Dacian Cioloș
Dacian Julien Cioloș (Romanian pronunciation: [datʃiˈan ˈtʃoloʃ]; born 27 July 1969) is a Romanian agronomist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from November 2015 to January 2017. He previously served as Agriculture Minister under Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu between October 2007 and December 2008. In November 2009, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso nominated him to be the next Agriculture Commissioner, a position he assumed in February 2010 and held until his term expired in November 2014. In November 2015, President Klaus Iohannis named him Prime Minister; Cioloș assumed office after receiving approval from Parliament.
Dacian Cioloș MEP | |
|---|---|
Cioloș in 2019 | |
| Prime Minister of Romania | |
| In office 17 November 2015 – 4 January 2017 | |
| President | Klaus Iohannis |
| Preceded by | Sorin Cîmpeanu (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Sorin Grindeanu |
| President of USR | |
| In office 1 October 2021 – 7 February 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Barna (USR) Himself (PLUS) |
| Succeeded by | Cătălin Drulă (Acting) |
| Member of the European Parliament for Romania | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2019 | |
| Leader of Renew Europe | |
| In office 2 July 2019 – 19 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Guy Verhofstadt (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) |
| Succeeded by | Stéphane Séjourné |
| President of PLUS | |
| In office 26 January 2019 – 1 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Himself (party merged with USR) |
| European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development | |
| In office 9 February 2010 – 1 November 2014 | |
| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Mariann Fischer Boel |
| Succeeded by | Phil Hogan |
| Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development | |
| In office 5 August 2007 – 22 December 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu |
| Preceded by | Decebal Traian Remeș |
| Succeeded by | Ilie Sârbu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 July 1969 Zalău, Romania |
| Political party | Independent (before 2018) PLUS (2018–2021) USR (2021–2022) REPER (2022–present) |
| Other political affiliations | EPP (2016–2019) ALDE (2019–present) |
| Spouse |
Valérie Villemin (m. 2000) |
| Education | University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine National Graduate School of Agriculture, Rennes University of Montpellier 1 |
He remained until after the 2016 parliamentary election, which was lost by the parties that called for Cioloș to continue his term. Cioloș is the founder of the Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS) within the larger former political construction USR PLUS (2019–2021). Between October 2021 and February 2022, he led the Save Romania Union (USR), into which the party he founded was merged. In May 2019, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), subsequently becoming leader of the new Renew Europe political group. He relinquished the leadership upon becoming USR president.
In October 2021, following the ousting of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu through a motion of no-confidence, President Iohannis nominated Cioloș as Prime Minister-designate but the Parliament rejected the proposal. The following May, he quit USR and launched a new party, REPER.