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Adrian Năstase | |
|---|---|
 Năstase in 2006 | |
| Prime Minister of Romania | |
| In office 28 December 2000 – 21 December 2004 | |
| President | Ion Iliescu |
| Preceded by | Mugur Isărescu |
| Succeeded by | Eugen Bejinariu(Acting) Călin Popescu Tăriceanu |
| President of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 21 December 2004 – 15 March 2006 | |
| President | Traian Băsescu |
| Preceded by | Valer Dorneanu |
| Succeeded by | Bogdan Olteanu |
| In office 1 March 1992 – 22 November 1996 | |
| President | Ion Iliescu |
| Preceded by | Dan Marțian |
| Succeeded by | Ion Diaconescu |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 28 June 1990 – 18 November 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Petre Roman Theodor Stolojan |
| Preceded by | Sergiu Celac |
| Succeeded by | Teodor Meleșcanu |
| President of theSocial Democratic Party | |
| In office 20 December 2000 – 21 January 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Ion Iliescu |
| Succeeded by | Mircea Geoană |
| Member of theChamber of Deputies | |
| In office 18 June 1990 – 20 June 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-06-22)22 June 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party(2001–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Romanian Communist Party(Before 1989) National Salvation Front (1989–1992) Democratic Front of National Salvation(1992–1993) Party of Social Democracy in Romania(1993–2001) |
| Spouse(s) | Ilinca Preoteasa(Divorced) Dana Miculescu |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
Adrian Năstase (Romanian pronunciation:[adriˈannəsˈtase]; born 22 June 1950) is aRomanianjurist,academic/professor,[1]blogger,[2] and formerpolitician who served as theprime minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.
He competed in the2004 presidential election as theSocial Democratic Party (PSD) candidate, but was defeated by thecentre-rightJustice and Truth Alliance (DA) candidateTraian Băsescu who pertained at that time to theDemocratic Party (PD).
He was the president of theChamber of Deputies from 21 December 2004 until 15 March 2006, when he resigned due to corruption charges. Sentenced to two years in prison in July 2012, he attempted suicide before beginning his term in the penitentiary. Released in March 2013, he was sentenced to four years in another case in January 2014, but released that August.
A controversial figure due to the corruption scandals in which he was involved, Năstase is still regarded by both admirers and rivals (including his archrivalTraian Băsescu),[3] as the best and most efficient Romanian post-communist Prime Minister, being praised for his efforts of Euro-Atlantic integration of Romania and for the stabilization and modernization of the Romanian economy.[4][5][6][7][8]
Năstase was born inBucharest to a family that originated from Hanul de Pământ village,Tărtășești commune,Dâmbovița County. His father, Marian Năstase, was an officer of the RoyalRomanian Army. His mother is named Elena and he has a sister, Dana Barb (née Năstase).
Adrian Năstase finished high school atNicolae Bălcescu High School (nowSaint Sava National College) and then graduated from theUniversity of Bucharest, receiving degrees from both the Department of Law and the Department of Sociology. He worked at various times as a professor, judge, and as president of several organizations involved with law and international relations.
On 31 July 1985, he marriedDana Miculescu, the daughter ofAngelo Miculescu [ro]. They have two sons, Andrei (b. 12 February 1986) and Mihnea (b. 23 June 1993).
Năstase was first elected to theChamber of Deputies of Romania as member of theNational Salvation Front party on 9 June 1990 and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the governments ofPetre Roman andTheodor Stolojan (28 June 1990 – 16 October 1992).
In 1992, he was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of theDemocratic National Salvation Front (FDSN) and served as the president of the Chamber of Deputies. Between 1993 and 1997, he was also the executive president of theParty of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR, formerly the FDSN).
When the PDSR lost the1996 elections, Năstase became leader of the opposition PDSR parliamentary group, vice-president of Chamber of Deputies, and member of Standing Bureau and Member of the Romanian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of theCouncil of Europe where he was the Recording Secretary of Council of Europe commission on judicial problems and human rights with reference to illegal activities byreligious sects.
