Chairman of the Senate Nicolae Vacaroiu to become acting President of Romania

Bucharest, April 20 /Rompres/ - Chairman of the Senate Nicolae Vacaroiu has taken over as Romania's acting President following the suspension of incumbent President Traian Basescu.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the procedure for the suspension of Traian Basescu was observed and that Vacaroiu will become acting President.

***

Nicolae Vacaroiu was born on December 5, 1943, in Bolgrad, today's Republic of Moldova. He is a 1969 best achiever of the Finance-Credit Faculty of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (ASE).

In 1969-1972 he worked as an economist with the Institute of Design and Planning of Ilfov County. He walked up the career ladder to become manager of economic-financial syntheses. He became associate professor at the Sociology Faculty of the Bucharest University and the ASE. He has written various specialist articles on economic and financial matters.

After the December 1989 Revolution he got involved in the drawing up of the strategy regarding Romania's transition toward a market economy, particularly the financial, monetary and pricing fields.

On January 1, 1990 he was appointed deputy minister of the newly created Ministry of National Economics, then head of the Pricing Department of the Finance Ministry. Later on he was appointed secretary of state and head of the Rates and Taxes Department of the Finance Ministry.

A former chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Foreign Trade Credit Guarantees, he attended various rounds of negotiations between Romania, the International Monetary Fund and other international financial bodies.

November 1992 - December 1996 he was prime minister of Romania's Government.

On June 16, 2001 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Party of Social Democracy of Romania (PSDR), the now Social Democratic Party (PSD).

A PSDR Arges Senator in 1996-2000, he was elected deputy chairman of the Senate Standing Bureau (September 1999 - November 2000) and chairman of the Senate's Committee on Privatisations (1996 - September 1999).

In November 2000 he became again PSD Senator of Arges, and co-chair of the Bucharest-Chisinau Inter-parliamentary Commission and he held the office of Senate chairman in 2000-2004.

He has been holding the chairmanship of the Romanian Senate since 2004.

Source: Romanian National News Agency ROMPRES