Ion-Marcel Ciolacu (born 28 November 1967) is a Romanian politician who currently serves as the Prime Minister of Romania. He is also the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
As a previously little known politician outside of Buzău County, where he owns a pastry shop and a consulting firm, Ciolacu came into national prominence when he became the deputy prime minister in 2018 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. Allegedly, he was given this office in order to report Tudose's activities to Liviu Dragnea, who had been unable to become prime minister himself and was wary of Tudose becoming a power player in the party. Ciolacu soon broke with Dragnea and became an ally of Tudose against Dragnea's leadership. After Tudose's resignation, Ciolacu was marginalized within PSD but still retained the leadership of PSD Buzău. Ciolacu once more returned to prominence in 2019 after Liviu Dragnea had been convicted on abuse of office and incitement to intellectual forgery charges, having to serve a 3 years, 6 months sentence. With the Social Democrats still controlling a majority both in the Chamber and in the Senate, Ciolacu won the position of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, with 172 votes for and 120 against, previously held by Dragnea himself.
Following new PSD leader Viorica Dăncilă overwhelming defeat in the 2019 Romanian presidential election, on 26 November 2019, Ciolacu was named leader of the party, firstly ad-interim, until he was confirmed to hold the position by the party congress the next year on 22 August 2020 with an overwhelming 1310–91 margin against his opponent. Ciolacu led the party to victory in the 2020 Romanian legislative election but was not able to form a majority coalition in the new legislative. Other parties opposed to the PSD formed a new coalition on 23 December and formed the new government, thus pushing Ciolacu's PSD in opposition. However, in 2021, following the political crisis that led to the collapse of the Cîțu Cabinet, he managed to bring the PSD back to the government, forming a cabinet with its former rival, the National Liberal Party, thus forming the National Coalition for Romania.
Early life and education
Marcel Ciolacu was born in Buzău as the son of Ion Ciolacu, a career military pilot. In 1995 he obtained a law degree from the Ecological University of Bucharest, which was authorized in May 1995. In 2008 he attended a program in Security and National Defence at the National College of Defence in Bucharest, a controversial university, regarded by some Romanian publications as a "diploma-factory". In 2012 he completed a master's programme in the Management of the Public Sector at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration.
Political career
Early political activity
Marcel Ciolacu has participated in the 1989 Romanian Revolution in Buzău. He has become a member of the National Salvation Front in 1990. During the early nineties, Ciolacu climbed the steps in local politics and by 1996 he became the second-in-command of the Youth Organization of the party. Senator Ion Vasile became the godfather of his child. He remained little known, however, until the mid-2000s. In 2005 he was for several months the interim prefect of Buzau, after which he became, in turn, director of Urbis Serv and deputy mayor of Buzau (2008–2012), while Constantin Boșcodeală was mayor of Buzau (1996–2016). Boșcodeală was later convicted in 2015 for abuse of office during the period 2002–2008, by diverting public funds to a football team and other private companies of which he was a shareholder.
Ciolacu entered national politics in 2012 when he was first elected for a deputy seat in Parliament. In 2015 he was elected PSD president for Buzău County, replacing Boșcodeală who stepped down while being investigated. Ciolacu's election was controversial. He ran against Senator Vasile Ion, who eventually withdrew from the race, accusing Ciolacu of rigging the internal elections. Ciolacu was re-elected to Parliament in 2016.