After the victory of the PDSR in the 2000 legislative elections and the re-election ofIon Iliescu as president of Romania, Năstase was elected president of the PDSR, which soon changed its name to theSocial Democratic Party (PSD) after merging with another party. Năstase remainedPSD president until April 2005 when he was replaced by former foreign ministerMircea Geoană at a party congress. At the same congress, Năstase was elected to be PSD executive president, the second most senior position in the party.
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Năstase was confirmed by the Parliament as prime minister on 28 December 2000, following his appointment to the position in days before by PresidentIon Iliescu. He held the position concurrently with his leadership of thePSD. His four years as prime minister were characterized by unprecedented political stability in post-communist Romania, continuous economic growth, and a foreign policy strongly oriented toward the West, although during 2001, the press and some of the political opposition questioned this in light of his close association with formerSecuritate agentRistea Priboi.[9] Romania joinedNATO, and committed Romanian troops in support of international efforts in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
His government completed accession negotiations with theEuropean Union (EU) and aggressively passed legislation and implemented a number of reforms required for EU accession, which was subsequently completed with the2007 enlargement of the European Union. His government successfully negotiated the lifting ofvisa restrictions on Romanians traveling to EUSchengen treaty countries.
Inflation decreased and theRomanian leu became stronger. However, critics pointed out that this was at least partially due to an influx of foreign currency into Romania from the estimated two million Romanians working abroad. GDP also grew substantially during each year of his term, with a growth of 8.3% achieved in 2004, the highest in the region. Average wages similarly grew, although they did not match the pace of economic growth. For example, in 2004 wages grew by 10.4%, with a 9.2% inflation rate, thereby leading to a real wage growth of 1.2%, in a year when GDP grew by 7%.
The Năstase government did not make substantial inroads on a number of important issues in Romanian society, such as agricultural policy: about 42% of Romanians continued to work in agriculture (compared to 3% ofFrench and 19% ofPoles). Critics also pointed out that economic growth was not evenly distributed among the social classes, and the percentage of people living below the poverty level remained high, especially in the rural areas.
Although the government took initial steps toward meaningful judicial reform, the government was repeatedly criticized, including by the EU, for failing to combat substantially widespreadcorruption, including at the highest levels.
In 2002, Năstase was appointed a Grand Cross of theOrder of the Star of Romania, which was revoked in December 2019 because of his double criminal indictment.
The2004 presidential election cycle marked the end of the second term of PresidentIon Iliescu, who, according to the constitution, could not serve another term. ThePSD selected Năstase to be its presidential candidate. His running mate (selected to be prime minister in the event of a Năstase win) was then Foreign MinisterMircea Geoană.
Throughout the autumn of 2004, opinion polls predicted Năstase would win, boosted in areas and among sectors where thePSD traditionally received strong support: in rural areas, in small and medium-sized towns in the south and east of the country, and among pensioners and labor groups. The PSD, which remained by far the largest single political party in the country, was also expected to rely on its network of local party organizations to ensure voters came to the polls.
Năstase was ahead by a substantial margin during 28 November first round of thepresidential elections, although he received less than 50 percent of the vote, and therefore was required to compete in a 12 December run-off election against second place center-rightJustice and Truth Alliance (DA) candidateTraian Băsescu. Independent civil society organizations alleged incidents of fraud in Năstase's favor during the first round of the elections, including alleged multiple voting by PSD supporters as a result of poor controls on voter identification and flaws in the electronic vote tabulation.
At the time the polls closed on the evening of the run-off election, major media outlets released the results of exit polls showing a tie between Năstase and Băsescu. Nonetheless, Băsescu and his supporters interpreted the results as clear indication of a victory. Tens of thousands of Băsescu's supporters converged onUniversity Square in the center ofBucharest, and in other parts of the country, to celebrate his presumed victory. The next morning, authorities released figures confirming Băsescu's win. Năstase received only 48.77% of the total vote.
