The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has designated Dacian Ciolos as Prime Minister, after Victor Ponta stepped down amid street protests last week.

Ciolos, 46, is an engineer, former Agriculture Minister, and former European Commissioner for Agriculture between 2010 and 2014. Ciolos, a technocrat, will have to create a governmental team which will need support from the Parliament in order to take office.

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“This is a key period for the Romanian society, which has reached a certain maturity. It needs a Government that would to connect politics and the society. This is what people need from the Government, to listen to those who have ideas, to see problems and the solutions, have wisdom and maturity to work with the Parliament and decision makers in order to progress,” said Ciolos upon being nominated.

He added: "One year is a long time – we won’t be able to limit ourselves to certain administrative decisions, but it is also a too short period to complete the reforms the society has been awaiting for."

Prior to naming Ciolos , the Romanian President met the civil society, as well as the leadership of the main political parties. "There was an interesting situation for me: political parties understood the stake and that we need to find a solution together. I see this as a technocrat Government. Political parties agreed to this, with some exceptions, and I believe this is correct until Parliamentary elections when we will have a new Parliament and Government," said Iohannis.

Ciolos holds degrees in the economy of agricultural development from the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Rennes and from the University of Montpellier 1, where he earned a master’s in 1997 and a doctorate in 2006.

He was Agriculture Minister in Calin Popescu Tariceanu’s cabinet from October 2007 until December 2008, and Agriculture Commissioner in Jose Manuel Barroso’s European Commission from February 2010 until November 2014. In July 2015, Barroso’s successor Jean-Claude Juncker named Ciolos as his special adviser on international food security.

editor@romania-insider.com