ireland, Canada, Poland, the United States, Italy, Jordan, Thailand, Slovenia, Croatia, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt and the United Kingdom. Prince Radu appears regularly on TV and publishes articles in the written press in Romania.

Prince Radu's lectures address topics related to Romania's integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, defense, and security, geopolitics and diplomacy, culture, economics, and education. He has equally spoken out about the issue of ethnic minorities, in particular about the Roma (Gypsy or Tzigane) minority, an important issue for Romania and South Eastern Europe today [ [http://foto.rompres.ro/index.php?i=751966 Prince Radu next to the Roma leader and parliamentarian Mǎdǎlin Voicu and EU representative Jonathan Scheele at a piano concert, May 15, 2006 (foto)] ] [ro icon [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=124&cid=120&cid2=125 Prince Radu and the Roma leader Mǎdǎlin Voicu at a conference about ethnic minorities, January 27, 2006] ] [ [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=278&cid=132&cid2=145 Prince Radu on his lectures about the Roma minority in "When Royalty Meets Diplomacy", Prague Magazine, February 2005] ] [ [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=866&cid=133&cid2=217 "The Roma Minority in Romania and in South-Eastern Europe," by HSH Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen, Chatham House, 5 June 2003] ] , through conferences in Romania and around Europe, in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Finland, etc. His activity report "2005 Annual Report and 2002-2004 Retrospective" [ [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=1285&cid=130 "Annual Report 2005," Prince Radu website, as of December 6, 2006] ] is available in English and Romanian on his official website.

Initiatives

Europe of Regions

It is a project Prince Radu initiated to promote Romania's major interests and to strengthen Romania’s bilateral relations. Its aims are to encourage and promote economic, cultural, and educational partnerships between Romanian regions and different European regions, as well as to to raise awareness about Romania through meetings, conferences, and lectures. It will involve Prince Radu visiting up to four different regions a year, meeting local businessmen, political and local administration leaders, university teachers and students, Romanian communities and the press. Regions covered so far are the Italian regions of Tuscany and Sicily (provinces of Palermo, Caltanisetta, Enna, and Catania), the French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Aquitaine (Pays Beaumontois). The Europe of Regions initiative will continue with visits to the Lands of Germany, to Spain, and further regions of France and Italy [ [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=1231&cid=247 Prince Radu ] ] [ [http://www.balcanicooperazione.it/dalle_regioni/sicilia_e_romania_a_braccetto_nell_unione_europea Balcani Cooperazione ] ] [ [http://www.unict.it/Pagina/Portale/Home/Canali_informativi/Comunicati_stampa/0/2006/09/20/6761_.aspx Comunicati stampa - Università degli Studi di Catania ] ] [ [https://www.provincia.ct-egov.it/moduli/cstampa/cstampas2.asp?id=4241 cstampa - moduli - Provincia Regionale di Catania ] ] [ [http://www.comune.catania.it/portale/cstampa/cstampas2.asp?id=385 Comune di Catania ] ] [ [http://www.ziua.ro/display.php?id=207612&data=2006-09-21 Stiri pe scurt: ZIUA ] ] [ [http://www.mclink.it/com/inform/art/06n10121.htm * Inform * ] ] [ [http://www.consiglio.regione.toscana.it/news-ed-eventi/Comunicati-stampa/comunicato/testo_comunicato.asp?id=6856] ] .

The Friendship Tour

The Friendship Tour is a similar initiative created to promote Romania's major interests, mainly in the United States of America, aiming to encourage, promote, and support Romanian partnerships in the economic, educational, and cultural domains. Visits are planned to 3-4 states each year to meet local businessmen and women, politicians, and local administration, university teachers and students, as well as the Romanian diaspora. The aim is also to raise awareness about Romania’s potential and to strengthen bilateral relations. The Friendship Tour kicked off with a ten-day visit to the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Massachusetts, during which Prince Radu met with governors, mayors, state congressmen, professors, students, businessmen, journalists, and American citizens of Romanian origin. The Friendship Tour II and The Friendship Tour III plan to reach five other USA states [ [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php?page=articol&aid=1018&cid=234 Prince Radu ] ] [ [http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060225/News01/602250499/-1/NEWS01/CAT=News01 South Bend Tribune: Prince stops in South Bend ] ] [ [http://www.roembus.org/embassynews/2006/22feb_principele_Radu.htm Untitled Document ] ] .