Năstase later attributed his surprise defeat to a number of factors, including what he characterized as a failure ofHumanist Party (PC) politicians to campaign on his behalf (the Humanist Party had an electoral pact with the PSD at that time); and the endorsement of Băsescu byGreater Romania Party (PRM) leaderCorneliu Vadim Tudor. Other likely factors include Băsescu's strong performance during the second presidential debate, as well as persistent allegations of corruption against Năstase and the PSD.
Despite Năstase's presidential defeat, the PSD still won the largest bloc of seats in the Parliament in the concurrent legislative elections. Following the elections and in the interim period before Băsescu's DA Alliance was able to form a coalition majority, the PSD succeeded in obtaining sufficient support within the parliament to elect Năstase as president of theChamber of Deputies. Former PSD Prime MinisterNicolae Văcăroiu was elected president of theSenate in the same circumstances. Năstase resigned as prime minister the day after Băsescu's inauguration. Later on, at the request of Cozmin Gușă, the campaign manager of Traian Băsescu, who resigned from Băsescu's party after he got elected, requested the release of the official results regarding the alleged fraud of the 2004 elections. The investigation concluded that there were no hard evidence of this fraud and that the elected president, Traian Băsescu, had no proofs to make that statement. The accusation of stealing the elections heavily helped Băsescu win the elections, some political analysts argue.
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On 30 January 2012, the courts gave Năstase a two-year prison sentence for misuse of a publicly funded conference to raise cash for his unsuccessful campaign in 2004. Năstase claimed the sentence was influenced by rival politicianTraian Băsescu, at the timePresident of Romania, and indicated that if necessary, he would take his case to theEuropean Court of Human Rights.[10][11] Responding to the allegations, Băsescu denied the charges were political in nature and claimed they stemmed from denunciations made by members of Năstase's party.[12]
Adrian Năstase was convicted of corruption charges on 20 June 2012 and sentenced to a 2-year imprisonment term. At the time when the sentence was pronounced, he was the only head of government sentenced to prison in the 23 years following theRomanian Revolution.[11][10]
When the police arrived at his home to arrest Năstase, he shot himself in the throat in an apparent suicide attempt and was taken to a hospital.[13] Many people now believe that this apparent suicide was in fact a final botched attempt on his part to evade justice. On that night he was removed by ambulance with a Burberry scarf draped about his neck thus hiding any evidence of serious injury from gathered reporters. After receiving treatment during a six-day period, he was moved to Rahova prison and then transferred to Jilava prison on medical grounds, to be treated for his diabetes and heart condition.[13][14]
In January 2014, theRomanian Supreme Court sentenced him to a four-year prison sentence for takingbribes and a three-year prison sentence forblackmail, to run concurrently.[15] As a result, Năstase lost his status as a professor.[16] He was eventually released later the same year, and in December 2021, 7 years later, the Romanian Supreme Court accepted Năstase's request for judicial rehabilitation with respect to the two sentences, after multiple prior attempts. If the decision remains final, Năstase will be once again able to exercise his right to vote and be elected to public office.[17]
In recent years, Năstase advises officials regarding state affairs and international relations, including solving bilateral conflicts and strengthening diplomatic and economic ties between countries and organizations.[18][19]
Năstase has published over 150 pieces onInternational law in Romanian and foreign journals, and has held over 140 talks at international meetings; publications include:
| Election | Affiliation | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 2004 | National Union PSD+PUR | 4,278,864 | 40.9% | 1st | 4,881,520 | 48.8% | 2nd |
Media related toAdrian Năstase at Wikimedia Commons
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1990–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Chamber of Deputies 1992–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Romania 2000–2004 | Succeeded by Eugen Bejinariu Acting |
| Preceded by | President of the Chamber of Deputies 2004–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of theSocial Democratic Party 2000–2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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