Romania’s liberal party leader Ilie Bolojan, part of the ruling coalition, took office as interim president Wednesday after the pro-European incumbent Klaus Iohannis, threatened with impeachment, resigned earlier in the week.
Bolojan, the Senate president and liberal party (PNL) leader, will stay in office until a new presidential election is held in May.
It was the latest twist in weeks of political turmoil after the country’s top court called off a presidential election in December amid claims of Russian meddling.
In January, tens of thousands of Romanians took part in protests called by the far right criticising the vote cancellation after the surprise win of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu in the first round of the election.
Incumbent Iohannis, under mounting pressure after lawmakers launched a procedure to impeach him, announced his resignation on Monday.
During a ceremony at Bucharest’s Cotroceni Palace, Iohannis wished his successor “good luck”.
A day earlier, Bolojan, 55, vowed “to respect Romania’s citizens” and reassure international partners that Romania, a NATO and EU member, is “a reliable country”.
A former mayor of the city of Oradea in the north-west, Bolojan was praised for modernising the town with European Union funds.
A member of the PNL since 1993, Bolojan kept a low profile while working in local politics, before taking over as liberal party head last year.
After assuming the post of senate president, he announced he would fire almost 200 employees in a bid to “stop” the drain of public money, a move critics branded as “abusive”.
Romania recorded a deficit of 8.6 percent of GDP in 2024, one of the EU’s highest.
A graduate in mechanics and mathematics, Bolojan is divorced and has two daughters.
While the president’s post is largely ceremonial, the head-of-state has moral authority and influence on Romania’s foreign policy.
ani/kym/jj