Băsescu Traian was born in Basarabi (renamed Murfatlar in 2007), near the port city of

Constanța, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. Băsescu's father, Dumitru (d. 2002), was
an army officer. His brother, Mircea (b. 1953), was charged with influence peddling (in exchange
for €250,000 he promised freedom to his godson Florin Anghel, an underworld member). He
was sentenced to four years in prison only after his brother's mandate ended. Băsescu and his
wife Maria have two daughters: Ioana (b. 1977), a notary, and Elena (b. 1980), a Romanian
former MEP.

Professional career[edit]

Băsescu graduated from the Naval Institute of Constanța in 1976 and became a merchant marine
deck officer at Navrom, the Romanian state-owned shipping company. Between 1981 and 1987,
he served as captain on Romanian commercial ships. Throughout his career, questions have been
raised about Băsescu's links to the Securitate, the security services of the communist leader
Nicolae Ceaușescu.[3] However, Băsescu has claimed that his links with the former Securitate
were minimal, though some contact was obligatory at the time for somebody working abroad in
a senior position.[4] In 1984, he was promoted to Captain of the oil tanker Biruința, the largest
ship of the then Romanian commercial fleet. In 1989, Băsescu moved to Belgium to head the
Navrom Agency in Antwerp.[4]

The most controversial episode of his professional career began on 10 September 1981 in the
French port Rouen, when a fire started around the Romanian tanker Argeș, then under the
command of Traian Băsescu, affecting a large portion of the River Seine. The fire destroyed two
tugs and six barges, and major disaster was avoided when 70 French firemen from Rouen, Gran-
Couronne, Grand-Quevily, Canteleu and Moulineaux prevented the fire from reaching the nearby
Shell refinery. According to an interview given by Traian Băsescu to the Romanian TV channel
Prima TV on 23 June 1998 (and quoted by Magazin Nautic, the official publication of the
Romanian Nautical Club), Băsescu admitted to having made alterations to the ship's installation
before the French investigators were allowed to come on board, a thing that — in Băsescu's own
words — made it impossible for the investigators to link the cause of the disaster to the
Romanian ship.[5]

Earlier political career[edit]

Băsescu was a member of the Communist Party before 1989.[6] After the downfall of
Communism, he claimed that he joined the PCR to promote his career in the merchant marines.
[citation needed] In a letter published in Romanian newspapers, former president Emil
Constantinescu alleged that Băsescu was in the second tier of the Communist Party leadership
during the regime of former communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, but had managed to portray
himself as anti-communist.[4] During an interview Traian Băsescu admitted that before 1989 he
smuggled jeans and other goods. A former communist official, a director of a firm that was
receiving the goods transported by Traian Băsescu by ship, said on Antena 3 TV that without
payment of a bribe Traian Băsescu refused to bring the goods in the country.

Băsescu entered politics after the 1989 Romanian Revolution, as a member of the large National
Salvation Front (FSN) party. In April 1991, he became Minister of Transport in Petre Roman's
Cabinet, and continued to hold this position during Theodor Stolojan's "Cabinet of technocrats"
between September 1991 – November 1992. In 1992, after the FSN split into two factions—the
Social Democratic Party of Romania (PDSR, later PSD), led by Ion Iliescu, and the Democratic
Party (PD), led by Petre Roman, Băsescu joined the PD faction. In 1992, he was elected to the
lower house of the Romanian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, then re-elected for the
1996–2000 term.

