Ludovic Orban

Ludovic Orban
Orban in 2008
President of the National Liberal Party
Assumed office
17 June 2017
Preceded by Raluca Turcan (acting)
Deputy General Mayor of Bucharest
In office
June 2004 – 5 April 2007
Succeeded by Grigore Ioan Popa
Minister of Transport
In office
5 April 2007 – 22 December 2008
President Traian Băsescu
Nicolae Văcăroiu
Traian Băsescu
Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Preceded by Radu Berceanu
Succeeded by Radu Berceanu
Deputy
In office
December 2008 – December 2016
Constituency No. 41 Bucharest
Personal details
Born 25 May 1963
Braşov
Nationality Romanian
Political party National Liberal Party
Spouse(s) Mihaela Orban
Alma mater Transylvania University of Braşov

Ludovic Orban (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈludovik ˈorban]; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician. The president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), he was Minister of Transport from April 2007 to December 2008 in the second Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet. He was also a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Bucharest from 2008 to 2016.

He and his wife Mihaela have one son.[1] His brother is the former European Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban.[2]

Biography

He was born in Braşov[3] to an ethnic Hungarian father and an ethnic Romanian mother. Orban completed secondary studies at the city's Andrei Şaguna High School in 1982. He then studied automobile design technology at the University of Braşov, graduating in 1988. In 1993, he completed post-graduate studies in Political Science at the National School of Administration and Political Science of Bucharest. From 1988 to 1990 he trained as an engineer at a factory in Târgu Secuiesc, and worked as one at a Braşov factory from 1990 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, he wrote for the daily Viitorul Românesc, and from 1992 to 1997 he was an advisor for the Liberal Party 1993 and its predecessor. 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.[1]

Orban served as a Sector 3 local councillor from 1992 to 1996. He was elected a Sector 1 local councillor that year, but resigned. From 1993 to 1997 he belonged to the executive committee of the Liberal Party 1993, and in 1998 joined the PNL's national council, after the former party 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 has headed the Bucharest chapter of the PNL since November 2002, and from July 2004 to April 2007 was Vice Mayor of Bucharest.[1] He left this office following a cabinet reshuffle, becoming Transport Minister[3] and serving until his party's loss at the 2008 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 the 2008 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 ally Crin 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 by Alina Gorghiu on a 47-28 vote.[8] Orban was a candidate in the June 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 the National Anticorruption Directorate.[10] He was not a candidate in the 2016 election.[11] In January 2017, the High Court of Cassation and Justice acquitted Orban on a charge of influence peddling.[12] The following month, he announced his candidacy for the PNL leadership;[13] he went on to defeat Cristian Bușoi by a 78-21 margin.[14]