Personality

In an interview for "Observator Plus," [ro icon [http://www.virtualarad.net/news/2004/va_n260704_ro.htm "Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen: "To Be Means To Be Recognized", Observator Plus, July 26, 2004] ] Prince Radu talks frankly about himself. He says that during Communism he had lived in an amoral world which lacked models and in which it was difficult to have principles. He discovered the latter only when he met King Michael, when he realized that "life can be marked, here and there, by principles." Before that fateful meeting, Radu had had only ideals and "exercises of admiration" towards European or international personalities. In another interview [ro icon [http://www.romanialibera.ro/editie/NEW_SITE/index.php?a=1&fct=1&complet=1&idx=103&tab=z23092006 "Monarchy Is A Form Of Government One Must Love In Order To Exist", Romania Libera, September 23, 2006] ] , Radu enumerates some of the personalities from Eastern Europe he admires, such as Pope John Paul II, Lech Wałęsa, Václav Havel, and ["sic"] Nelson Mandela. During Communism, his family represented a source of inspiration for him, because in those corrupt times they remained honest people. Also, Radu believes that he could not have done things better than he has done in his life so far. He also says that he has very few friends. One of his favorite films is Brokeback Mountain,which he describes as "one of the most moving and emotional, full of inspiration and of truth movies of the last years," and he is an admirer of the movie's "exceptional" star, Heath Ledger, whose premature death he decries. [ro icon [http://www.princeradublog.ro/?p=1422 "Heath Ledger"] , [http://www.princeradublog.ro/ Prince Radu blog] , as retrieved on January 28, 2008] [ro icon [http://www.cancan.ro/2008-01-28/Printul-Duda-il-deplange-pe-Heath-Ledger.html "Prince Duda decries Heath Ledger"] , [http://www.cancan.ro/ Can-Can] , January 28, 2008] His favorite singers are Pavarotti, José Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Elton John. [ro icon [http://www.curier.ro/temp/c3795.pdf "Exclusive interview with His Highness Radu Duda, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen"] , Curierul zilei, January 31, 2007]

Controversies

Corruption accusations

BAE Systems [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2459780,00.html "Blair hit by Saudi 'bribery' threat,"] The Sunday Times, November 19, 2006] , one of the donors to Princess Margarita's charity, and its representatives, have been involved in a corruption scandal regarding the purchase by the Romanian Government of two decommissioned UK Royal Navy frigates refurbished by BAE, for which an alleged £ 7 million bribe was paid [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/story/0,,1797639,00.html "Bribery inquiry may force £7m refund to Romania," The Guardian, June 15, 2006] ] . Some of this money, it is also alleged, "ended up in the pockets of the royal family of Hohenzollern" [ro icon [http://stiri3.rol.ro/stiri/2006/06/zeama_de_dude.htm "Mulberry Juice", Gandul, June 21, 2006] ] . The "Gardianul" newspaper [ro icon [http://www.gardianul.ro/2006/06/16/dezvaluiri-c11/bae_sponsor_regal-s80481.html "BAE Royal Sponsor", Gardianul, June 16, 2006] ] ro icon [http://www.gardianul.ro/2006/06/17/dezvaluiri-c11/principele_duda_coleg_la_colegiul_de_aparare_cu_semnatarul_contractului_cu_bae-s80510.html "Prince Duda, Classmate at The National Defence University with The Signer of The BAE Contract", Gardianul, June 17, 2006] ] , noting that both Margarita and Radu, as Special Representative of the Government, had met a number of times formally or informally with the BAE Systems representatives before and after the signing of the governmental contract, inquired whether the royal family was involved in any lobbying on behalf of the company. In an official communique sent to the newspaper, Radu denied any such lobbying activities, stating that as patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce in which BAE Systems is a member, he met with this as well as other British companies' representatives.

