Who are the women at the forefront of Romanian politics and justice?
Women in politics have been more successful in making their way to top positions in Romania, in recent years, than those in business. Almost one in five (19%) members of the Romanian Parliament are now women and a third of the ministers in the current government, including the prime minister, are women. By comparison, only 11% of the board member positions in local companies are held by women.
Women are also well represented in top positions in the justice system. The majority of judges at Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice are women.
Here’s some of today’s most powerful women in Romanian politics and the justice system:
Women in the Government
Viorica Dancila is Romania’s first woman prime minister, taking over the office in January this year. She has been a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) since 1996, and has held several public positions, such as local councilor in Videle, county council member in Teleorman, before becoming a member of the European Parliament in 2009. She has also been the president of PSD’s women organization since October 2015. Between 1989 and 2009 she worked as a teacher at the Videle High School and then as an engineer at oil and gas group OMV Petrom. Find her CV here.
Sorina Pintea took over as minister of health in the minister led by Viorinca Danica in January this year, before that being the manager of a local hospital (find her CV here). The other two women ministers in the current Romanian Government are Ioana Bran – minister of youth and sports (CV available here) and Natalia-Elena Intotero – minister minister for Romanians everywhere (CV here).
Other powerful women in politics
Gabriela Firea is Bucharest’s first woman mayor, taking over this position in June 2016, when she won the elections with a high score. She is also a member of PSD, and had been a journalist before entering politics, working in radio, newspapers and television. Firea is married to Florentin Pandele, the current mayor of Voluntari, a town near Bucharest. Find more about her and her projects as mayor of Bucharest on her official Facebook page here.
Corina Cretu – European Commissioner for Regional Policy
Corina Cretu has been European Commissioner for Regional Policy since 2014. From this position, she has to identify how EU structural and investment funds can be better geared towards creating jobs and growth, to protect the EU budget from fraud by verifying that regional funds are spent according to the rules, and to monitor the effectiveness of spending programmes to create regional growth. Cretu is also a vice-president of PSD, and served as vice-president of the European Parliament in 2014 and as MEP between 2007 and 2014, among others. More information about Corina Cretu is available here.
Angela Cristea took over as head of the EC representation in Romania in January 2014. With over 20 years of experience in institutional communication management, she worked in Romania, Turkey and Egypt, and after 2010, at the European Commission in Brussels. She studied economics, political sciences, and European affairs.
Powerful women in the judiciary
She has been the chief prosecutor of DNA since 2013. She got the second three-year mandate for this position in 2016. Before being appointed DNA chief prosecutor, she was the Prosecutor General of Romania between 2006 and 2012, leading the Prosecutor General’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. Upon appointment in 2006, Kovesi was the first woman and the youngest Prosecutor General in Romania's history. Her CV is available here.
Cristina Tarcea was appointed president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) in September 2016. She graduated from the Faculty of Law within the Bucharest University in 1985. She was a lawyer in the Ialomita bar between 1985 and 1990. Between 2002 and 2004 she worked as state secretary in the Justice Ministry. She became a deputy president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice in 2013.
Simona Marcu was elected president of the Superior Council of Magistracy in January this year. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest in 1988 and was a jurist, judge at the District Court 1 and the Bucharest Tribunal, president of the department, vice president of the Bucharest Tribunal, judge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal and judge at the High Court of Cassation and Justice - Administrative and Tax Appeals Division.
Five largest Romanian companies led by women
Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com