Ludovic Orban | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister of Romania | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 November 2019 – 7 December 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| President | Klaus Iohannis | ||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Raluca Turcan | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Viorica Dăncilă | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Florin Cîțu | ||||||||||||||||
| President of the Chamber of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 22 December 2020 – 13 October 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Marcel Ciolacu | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Marcel Ciolacu | ||||||||||||||||
| President of theNational Liberal Party | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 17 June 2017 – 25 September 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alina Gorghiu | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Florin Cîțu | ||||||||||||||||
| President of theForce of the Right | |||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 14 December 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Transport | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 April 2007 – 22 December 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Radu Berceanu | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Radu Berceanu | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1963-05-25)25 May 1963 (age 62) | ||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Force of the Right (FD) (2021–present) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | National Liberal Party (PNL) (1998–2021) Liberal Party 1993 (PL '93) (1993–1997) | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Mihaela Orban | ||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Education | Transilvania University of Brașov (UNITBV) National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Unitarian | ||||||||||||||||
Ludovic Orban (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈludovikˈorban]; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who was theprime minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of theNational Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled him shortly after he lost a bid for another term as its leader. He was alsominister of transport from April 2007 to December 2008 in thesecond Tăriceanu cabinet.
From 2008 to 2016, he was a member of theChamber of Deputies forBucharest. He resumed his parliamentary seat within the Chamber of Deputies after the2020 Romanian legislative election; shortly thereafter, he was electedpresident of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania. He resigned from this position in October 2021. Two months later, he founded a newcentre-right political party, theForce of the Right (FD).
Orban was born in theTransylvanian city ofBrașov[1] to anethnic Hungarian father and anethnic Romanian mother.[2] He was baptized and confirmed into his father’sUnitarian Church of Transylvania, and speaks Hungarian at a basic level. Between 1948 and 1956, under the earlycommunist regime, the elder Orban was an agent of theSecuritate secret police.[3] Orban completed secondary studies at the city'sAndrei Șaguna High School in 1982. He then studied industrial machinery design technology at theUniversity of Brașov, graduating in 1988. In 1993, he completed post-graduate studies in political science at theNational School of Administration and Political Science of Bucharest.[2]
From 1988 to 1990, a period that spanned theRomanian Revolution, he trained as an engineer at an insulation factory inTârgu Secuiesc.[3][2] He worked as an engineer at a Brașov factory from 1990 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, he wrote for the dailyViitorul Românesc, and between 1997 and 2001, he held a series of government and agency positions at the Energy Policy Agency, the Disabled Persons Directorate, the Public Information Department, the National Public Employee Agency and the National Centre for Communications and Public Relations Specialisation. He has also been active in a foundation called "Children, the light of the world" and done consulting work.[2]
.jpg)
Orban was aSector 3 local councillor from 1992 to 1996. He was elected aSector 1 local councillor that year, but resigned. From 1992 to 1997, he was an advisor for theLiberal Party 1993 (PL '93) (belonging to the party's executive committee between 1993 and 1997) and its predecessor PNL-AT, two splinter groups of the mainNational Liberal Party (PNL) which sided with theRomanian Democratic Convention during the mid- to late-1990s. In 1998, he joined the PNL's national council, after the PL '93 merged into it. From 2001 to 2002, he sat on the PNL's permanent central bureau and, in 2002, joined the party's public administration committee. He headed the Bucharest chapter of the PNL from November 2002 and, from July 2004 to April 2007, was deputy mayor of Bucharest.[2]