ecuritate informer

Prince Radu has been, as are many other prominent public figures, the target of press attacks [ro icon [http://www.banateanul.ro/articol/ziar/timisoara/probleme-la-castel/10349/ "Troubles at The Castle", Banateanul, May 3, 2006] ] [ [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16772 "Romania's Holocaust Progress in Serious Question" by Richard Carlson and Richard Gooding, Front Page Magazine, January 28, 2005] ] of having been an informer of Romania's dreaded [ [http://www.bhhrg.org/CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=764&CountryID=23&ReportID=248&keyword= "The “Timisoara” Syndrome and the Modern Media," BRITISH HELSINKI HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP] ] [ [http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/8839.html "A Romanian Looks at Her Secret File (Why Few Do)," London Daily Telegraph, December 2, 2004] ] [ [http://www.axisglobe.com/news.asp?news=10192 "007 News," AXIS INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS, January 3, 2007] ] Communist secret police Securitate during Ceauşescu's dictatorship.

"Căminul românesc" magazine from Geneva [ro icon [http://www.adevarulonline.ro/2006-10-13/Prima%20Pagina/franck-un-securist-in-casa-regala_202008.html "Franck: A Securitate Man in The Royal House", Adevarul, October 13, 2006] ] [ [http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1098 "Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review," AXIS INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS, 16.10.2006] ] published an article by Nicolette (Nicoleta) Franck, a journalist close to King Michael, about whom she wrote many books [ [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19780401fabook14479/nicolette-franck/la-roumanie-dans-l-engrenage.html La Roumanie dans l'Engrenage. Nicolette Franck. Paris and Brussels: Elsevier Sequoia, 1977, 269 pp. - review by Foreign Affairs, April 1978] ] . The article alleged that Radu Duda was a Securitate agent infiltrated in the Royal House so as to compromise it, on orders from Ion Iliescu, the former high ranking Communist president of Romania and allegedly friend of Radu's father, also a former high ranking Communist. No proof of these allegations was offered.

In an article published by Adevarul daily, Prince Radu denied allegations of his supposed involvement with the Securitate: "I have not collaborated with the Securitate…in 1986 there was an attempt to recruit me. I refused politely and I was never contacted again." [ro icon [http://www.adevarulonline.ro/2006-09-01/Prima%20Pagina/principele-radu-in-malaxorul-dosarelor_196842.html "Prince Radu Caught in the Files Grinder", Adevarul, September 1, 2006] ] The article revealed that in 1989 Radu’s name was found on a list of 1,000+ people entitled "support persons" of the Securitate. In another interview for the same daily [ro icon [http://www.adevarulonline.ro/2006-09-02/Prima%20Pagina/am-inceput-demersul-legal-pentru-a-dovedi-ca-n-am-colaborat_196927.html "Prince Radu: I Have Begun Legal Procedures To Prove I Was Not An Informer", Adevarul, September 2, 2006] ] , Radu explained that in 1986 he had been asked by the Securitate to collaborate due to his successful career as an actor: "Everybody who was somebody knew that there was this risk" to be called upon by Securitate to become an informer. At that time Radu had been working on a Iaşi stage as a theater graduate for two years and was about to go on his second and last theater tour abroad to Israel [ro icon [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/640165/Radu-Duda-principele-din-guvern/ "Radu Duda, The Prince in The Government", Evenimentul Zilei, January 28, 2004] ] , accompanying two renowned Romanian actors. The former head of the local Iaşi branch of Securitate explained in an interview [ro icon [http://www.cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=6786&art=17152&cHash=a223811804 "Prince Radu on The List of Secu' Supporters", Cotidianul, September 2, 2006] ] that a "support person" such as Duda and the other people on the 1,000+ list were not informers, did not sign any agreement with the Securitate, nor did they receive money, but were Communist Party members, in particular people who traveled abroad, targeted by the Securitate with the Party's approval to carry out well-defined missions for a limited period of time. He also confirmed in a subsequent interview [ro icon [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/430570/Cum-il-informa-Secu-pe-Iliescu/ "How Secu informed Iliescu", Evenimentul Zilei, February 16, 2007] ] that the list in question is real.

It has also been reported [ [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/636756/The-Watchtower-The-king-and-the-jester/ "The King and The Jester", Evenimentul Zilei, December 18, 2003] ] that "many of the royal family's supporters have stopped offering financial aids after Radu Duda joined the Royal House. Wealthy Romanians in exile, who have been surveyed by the communist era political police Securitate even in subway stations, considered the compromise as intolerable."

