The Fourth Ponta Cabinet was the government of Romania from 17 December 2014 to 17 November 2015.[1] The Cabinet was supported by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), the alliance forged by Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu's Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) and Daniel Constantin's Conservative Party (PC).[2][3] Fourteen of the ministerial portfolios were held by PSD members, three by ALDE, two by UNPR and two by independent members (although Sorin Cîmpeanu was a member of PC).
Ponta IV | |
|---|---|
 124th Cabinet of Romania | |
| Date formed | 17 December 2014 |
| Date dissolved | 17 November 2015 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Traian Băsescu (17–21 December 2014) Klaus Iohannis (from 21 December 2014) |
| Head of government | Victor Ponta |
| No. of ministers | 22 |
| Member parties | PSD, UNPR, ALDE |
| Status in legislature | Coalition |
| Opposition parties | PNL, UDMR, PMP, PNȚCD, PSRO, PRU |
| Opposition leaders | Alina Gorghiu, Vasile Blaga, Hunor Kelemen, Eugen Tomac, Aurelian Pavelescu, Mircea Geoană, Bogdan Diaconu |
| History | |
| Outgoing election | 2012 |
| Legislature term | 2012–2016 |
| Predecessor | Ponta III |
| Successor | Cioloș |
Overview and notable events
editThe Fourth Ponta Cabinet, unlike the previous cabinet, contained only politically appointed ministers. The post of deputy prime minister was abolished.[4] In addition, eight ministerial portfolios were consolidated into four:[5]
- the Ministry of Scientific Research was merged into the Ministry of Education;
- the Ministry of SMEs was merged into the Ministry of Economy;
- the Ministry of Water and Forests was merged into the Ministry of Environment; and
- the Ministry for the Budget was merged into the Ministry of Finance.
The reshuffling of the Third Ponta Cabinet came after ministers from the Hungarian-minority party, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), left the coalition and resigned from their respective ministries. Prime Minister Ponta decided to change the cabinet's image, which had been negatively affected by his loss in the November 2014 presidential elections and by a scandal involving voting procedures in the diaspora.
During the ceremony of taking the oath, outgoing president, Traian Băsescu, criticized two of the members of the new cabinet, Liviu Pop and Sorin Cîmpeanu, accusing them of contributing to the destruction of educational institutions, calling Ponta a liar and alluding to the plagiarism scandal that resulted in the prime minister surrendering his doctorate.[6]
The Opposition, headed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), announced a possible motion of censure after 1 February 2015,[7] with President Klaus Iohannis supporting the effort to bring down the Ponta government.[8] Iohannis also expressed support for a PNL-led government.[9] A no-confidence motion failed in September 2015, on a 207–276 vote.[10]
On 4 November 2015, Victor Ponta and his Cabinet resigned amid mass protests against generalised corruption linked to the Colectiv nightclub fire,[11] being succeeded by the Cioloș Cabinet, made up entirely by politically independent members.[12]
Structure
edit| Image | Function | Incumbent | Party | In office since | Until | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Prime Minister | Victor Ponta | PSD | 7 May 2012 | 5 November 2015 | |
|
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs | Gabriel Oprea | UNPR | 17 December 2014 | 9 November 2015[13] | |
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|
Minister of Regional Development | Liviu Dragnea | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 15 May 2015 | |
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|
Sevil Shhaideh | PSD | 20 May 2015 | 17 November 2015 | ||
|
Minister of Agriculture | Daniel Constantin | ALDE | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of Culture | Ioan Vulpescu | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Bogdan Aurescu | Ind. | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
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|
Minister of Defence | Mircea Dușa | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of Finance | Darius Vâlcov | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 15 March 2015[14] | ||
| Eugen Teodorovici | PSD | 30 March 2015 | 17 November 2015 | |||
| Minister of the Economy | Mihai Tudose | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
| Minister of Justice | Robert Cazanciuc | PSD[15] | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
.PNG)
|
Minister of Transport | Ioan Rus | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 11 June 2015[16] | |
| Iulian Matache | PSD | 17 July 2015[17] | 17 November 2015 | |||
|
Minister of Health | Nicolae Bănicioiu | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of Communications | Sorin Grindeanu | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
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|
Minister of Labour | Rovana Plumb | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of Environment, Waters and Forests | Grațiela Gavrilescu | ALDE | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
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|
Minister of Education | Sorin Cîmpeanu | Ind. | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of European Funds | Eugen Teodorovici | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 30 March 2015 | ||
| Marius Nica | PSD | 30 March 2015 | 17 November 2015 | |||
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|
Minister of Youth and Sports | Gabriela Szabo | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | |
| Minister of Energy | Andrei Gerea | ALDE | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
| Minister for Relations with Parliament | Eugen Nicolicea | UNPR | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
| Minister for Social Dialogue | Liviu Pop | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
| Minister for Romanians Abroad | Angel Tîlvăr | PSD | 17 December 2014 | 17 November 2015 | ||
Facts and statistics
editThe numbers below refer to the composition of the cabinet as of 20 May 2015:
- Number of ministers: 21
- Number of women: 4
- Number of men: 17
- Average age: 46.2 years
- Youngest minister: Marius Nica (34 years)[18]
- Oldest minister: Mircea Dușa (60 years)
Party breakdown
editParty breakdown of cabinet ministers:
- Social Democratic Party (PSD) 14 / 21
- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) 3 / 21
- National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) 2 / 21
- Independent 2 / 21
References
edit- ^ "Guvernul Ponta IV a depus jurământul. Miniștrii cu care Traian Băsescu a refuzat să dea mâna și pe care i-a acuzat de fals". Știrile Pro TV (in Romanian). 17 December 2014.
