Two new ministerial replacements in Romania: foreign affairs and culture

President Traian Basescu signed the appointment of Mihnea Motoc as Romania’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, after Teodor Melescanu resigned from the office yesterday. The opposition, the civil society and the diaspora urged Melescanu to step back, for not having set up additional election polls outside the country. Many Romanians living abroad were not able to cast their vote at the presidential elections last Sunday, after waiting for hours in line. Basescu also signed the appointment of Hegedüs Csilla, from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), as the new Minister of Culture, after UDMR announced it would not leave the coalition government. Since April 2008, Mihnea Motoc has been Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Romania to the European Union, after previously fulfilling these tasks at the UN for five years. editor@romania-insider.com (photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)