Controversies

Orban is a somewhat controversial figure, known for his provocative declarations. A fierce critic of former President Traian Băsescu, he called him an "imbecile" for referring to the "imbecile" attitude of a minister during summer 2008 floods,[15] and once shouted, "The President is the last Sauron to rule in this realm of darkness!"[16] He also criticised the Emil Boc government, which during 2009 was composed of the Băsescu-associated PD-L and the Social Democrats, referring to the latter party's then-leader Mircea Geoană as Băsescu's "steward";[17] and attacking cabinet policies on education,[18] tourism promotion (which he sees as an unnecessary luxury),[19] and the financial crisis (where he foresaw the government being unable to pay pensions and salaries).[20] Speaking to a group of female PNL members in Alba County in March 2006, he drew accusations of sexism for stating, "You need not go through any boss's bed to reach important public positions", declaring that Raluca Turcan (then a party colleague, who later joined the Liberal Democratic Party, afterwards the Democratic Liberal Party, and ending up again in the National Liberal Party after Democrat Liberals merged with the National Liberal Party), Mioara Mantale and Elena Udrea had done so, but not Mona Muscă or Norica Nicolai.[21] Driving in Cotroceni in December 2007, his car hit a 16-year-old girl, forcing her hospitalisation; despite a call by the prime minister for his resignation,[22] Orban refused to do so and prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges, although his license was suspended and he was fined.[23]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 (in Romanian) Curriculum Vitae Archived 2009-01-29 at the Wayback Machine., retrieved February 28, 2009
  2. ↑ (in Romanian) Romulus Georgescu, "Fraţii Orban, în campanie fără voie de la Bruxelles" ("The Orban Brothers, in a Disallowed Campaign at Brussels"), Evenimentul Zilei, 24 May 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
  3. 1 2 (in Romanian) "Guvernul cel mai mic" ("The Smallest Government") Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine., Ziua, 3 April 2007, February 28, 2009
  4. ↑ (in Romanian) Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Cabinet
  5. ↑ (in Romanian) "Udrea, Olteanu şi Orban au obţinut mandate în Camera Deputaţilor" ("Udrea, Olteanu and Orban Have Won Seats in the Chamber of Deputies"), Gândul, 2 December 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
  6. ↑ (in Romanian) Rezultate partiale BEM: Oprescu a obtinut 30,4%, iar Blaga 28,1% ("BEM Partial Results: Oprescu Has Won 30.4%, and Blaga 28.1%"), Financiarul, 2 June 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
  7. ↑ (in Romanian) "Crin de Cotroceni", Ziua, 23 March 2009; retrieved 7 May 2009
  8. ↑ (in Romanian) Iulia Marin, Alina Boghiceanu, Mădălina Mihalache, "Alina Gorghiu este noul preşedinte al PNL" ("Alina Gorghiu Is the New PNL President"), Adevărul, 18 December 2014; accessed December 18, 2014
  9. ↑ (in Romanian) Andreea Udrea, "Ludovic Orban intră în cursa pentru Primăria Capitalei" ("Ludovic Orban Enters Race for Capital's Mayor"), Evenimentul Zilei, 22 February 2016; accessed March 2, 2016
  10. ↑ (in Romanian) Andreea Udrea, "Ludovic Orban renunță la toate funcțiile publice şi politice şi se retrage din cursa pentru Primăria Capitalei" ("Ludovic Orban Resigns All Public and Political Posts and Quits Race for Bucharest Mayor"), Evenimentul Zilei, 11 April 2016; accessed April 11, 2016
  11. ↑ (in Romanian) "Ludovic Orban anunță că nu mai candidează la parlament" ("Ludovic Orban Announces He Will Not Run for Parliament"), inpolitics.ro, 28 September 2016; accessed December 15, 2016
  12. ↑ (in Romanian) Firuța Flutur, "Ludovic Orban, achitat în dosarul privind banii pe care i-ar fi cerut în campania electorală pentru alegerile locale din 2016" ("Ludovic Orban, Acquitted in Case Regarding Money He Allegedly Demanded during 2016 Local Election Campaign"), Mediafax, 31 January 2017; accessed February 1, 2017
  13. ↑ (in Romanian) Cătălina Mănoiu, "Ludovic Orban: Mi-am depus candidatura fermă la funcţia de preşedinte PNL" ("Ludovic Orban: I Have Announced My Firm Candidacy for the PNL Presidency"), Mediafax, 13 February 2907; accessed February 17, 2017
  14. ↑ (in Romanian) Radu Eremia, Laura Andreea Popa, "Ludovic Orban este noul preşedinte al formaţiunii după o victorie zdrobitoare" ("Ludovic Orban Is the New President of His Party after a Crushing Victory"), Adevărul, 17 June 2017; accessed June 17, 2017
  15. ↑ (in Romanian) "Ludovic Orban îl face imbecil pe şeful statului" ("Ludovic Orban Calls the Head of State an Imbecile"), Gândul, 2 August 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
  16. ↑ (in Romanian) "Orban: 'Băsescu e Sauron!'" ("Orban: 'Băsescu is Sauron!'"), Evenimentul Zilei, 19 January 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
  17. ↑ (in Romanian) "Orban: Geoană îi împătureşte izmenele lui Băsescu" ("Orban: Geoană Lays Out Băsescu's Underwear"), Ziua, 18 April 2009; retrieved 6 May 2009
  18. ↑ (in Romanian) "Orban: Pe problemele educaţiei, Guvernul este acela care se află în grevă" ("Orban: On Matters of Education, It Is the Government Which Is on Strike"), Ziua, 4 May 2009; retrieved 7 May 2009
  19. ↑ (in Romanian) "Ludovic Orban: Programul de promovare a turismului românesc este o nesimţire a Guvernului Băsescu-Geoană" ("Ludovic Orban: The Romanian Tourism Promotion Programme Is a Callousness of the Băsescu-Geoană Government"), Ziua, 30 April 2009; retrieved 7 May 2009
  20. ↑ (in Romanian) "Orban: Guvernul va pune România pe butuci şi nu va fi capabil să plătească pensii, prestaţii sociale, salarii in sectorul bugetar la termen" ("Orban: The Government Will Handcuff Romania and Be Unable to Pay Pensions, Social Obligations and Salaries in the Budgetary Sector on Time"), Ziua, 6 May 2009; retrieved 7 May 2009
  21. ↑ (in Romanian) Beatrice Nechita, "Turcan, Mantale, Udrea şi-au făcut carieră prin patul şefilor" ("Turcan, Mantale, Udrea Made Their Careers through Their Bosses' Beds"), Adevărul, 27 March 2006, retrieved February 28, 2009
  22. ↑ (in Romanian) "Ministrul Ludovic Orban refuză să demisioneze" ("The Minister Ludovic Orban Refuses to Resign") Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine., Realitatea, 22 December 2007, retrieved February 28, 2009
  23. ↑ (in Romanian) "Concluzia finala a procurorilor: Ministrul transporturilor, Ludovic Orban, a primit trei NUP-uri" ("Prosecutors' Final Conclusion: The Minister of Transport, Ludovic Orban, Received 3 NUPs") Archived 2008-02-08 at the Wayback Machine., Gardianul, 5 February 2008, retrieved February 28, 2009
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