Concurrently with his second term in Parliament, from November 1996 to June 2000, Băsescu
also served as Minister of Transport in the center-right governments of Victor Ciorbea, Radu
Vasile, and Mugur Isărescu.[citation needed]

In December 1997, he gave an interview to Claudiu Săftoiu of the newspaper Evenimentul Zilei,
in which he accused Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea of not implementing enough reforms,
although Ciorbea was accused by the Socialist opposition of being excessively reformist. This
became the first episode in an open dispute within the ruling center-right coalition, a dispute
that eventually led to Democratic Party ministers, including Băsescu, resigning from the cabinet,
which, in turn, led to Ciorbea's resignation. Subsequently, in 1998, Băsescu resumed his previous
ministerial position in the new cabinet headed by Radu Vasile.[citation needed]

During his tenure as Minister of Transportation, Băsescu oversaw the privatization of Romania's
merchant fleet.[citation needed] While some argued that the aging ships at the time were of
minimal value,[citation needed] many Romanians believed the compensation received for the
ships was artificially low.[citation needed] The "scandal" of the fleet sale became known in
Romania as The Fleet File (Dosarul Flota) Affair. Prosecutors brought charges against Băsescu,
[citation needed] but it was not proven that he was involved in any malfeasance. In 1996,
Băsescu was the first Romanian parliamentarian to renounce his parliamentary immunity, in
order to allow judicial procedures related to the Fleet File Affair to continue against him.
(Romanian MPs were, by default, granted immunity from prosecution of any kind.)[citation
needed] Although the case against him was closed at the time for lack of evidence,[citation
needed] it was reopened in early 2004, in what some considered a political maneuver against
him sponsored by the then PSD government.[citation needed] In 2004, the case was brought
before the High Court of Cassation and Justice, however the judges decided to send it back to
the Prosecutor's Office citing procedural errors (the signature of a prosecutor was missing). In
December 2007, the Romanian National Anti-corruption Directorate (Direcția Națională
Anticorupție), a subdivision of the General Prosecutor Office, decided to end the investigation,
based on the opinion of financial expertse that there was no prejudicial dealings by the
Romanian association NM Petromin SA Constanța with the Norwegian Torvald Klaveness Group
between April 1991 and August 2000. However the case is still open as this is only the latest
published opinion, and the only one that serves as evidence in favor of Băsescu. Some have seen
this as a political maneuver destined to prove his innocence. In total 136 people were
investigated. 80, including Băsescu, were retained for the investigation of this case, while the
facts pertaining to 51 others were separated for independent investigations.[7]

Mayor of Bucharest[edit]

In 2000, Băsescu was elected mayor of Bucharest, winning the run-off against Social Democratic
Party (PDSR) candidate Sorin Oprescu by a slim margin (50.69% to 49.31%), despite trailing him
by 24% in the first round.

As mayor, he was credited with a reduction in the number of stray dogs roaming freely through
the streets of the city from approximately 300,000 in 2000 to 25,000 in 2004, and thus reducing
the number of dog bite injuries from 1,500 a month to under 200 a month.[8][verification
needed] This campaign was controversial, as many opposed large-scale dog euthanasia.[9] On
the other hand, there were also numerous cases of people asking the authorities to take the
stray dogs away, but after this was done, neighbors, who had been feeding the dogs, would show
up at the shelter to take them back to their neighborhoods.[10] The campaign resulted in nearly
48,000 dogs being put down in 2001, with reduced numbers in the following years.[11][12] In
2004, Băsescu called the campaign a success.[citation needed]

Băsescu also claimed success in improvements to the city's water and lighting systems, which
were in a very bad state,[13] as well as modernizing the city's public transportation system.

However, his tenure was marked by constant conflicts with the governing Social Democratic
Party (PSD)-controlled institutions. Citing the need for decentralization, the central government
led by Adrian Năstase passed several ordinances transferring powers from the city mayor to
mayors of the city's six sectors, and to the city council. Băsescu accused council members of
corruption and obstruction; he also successfully challenged several council resolutions in
Administrative Courts. As a consequence, on 10 January 2002, the central government decided
to dissolve the council, yet it later annulled that decision. These conflicts led to the blocking or
delay of several infrastructure loans, financed by the European Investment Bank (BEI) for
municipal heating and road networks, and to the blocking the city's ability to borrow and finance
reconstruction.[citation needed]

