Former Romanian prime minister Dacian Cioloș appointed honorary advisor to interim president

Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan is set to appoint former prime minister Dacian Cioloș as honorary advisor starting March 20, according to an announcement from the Presidential Administration. He will be responsible for involvement in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of Romania’s strategic partnerships.

Dacian Cioloș served as the prime minister of the technocratic government between November 2015, after the Colectiv nightclub fire led to the fall of the Social Democratic executive led by Victor Ponta, until January 2017. Previously, he was minister of agriculture and the European Commissioner for agriculture.

After serving as PM, he was president of reformist and centrist party Union Save Romania (USR), following the merger between USR and PLUS, the party he founded in 2017. He resigned, however, due to disagreements with other party leaders.

Dacian Cioloș was also an MEP and led the liberal Renew Group in the European Parliament.

After leaving USR, he founded REPER, a party that failed to enter both the European Parliament and the Romanian Parliament in the 2024 elections.

Dacian Cioloș has been absent from the public scene since last year, with minimal involvement in the electoral campaign of REPER.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Octav Ganea)