Titus Corlățean (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtitus korləˈt͡se̯an]; born 11 January 1968) is a Romanian politician and diplomat, former Minister of Justice and of Foreign Affairs. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), part of the Party of European Socialists, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Brașov County in the 2004 elections.

Titus Corlățean
Official portrait, 2012
President of the Senate of Romania
Acting
In office
3 February 2020 – 9 April 2020
Preceded byTeodor Meleșcanu
Succeeded byRobert Cazanciuc (Acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
6 August 2012 – 10 November 2014
Prime MinisterVictor Ponta
Preceded byAndrei Marga
Succeeded byTeodor Meleșcanu
Minister of Justice
In office
7 May 2012 – 6 August 2012
Prime MinisterVictor Ponta
Preceded byCătălin Predoiu
Succeeded byVictor Ponta (Acting)
Member of the European Parliament for Romania
In office
1 January 2007 – 18 December 2008
Member of the Senate of Romania
Assumed office
15 December 2008
Constituency
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
13 December 2004 – 20 December 2007
ConstituencyBrașov County
Personal details
Born (1968-01-11) 11 January 1968 (age 56)
Medgidia, Constanța County, Romania
Political partySocial Democratic Party
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest (PhD)
École nationale d'administration
OccupationDiplomat, politician
ProfessionJurist

Early life and education

edit

Corlățean was born in Medgidia, and graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Law in 1994. He also earned a certificate from the International Institute of the École nationale d'administration in Paris (1995).

Diplomatic career

edit

Between 1994 and 2001, Corlățean worked as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before joining Prime Minister Adrian Năstase's Chancellery in 2001–2003 (first as Adviser on Foreign Policy Issues, and, after 2003, as Secretary of State for the Romanian Diaspora).

Political career

edit

Corlățean has been a member of the PSD since 2002, serving as spokesperson for its Coordinating Committee after 2004.

Corlățean became an appointed Member of the European Parliament on 1 January 2007, with the accession of Romania to the European Union. He was elected to that body late in the same year. During his tenure, he served on the Committee on Legal Affairs, including as vice-chair.[1] He resigned in 2008 after being returned to the Chamber. In 2012, he was elected Senator for Bucharest.

In Prime Minister Victor Ponta's cabinet, Corlățean served as Justice Minister (May–August 2012)[2] and as Foreign Minister (August 2012—November 2014).[3] He resigned from the latter position following the first round of the 2014 presidential election, in which he was blamed for not setting up enough polling places for the Romanian diaspora.[4][5]

In addition to his role in parliament, Corlățean has served as member of the Romanian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2009 until 2012 and since 2015.[6] As member of the PSD, he is part of the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group. In the Assembly, he has served on the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy; the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights; the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee); the Sub-Committee on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights; and the Sub-Committee on the Middle East and the Arab World. He has been the Assembly's co-rapporteur on Georgia since 2018[7] (alongside Kerstin Lundgren and later Claude Kern)[8] and on the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 since 2021.[9] In 2019, he became the Assembly’s General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty.[10]

Recognition

edit

In 2004, Corlățean was appointed Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania; in 2014, he was appointed Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi.[11]

Personal life

edit

Corlățean is married and the father of one daughter.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Titus Corlățean European Parliament.
  2. ^ Luiza Ilie (August 6, 2012), Romania PM reshuffles government, central bank warns on budget Reuters.
  3. ^ (in Romanian) Profile Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine at the Romanian Government site; accessed November 29, 2012
  4. ^ (in Romanian) Cristian Fierbinţeanu, "Titus Corlăţean și-a anunţat demisia", Mediafax, November 10, 2014; accessed November 10, 2014
  5. ^ Radu-Sorin Marinas (November 10, 2014), Romanian foreign minister resigns in election row Reuters.
  6. ^ Titus Corlățean Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
  7. ^ Margarita Antidze (November 15, 2019), Europe, U.S. urge Georgia to pass electoral changes Reuters.
  8. ^ Co-rapporteurs express deep concern at the death of a Georgian citizen in South Ossetia (Georgia) Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of February 29, 2018.
  9. ^ PACE rapporteur commemorates the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of July 17, 2021.
  10. ^ Rapporteur strongly condemns death sentences issued in Gaza Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of February 21, 2019.
  11. ^ (in Romanian) Profile at the Foreign Affairs Ministry page; accessed May 2, 2016

References

edit
edit
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Justice
2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2012–2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Senate of Romania
Acting

2020
Succeeded by