- ^ Cristian Andrei (14 December 2014). "LISTA INTEGRALĂ A NOILOR MINIȘTRI. Dragnea nu mai e vicepremier. Modificări de ultimă oră în schema guvernamentală". Gândul (in Romanian).
- ^ "CExN al PSD a votat Guvernul Ponta 4. LISTA viitorului Cabinet în care Liviu Dragnea NU va mai fi vicepremier". Știrile Pro TV (in Romanian). 14 December 2014.
- ^ Sebastian Zachmann; Mădălina Mihalache; Alina Boghiceanu (14 December 2014). "Guvernul Ponta 4, în chinurile facerii: cine pleacă, cine vine. Miron Mitrea iese din politică: E o chestiune personală. Nu vreau spectacol". Adevărul (in Romanian).
- ^ "Guvernul Ponta 4 se decide duminică: Pe surse, 8 ministere vor fi comasate în 4 portofolii". B1.ro (in Romanian). 13 December 2014.
- ^ Mircea Marian; Andreea Udrea; Ioana Tomescu; Ana-Maria Adamoae (17 December 2014). "Guvernul Ponta IV a depus jurământul. Traian Băsescu, atac la Liviu Pop și ministrul Educației, Sorin Cîmpeanu: "Au contribuit prin distrugerea de instituții ale educației la un fals în interes public"". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian).
- ^ "Sulfina Barbu: PNL va depune o moțiune de cenzură după 1 februarie 2015". Gândul (in Romanian). 25 November 2014.
- ^ Simina, Anca (19 February 2015). "Iohannis, PRIMUL ATAC la Ponta din cauza noului Cod Fiscal. "Există o şansă rezonabilă ca printr-o moţiune de cenzură să se schimbe Guvernul"". Gândul (in Romanian).
- ^ "Iohannis vrea un Guvern PNL. Ponta: Executivul pe care il conduc e cea mai buna varianta pentru Romania". Ziare.com (in Romanian). 23 January 2015.
- ^ Udrea, Andreea; Bernaschi, Larisa (29 September 2015). "Un nou EŞEC pentru PNL. MOŢIUNEA de cenzură a fost RESPINSĂ. Liberalii mai aveau nevoie de 70 de voturi". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian).
- ^ "VICTOR PONTA A DEMISIONAT: "Eu niciodată nu mă bat cu oamenii". SURSE: Opțiunile lui Iohannis pentru un nou premier: Cioloș sau Maior. PNL cere anticipate, PSD refuză" [VICTOR PONTA HAS RESIGNED: "I'm never fighting with the people". SOURCES: Iohannis' options for a new prime-minister: Cioloș or Maior. PNL requests early elections, PSD rejects] (in Romanian). EVZ.ro. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ Cristi Șelaru (17 November 2015). "Klaus Iohannis, mesaj de ULTIMĂ ORĂ pentru noii miniștri". stiripesurse.ro.
- ^ "Gabriel Oprea şi-a delegat atribuţiile către Ilie Botoş". Antena3.ro (in Romanian). Antena3. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ "Victor Ponta anunță că Darius Vâlcov a demisionat din funcția de ministru al Finanțelor". Realitatea.net (in Romanian). 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Declaratii de presa sustinute de Liviu Dragnea, presedintele interimar al PSD, dupa Conferinta Judeteana a PSD Ilfov". psd.ro (in Romanian). 30 June 2015.
- ^ "Ioan Rus şi-a dat DEMISIA, după ce i-a jignit pe românii din străinătate: Copiii se fac golani acasă şi nevasta curvă". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Noul ministru al Transporturilor, Iulian Matache, a depus jurământul". Jurnalul Naţional (in Romanian). 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Mihai, Cătălina (27 March 2015). "BIOGRAFIE: Marius Nica, de la ofiţer MApN şi consilier la PE, ministru al Fondurilor Europene la 35 de ani". Mediafax (in Romanian).