The title scandal

In August 2004, representatives of HSH Karl Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, accused Radu [http://www.princeradu.ro/?id2=000200040016&lng=1 "The Prime Minister proposed Radu Duda a seat as a Senator of the Democrat Social Party (ruling party in Romania),"] Mediafax news agency, August 6, 2004] of using the Hohenzollern name without permission as well as of having demanded "considerable" sums of money from whomever may be interested in buying it. The Hereditary Prince also warned Radu that the Hohenzollern family would take "legal measures" in case these things were to happen again and demanded him not to use the title of "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" any longer. The Hereditary Prince is the son of HSH Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who had granted Radu an "ad personam" "name" of "Prinz von Hohenzollern-Veringen" on January 1, 1999. The scandal is believed to have been instigated by a descendant of King Carol II and friend of the Hereditary Prince, Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern [ [http://www.ziua.ro/display.php?id=154729&data=2004-08-13 "Masonry and dynasty"] , Ziua, August 13, 2004] , whose father Carol won two lawsuits in Portugal and France which recognised him as the legitimate son of Carol II, without any dynastic or title rights. Radu has sued the London based "Royalty Monthly" magazine for libel [ [http://www.carter-ruck.com/newsletter_sum2005.pdf "Prince Radu of Hohenzollern has instructed Ruth Collard to pursue his claim for libel against the editor and publishers of Royalty Monthly magazine,” Carter-Ruck Summer 2005 Newsletter] ] [ [http://www.carter-ruck.com/recentwork/index.html "Prince Radu of Hohenzollern has won his appeal to the Court of Appeal," Recent cases - Carter-Ruck: media and human rights lawyers] ] for publishing these allegations in an article. Prince Radu has not ceased to use the name and title "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" and there is no evidence that further legal measures have been taken by the Hohenzollern family.

The military rank

Some [ro icon [http://cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=7849&art=20183&cHash=4a3b257e9b "The Fascinating Military Rise of Prince Hohenzollern Duda", Cotidianul, November 11, 2006] ] [ro icon [http://www.cronicaromana.ro/opinii-in-contrasenspenalizari-si-autopenalizari.html "Penalties and Self-penalties", Cronica Romana, November 11, 2006] ] have contested the legality of Radu's meteoric rise in the Romanian Army from a reserve non-comissioned officer to the rank of active colonel in much less time than that prescribed for ordinary advancements. The former Chief of Army Staff has argued that his activation was done at Radu's own request, while his promotion was granted for "extraordinary" merits, such as Radu's lobby for Romania's admission into NATO. Radu's official response argues, however, that his own activation was not as result of any unilateral request, but of a joint request of both the Royal House and the Defence Ministry.

Wikipedia

On his personal blog [ro icon [http://www.princeradublog.ro/?p=1428 "{ 2 } Answer for NN" ("{ 2 } Raspuns pentru NN")] , [http://www.princeradublog.ro/ Prince Radu blog] , as retrieved on February 5, 2008] , in response to anonymous complaints about edits made to this article as well as to the "Michael I of Romania" article, Radu expressed his dissatisfaction with the "" elements who, as he has seen, have "" Wikipedia. In the same message, Radu states he never reads Wikipedia.