He left this office following a cabinet reshuffle, becoming transport minister[1] until his party's loss at the2008 election,[4] where he himself won a seat in a Bucharest constituency.[5] While minister, he also ran for mayor of Bucharest as part of the2008 local elections, losing in the first round by finishing in fourth place with 11.4% of the vote.[6] In March 2009, concurrent with his allyCrin Antonescu's ascent to the PNL presidency and the sidelining of the Tăriceanu faction, Orban became the party's vice president.[7] He ran for the party presidency in December 2014 and was defeated byAlina Gorghiu on a 47–28 vote.[8] Orban was a candidate in theJune 2016 race for mayor of Bucharest,[9] but two months before the election, withdrew from the race as well as from his PNL and Chamber posts after being placed under investigation by theNational Anticorruption Directorate.[10] He was not a candidate in the2016 parliamentary election.[11] In January 2017, theHigh Court of Cassation and Justice acquitted him on a charge of influence peddling.[12] The following month, he announced his candidacy for the PNL leadership;[13] he went on to defeatCristian Bușoi by a 78–21 margin.[14]
.jpg)
In October 2019, after the fall ofViorica Dăncilă's government, PresidentKlaus Iohannis designated Orban asprime minister.[15] His cabinet received parliamentary approval the following month, with 240 lawmakers voting in favor, seven more than required.[16] His government was ousted via ano-confidence motion in February 2020, with 261 lawmakers voting in favor.[17] The following month, a new Orban-led cabinet received parliamentary approval on a 286–23 vote. Most PNL representatives, including Orban himself, were absent due to suspected exposure toCOVID-19. TheSocial Democrats (PSD) voted in favor of the cabinet, giventhe emergency circumstances, while pledging concerted opposition.PRO Romania voted against.[18] Orban resigned in December, following the PNL's poor performance at theparliamentary election.[19] At the same time, Orban himself won a new term in the Chamber.[20] Once the new parliament convened, he was electedits president, defeating his PSD rival by a vote of 179–110.[21]
In 2021, Orban ran for a new term as PNL president. During the campaign, he staked out aliberal conservative position, emphasizing a commitment to traditional values and rejecting what he termed "neo-Marxist progressivism".[22] In September, during a party congress, Orban was defeated byFlorin Cîțu on a 2,878–1,898 vote, or around 60%-40%.[23] Shortly thereafter, he submitted his resignation as Chamber president to Cîțu.[24] The latter not having taken any action by mid-October, Orban quit by notifying the Chamber secretariat himself.[25] In November, the PNL leadership expelled Orban from the party.[26] The following month, he founded a newcentre-right party,Force of the Right (FD).[27] In October 2025, Orban became domestic political advisor to PresidentNicușor Dan.[28]
Orban is a somewhat controversial figure, known for his provocative declarations. A fierce critic of the formerpresident,Traian Băsescu, he called him an "imbecile" for referring to the "imbecile" attitude of a minister during summer 2008 floods,[29] and once shouted, "The President is the lastSauron to rule in this realm of darkness!", referencingThe Lord of the Rings ofJ.R.R. Tolkien.[30]
He also criticised theEmil Boc government, which during 2009 was composed of the Băsescu-associatedDemocratic Liberal Party and theSocial Democrats, referring to the latter party's then-leader,Mircea Geoană, as Băsescu's "steward";[31] and attacking cabinet policies on education,[32] tourism promotion (which he sees as an unnecessary luxury),[33] and the2008 financial crisis (where he foresaw the government being unable to pay pensions and salaries).[34] Speaking to a group of female PNL members inAlba County in March 2006, he drew accusations of sexism for saying, "You need not go through any boss's bed to reach important public positions," and declaring thatMioara Mantale,Elena Udrea and party colleagueRaluca Turcan had done so, but notMona Muscă orNorica Nicolai.[35] Driving inCotroceni in December 2007, his car hit a 16-year-old girl, forcing her hospitalisation; despite a call by the prime minister,Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, for his resignation,[36] Orban refused to do so and prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges, although his license was suspended and he was fined.[37]
Orban and his wife Mihaela have one son.[2] His brother,Leonard Orban, is the formerEuropean Commissioner for Multilingualism.[38] He is unrelated toViktor Orbán, and has said that their sharing a name is often a source of shame for him.[39]
| Election | Affiliation | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 2024 | FD (endorsed byPMP,AD, PNȚ-MM) | 20,089 | 0.22% | 11th | Not qualified | ||
| Election | Affiliation | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 2008 | PNL | 64,636 | 11.85% | 4th | Not qualified | ||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Transport 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Romania 2019–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Chamber of Deputies 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theNational Liberal Party 2017–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Position established | Leader of theForce of the Right 2021–present | Incumbent |
.svg)