In February 2003, Băsescu bought a 369 m2 (3,972 sq ft) apartment from the state in a
nationalized house downtown Bucharest for the equivalent of US$19,000. A scandal followed, as
the request to buy the house was approved by the Mayor's Office, at a time when Băsescu was
mayor. He explained that he had filed an application in October 2002 with the specialized state
agency (not to the Mayor's office, which was not the owner of the building)[citation needed] for
the apartment to be sold to him on the basis of the Romanian Law 10 of 2001, which he claimed
"gives priority to existing tenants to buy previously nationalized houses, no matter whether they
already owned other houses," and that the price was calculated based on a 1995 law. However,
the press[who?] noted that, according to the contract, the sale was based on Law 112 of 1995,
and that Law 10/2001 had no provisions about selling anything.[citation needed] The 1995 law
prevents, with the provisions of Art. 9, sale to tenants who already owned or sold a house after 1
January 1990. Băsescu already bought a villa near Bucharest in October 2002, which he donated
to his daughter shortly after. Furthermore, the same law only gave the right to buy the
nationalized houses to those who were tenants at the time of it came into force (i.e. the second
half of 1996), while Băsescu had only lived in that house since August 2002. According to the
press,[citation needed][who?] these facts made it impossible for Băsescu to legally buy the
apartment. When the scandal broke again in early 2005,[citation needed] Băsescu first stated
that he would give up the apartment, but later changed his mind announcing that he would give
it up only if the Prosecutor's Office decided he had broken the law.[14][15] The prosecutors
investigating the matter concluded that, according to the provisions of the law, Băsescu did not
breach it when he bought the apartment.[citation needed]

Leader of Justice and Truth Alliance[edit]

In 2001, Băsescu was elected chairman of the Democratic Party (PD), defeating Petre Roman,
who had previously led the party for nine years, after Roman only managed to get 3% of the vote
at the 2000 presidential elections.[16] At the time, the PD had a social-democrat ideology.[17]
That same year, Băsescu's party and Iliescu's PDSR both attempted to join the Socialist
International.[citation needed] Băsescu tried to present his party as more democratically-
oriented stating that the "PDSR is far from modern social-democracy". He also negotiated a
merger with Virgil Măgureanu's PNR, a party that had many former Securitate employees.[18]
In 2003, Băsescu negotiated an electoral alliance for the PD with the PNL in order to create a
cohesive opposition against the then-ruling PSD. The new pact, called the Justice and Truth
Alliance (Alianța Dreptate și Adevăr), ran common candidates in local and national elections, and
agreed to vote as a bloc in Parliament. As chairman of PD, he became a co-chairman of the
Justice and Truth Alliance alongside the then PNL chairman Theodor Stolojan. In 2003, Stolojan,
who was the Justice and Truth candidate for president of Romania in 2004, stepped down as PNL
chairman and Justice and Truth co-chairman, and was replaced in these positions by Călin
Popescu-Tăriceanu. Although it was announced that Stolojan had withdrawn because of health
concerns, Băsescu claimed to the press that the reason behind this decision was blackmail by
political opponents (Stolojan did not confirm this).[19] This sudden change in leadership of the
DA alliance transformed the 2004 presidential election to a race between two leaders of parties
affiliated with the Socialist International. Editorialist Dan Pavel decried the development as a
"marginalization of the right," and the presidential race as a choice between two former "FSN
cadres".[16] Nevertheless, there were significant differences in the economic programs of the
DA alliance and the PSD in 2004. The DA alliance leaned towards economic liberalism, with the
introduction of a 16% flat tax that replaced the progressive personal income tax of up to 40%,
and the 25% corporate tax.[citation needed] In January 2005, the Financial Times described the
DA alliance as "centrist".[20]

