Ilie Sârbu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the Senate of Romania | |
| In office 28 October 2008 – 13 December 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Nicolae Văcăroiu |
| Succeeded by | Mircea Geoană |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-05-26)26 May 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Mariana Sârbu |
| Children | Daciana Sârbu |
| Alma mater | University of Craiova |
Ilie Sârbu (born 26 May 1950) is aRomanian theologian, economist and politician. A member of theSocial Democratic Party (PSD), he sat in theRomanian Senate from 2004 to 2015, representingTimiș County. In theAdrian Năstase cabinet, he wasAgriculture Minister from 2000 until July 2004, and he held the same position in theEmil Boc cabinet between 2008 and 2009. He wasSenate President for six weeks in 2008.
He and his wife Mariana have a daughter,Daciana Sârbu. She, in turn, is married toVictor Ponta, who served alongside Ilie Sârbu in the Boc cabinet.[1][2]
He was born inCiuta,Caraș-Severin County and holds two degrees, one obtained in 1975 from theSibiu Theological Institute and one in 1998 from theUniversity of Craiova Economics Faculty, with a Management specialty.[3] He also studied Theology inGeneva (1984–1985),English inBirmingham (1989) and Finance in Germany (1994). Sârbu became a professor at theCaransebeș Theological Seminary in 1976 and its director in 1978,[4] remaining until 1981. From 1981 to 1991, he was an economic adviser at theMetropolis of Banat of theRomanian Orthodox Church.[5] During 2006, two accusations were made that Sârbu collaborated with theSecuritate during the 1980s. The first came from a former Timiș County agent, who charged that Sârbu had been recruited for a mission to theVatican; the latter denied this and presented aCNSAS certificate confirming that his name does not figure in existing files as having been an informant or agent. Then, after a second CNSAS certificate again exonerated him, it emerged that Sârbu's name appeared on a list belonging to the former spy Liviu Turcu, and that he had been a domestic agent; Sârbu vehemently denied the new claim (labelling Turcu a "traitor") and said he had in fact been under Securitate surveillance.[6]
Following the1989 Revolution, Sârbu entered business, working as the director of Fangmeier, aTimișoara-based grain distributor, from 1991 until 2000.[4] In 1992, he helped secure the firstMcDonald's contract for Romania.[5] He also joined the PDSR (predecessor of the PSD) in 1993.[4] From that year until 2001, he was vice president of the Timiș County party chapter, and also sat on the party's national council. From 2001 to 2004 he was a member of the PSD's central coordinating bureau. Since 2004 he has headed the PSD's Timiș County chapter, and since 2005 he has been a vice president of the national party. During 2000, he was president of the Timiș County Council, and was appointed Agriculture Minister at the end of that year.[7] In this capacity, he led and finalised negotiations with theEuropean Union on the Agriculture chapter of theacquis. Several scandals affected his term: in 2001, he was accused of criminal involvement in theprivatisation of aPrahova County company, but later cleared; in 2003, a number of national newspapers alleged that he obtained a spacious central Bucharest villa at far below market value through a shady deal; also, he lost atesticle in a hunting accident that December.[4] He was dismissed in July 2004 byPrime MinisterAdrian Năstase so he could focus on party work, and stated the move came as "a surprise" to him.[8]
Later in 2004, Sârbu waselected senator, serving as the body's secretary and, from October to December 2008, as its president,[7] being elected to that position following the resignation ofNicolae Văcăroiu.[9] In 2008, he wasre-elected senator[10] and named Agriculture Minister once again.[3] In this capacity, he pledged to find new markets for Romanian agricultural products and to obtain additional funds through theEuropean Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.[11] Regarding the latter priority, at the April 2009Council of Ministers meeting, he secured a commitment to raise subsidies by€35 per hectare, benefiting around 1.25 million farmers.[12] Previously, he had fired 60 managers at the agency responsible for distributing the EU funds because of repeated delays in starting payments.[13] Together with his PSD colleagues, Sârbu resigned from the cabinet on 1 October 2009 in protest at the dismissal of vice prime minister and Interior MinisterDan Nica.[14] The following August, he was elected PSD leader in the Senate.[15] In August 2015, he announced his withdrawal from politics, ahead of a planned confirmation to theCourt of Accounts;[16] this took place the following month.[17] Between 2014 and 2018, when the case was dropped, theNational Anticorruption Directorate investigated him for illegally privatizing 44,000 hectares of forests owned byRomsilva, alongsideViorel Hrebenciuc. In late 2023, Environment MinisterMircea Fechet named Sârbu to Romsilva’s governing board.[18]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 2000–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Romanian Senate 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