Political support

Between September 2002 and September 2008, Prince Radu maintained an official position as Special Representative of the Romanian Government under two successive administrations, that of the socialist PSD coalition Government as well as that of the centrist-right "Dreptate si Adevar" ("Justice and Truth") Alliance coalition Government. Meanwhile the main pro-monarchist party PNTCD, currently extra-parliamentarian, has been rejecting any role for him or Princess Margarita in a restored monarchy [ro icon [http://www.ziua.ro/display.php?data=2002-03-01&id=84650 "PNTCD Plans The Restoration of Monarchy through Prince Nicholas", Ziua, March 1, 2002] ] [ro icon [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/538501/PNTCD-cauta-un-Rege/ "PNTCD Is Looking for A King", Evenimentul Zilei, March 1, 2002] ] . In 2003, however, the Cluj branch of PNTCD officially invited Princess Margarita to be its candidate to the Senate in the upcoming elections [ro icon [http://www.zf.ro/articol_28580/principesa_margareta__invitata_sa_candideze.html "Princess Margareta Invited to Run for Office", Ziarul Financiar, July 24, 2003] ] [ro icon [http://evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/623146/Principesa-la-Senat/ "The Princess in The Senate", Evenimentul Zilei, July 25, 2003] ] . The current president of Romania Traian Basescu does not appreciate Radu [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articole/124462/the-president-is-afraid-of-the-royal-house! "The President is afraid of the Royal House!"] , Jurnalul National, May 13, 2008] and thinks he is detrimental to the Romanians' public perception of the idea of monarchy. [ro icon [http://www.gandul.info/politic/doi-ani-basescu-iliescu-au-sarit-iubire-ura.html?3928;312026 "In two years, Basescu and Iliescu jumped from love to hatred"] , Gandul, May 15, 2007] [ro icon [http://www.cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=10747&art=28744 "Basescu said Iliescu knew he would be accused of genocide"] , Cotidianul, May 15, 2007] Radu is seen as nurturing ambitions to run for the presidency in the upcoming 2009 elections. [ro icon [http://www.cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=17241&art=41905 "Other possible presidency candidates"] , Cotidianul, January 24, 2008] As of February 28, 2008, Radu intends to resign from his "seven year"-old governmental position as Special Representative, which he has held since September 2002, and to not take it up again with a future government. [ro icon [http://www.mediafax.ro/politic/radu-duda-vrea-sa-se-retraga-din-postul-de-reprezentant-special-al-guvernului.html?1687;2420803 "Radu Duda intends to leave his position as special representative of the government"] , Mediafax news agency, February 28, 2008] On September 17, 2008 Radu resigned his governmental position.

In a 2004 poll conducted by the PSD (SDP) party ["SDP Trails its Leader With 7% of the Votes", Jurnalul National, August 18, 2004] , of whose coalition government he was at that time the Special Representative, Prince Radu scored just 3.4% as a potential candidate in the upcoming Romanian presidential elections. In a more recent 2006 opinion poll [ [http://ziua.net/display.php?data=2006-05-04&id=198892 Romanians' view on monarchy, Ziua, May 4, 2006] ] taken by an institute affiliated with the Royal House in running many of its public events [ro icon [http://ue.mae.ro/index.php?lang=ro&id=31&s=22934&arhiva=true The Royal House launched the program "Romanian - A 30 year vision", Foreign Affairs Ministry website, as of November 3, 2007] ] and its hospitality management school [ro icon [http://www.princeradu.ro/index.php/rss2.php?id2=000100080003&lng= The Elisabeth Palace soirees from 2002 until today] , [http://www.princeradu.ro/ the website of Prince Radu] , as of March 4, 2008] [ro icon [http://www.irecson.ro/news/index.php?id2=010001001 "A prestigious presence in Bucharest - Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) – Switzerland"] , [http://www.irecson.ro/ Irecson website] , retrieved on March 4, 2008] , 48.80% of those questioned answered that it would be good for Prince Radu to accept a state function, while 46.41% were of the opposite opinion. The same 2006 poll showed that 66% of the Romanians interviewed would like to see a more active involvement of the Royal House in the democratisation and development of Romania. In a 2008 poll, Radu was preferred as president of Romania by 2.6% of the Romanian electorate. [ro icon [http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/sondaj-basescu-ramane-pe-locul-intai-in-preferintele-electoratului/342008 "Poll: Basescu remains on the first position in the electorate's preferences"] , Adevarul, February 20, 2008]

Filmography

* "Laissez-passer" (2002) .... Andrejew
* "Ciocârlia" (2002) (TV) ....
* "Capitaine Conan" (1996) .... Insp. Stefanesco

ee also

* Line of succession to the Romanian throne
* [http://www.princeradu.ro Personal webpage]
* An [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16772 article] about Radu Duda signed by a former US Ambassador, Voice of America director, and member of the U.S. delegation to the annual US-USSR Information Talks in Moscow and Washington, D.C., well-informed about ex-communist countries, [http://www.defenddemocracy.org/biographies/biographies_show.htm?doc_id=160038 Richard Carlson] .
* An [http://ro.novopress.info/?p=266 article] about Radu Duda's title and political activity.
*

References

External links

* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/romania.html Royal House of Romania]