Băsescu's party would not officially abandon social-democrat ideals until 2005, after PD's
leadership was unhappy with the support given by the Socialist International to the PDSR during
the 2004 elections, and by the fact that the Socialist International admitted the PDSR's successor,
PSD, with full membership rights, while the PD remained only an associate member.[21] In a
2006 interview, Băsescu stated that his party's exit from the Socialist International was a "huge
concession" he made to PNL after discussions of a merger of PD and PNL began in 2004. A
change in the leadership of PNL prevented the merger; according to Băsescu, most of the PNL
leaders who negotiated the joint governance with Băsescu in 2004 had been marginalized by
2006, making collaboration difficult.[22] In December 2006, those members of the PNL who
favored closer ties with Băsescu formed their own party, the Liberal Democratic Party, which
eventually merged with the PD in January 2008. After December 2006, the remainder of the PNL
became hostile to Băsescu and formed a minority government supported by the PSD, effectively
marking the end of the DA alliance. (See Conflict with Prime Minister Tăriceanu below for further
details.)

2004 Presidential campaign[edit]

Following Theodor Stolojan's surprise withdrawal from the 2004 presidential elections, Băsescu
entered the presidential race on behalf of the Justice and Truth Alliance. His main opponent was
then Prime Minister and PSD president Adrian Năstase. Like Băsescu, Năstase was a former
Communist Party member. Although Năstase came out ahead in the first round by 7%, Băsescu
achieved a surprise comeback, and won the 12 December run-off election by a 2.46% margin,
receiving 51.23% of the vote. Băsescu won the Presidential election by using anti-communist and
anti-corruption rhetoric. In the live TV debate with Adrian Năstase before the 2004 run-off
presidential election, Băsescu caught his opponent off-guard with a rhetorical remark: "You
know what Romania's greatest curse is right now? It's that Romanians have to choose between
two former Communist Party members."

During the 2004 presidential campaign, before a TV interview with Adrian Năstase, Băsescu gave
him a paper and told him: "Put it in your pocket and read it when you are away!"[23] Similarly, in
June 2006, at the oath-taking ceremony of Radu Stroe as the new secretary general of the
Government, Băsescu gave him a sheet of paper as a "gift". After seeing it, Stroe went pale and
refused to make its contents public. When asked, Băsescu said its contents were not classified.
[24] Both Adrian Năstase and Radu Stroe were previously involved in corruption scandals.[25]

First term as President of Romania[edit]

Presidential styles of

Traian Băsescu

Coat of arms of Romania.svg

Reference style Președintele (President)

Spoken style Președintele (President)

Alternative style Domnia Sa/Excelența Sa (His Excellency)

Running on a strong reform and anti-corruption platform, Băsescu's victory was characterized in
the media as Romania's "Orange Revolution", in reference to the reformists' perceived victory in
neighboring Ukraine during the same period, and in reference to the orange color used by the
winning Justice and Truth Alliance.[26] In line with an agreement between the PD and PNL, he
appointed PNL leader Popescu-Tăriceanu as prime minister. In order to form a majority, PNL and
PD formed a coalition with the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania and the Humanist
Party, which later changed its name to the Conservative Party (PC). While the platform of the
former has been generally in line with that of the Justice and Truth Alliance, the latter (PC) was
needed in the coalition in order to obtain more than 50% of the seats in Parliament, because,
apart from the opposition Social-Democrat Party, many seats were held by the ultra-nationalist
Greater Romania Party (PRM).
In late 2006, the PC withdrew from the cabinet, a move at least partially related to conflicts
between Băsescu and PC leader Dan Voiculescu. The withdrawal of the PC left the coalition
without a majority in the Parliament.

Domestic policy[edit]

[icon]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2009)

In domestic politics, Băsescu has often claimed he fights against high-level corruption. In spring
2005, Romania resolved a hostage crisis in Iraq involving three Romanian journalists and their
guide.

In 2005, he also focused on pressing the government to provide relief to thousands of

Romanians left homeless by widespread flooding throughout the spring and summer.

Main article: Official condemnation of Romanian communism regime