Decebal Traian Remeș

Decebal Traian Remeş (26 June 1949 – 14 February 2020) was a Romanian economist and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Maramureș County from 1996 to 2000. In the Radu Vasile and Mugur Isărescu cabinets, he served as Finance Minister from 1998 to 2000, while in the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet, he was Minister of Agriculture during 2007.

Decebal Traian Remeş
Minister of Finance
In office 23 September 1998 – 28 December 2000
President	Emil Constantinescu
Prime Minister	Radu Vasile Mugur Isărescu
Preceded by	Daniel Dăianu
Succeeded by	Mihai Tănăsescu
Minister of Agriculture, and Rural Development
In office 4 April 2007 – 11 October 2007
President	Traian Băsescu
Prime Minister	Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Preceded by	Dan Motreanu
Succeeded by	Dacian Cioloş
Personal details
Born	(1949-06-26)26 June 1949 Băseşti, Maramureș County
Died	14 February 2020(2020-02-14) (aged 70) Baia Mare
Nationality	Romanian
Political party	National Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party
Spouse(s)	Steliana Remeş
Occupation	economist

Biography

Born in Băseşti, Maramureș County, he graduated from the Economic Studies Faculty of the University of Iaşi in 1971. From that year until 1978, he was an economist at an electronics factory in Săcele, and from 1973 to 1978, he taught as assistant professor at the University of Braşov. From 1978 to 1980, he was an inspector at a firm in his native county, followed by a position as chief accountant at a railway parts manufacturer there, from 1980 to 1990. Following the 1989 Revolution, he was economic director and then director of a Baia Mare firm. From 1995 to 1996, he headed a bank in that city. He has eleven published articles about finance and accounting in an economic magazine.[1]

Joining the PNL in 1991, he was vice president of its Maramureș County chapter from 1992 to 1993 and president from 1993 to 1996. His first elective office came in 1992-1995, when he was vice president and then president of the Maramureș County Council.[1] Elected to the Chamber in 1996 on the lists of the victorious Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR), he served a four-year term there, sitting on the budget, finance and banking committee, including as president from 1997 to 1998.[2] During this period, he was named Finance Minister in September 1998, following the dismissal of Daniel Dăianu, serving in the Vasile and Isărescu cabinets until December 2000, when the CDR lost power following an election.[3][4] As minister, he had to deal with the fallout from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which threatened to bankrupt Romania.[5] During the summer of 2000, he submitted his resignation as minister due to the PNL's intention to form a left-wing alliance at the forthcoming elections; Isărescu rejected this, but he nonetheless left the PNL due to a perceived leftward shift in policy, to the party's nomination of Teodor Stolojan and not Isărescu to contest the upcoming presidential election, and to a rivalry with leading party figure Valeriu Stoica.[6][7][8]

From 2001 to 2007, Remeş returned to private life, working as economic director for a Baia Mare agricultural firm. He also belonged to a number of political parties after quitting the PNL. He became head of a PNL splinter group in 2000, then joined the Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party in 2002 and People's Action, of which he was vice president, in 2003. He rejoined the PNL in 2005, serving as secretary general in 2006-2007, as well as head of the Maramureș County chapter during that period.[5] Recalled to government, he served as Agriculture Minister under Tăriceanu from April to October 2007.[9] Prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) allege that businessman Gheorghe Ciorbă sent former Agriculture Minister Ioan Avram Mureşan to meet with Remeş and offer him €15,000, an Audi Q7, and products worth 1,500 lei: 100 L of palinka and 20 kg of pork offal sausage called caltaboşi. In exchange, Remeş was to steer contracts to Ciorbă's businesses at public bids organised by his ministry.[10] During its prime-time newscast, Romanian Television (TVR) broadcast a video featuring Remeş allegedly accepting the bribe, leading to an outcry and his resignation. In the aftermath, Tăriceanu, rather than focus on what Remeş did, criticised TVR for carrying out the minister's "public execution", presaging a wider debate on the legitimacy of the airing.[11] Suspended from the PNL for a year,[12] Remeş had criminal charges of influence peddling filed against him in June 2008.[13] The following year, he announced his intention to sue DNA, TVR and the Presidency in order to find out who leaked the video that prompted his resignation, asserting that he was the victim of a political order for his elimination.[14] In February 2012, he and Mureşan were both sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with Remeş ordered to pay restitution.[15] He was freed in February 2014,[16] and died six years later.[17]

He was married to Steliana Remeş.[18]

See also

• List of corruption scandals in Romania

Notes

1. (in Romanian) Profile at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site; accessed August 31, 2010
2. (in Romanian) 1996-2000 parliamentary profile; accessed August 31, 2010
3. (in Romanian) Radu Vasile Government; accessed August 31, 2010
4. (in Romanian) Mugur Isărescu Government; accessed August 31, 2010
5. "Profile at the Romanian Government site" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved 2017-09-07.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link); accessed August 31, 2010
6. Europa World Year Book 2, p.3512. Taylor & Francis, 2004. ISBN 1-85743-255-X
7. A Political Chronology of Europe, p.256. Psychology Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85743-113-8
8. Frank Sellin, "Democratization in the Shadows: Post-Communist Patrimonialism", in Henry F. Carey, Romania since 1989: Politics, Economics, and Society, p.128. Lexington Books, 2004. ISBN 0-7391-0592-2
9. (in Romanian) Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Government; accessed August 31, 2010
10. (in Romanian) Gabriela Ştefan, Ramona Lica, "Palincă, euroi, caltaboş şi un Audi - şpagă pentru Remeş" ("Palinka, Euros, Caltaboş and an Audi - Bribes for Remeş"), Gândul, 7 October 2007; accessed August 31, 2010
11. Pippa Norris, Public Sentinel: News Media & Governance Reform, p.269. World Bank Publications, 2010. ISBN 0-8213-8200-4.
12. (in Romanian) "Remeş rămâne sub aripa PNL" ("Remeş Remains under PNL's Wing"), Evenimentul Zilei, 19 October 2007; accessed August 31, 2010
13. (in Romanian) "Decebal Traian Remeş şi Ioan Avram Mureşan, trimişi în judecată" ("Decebal Traian Remeş and Ioan Avram Mureşan, Charges"), Mediafax, 9 June 2008; accessed August 31, 2010
14. (in Romanian) "Decebal Traian Remeş va da în judecată Preşedinţia, DNA şi TVR" ("Decebal Traian Remeş to Sue Presidency, DNA and TVR"), Mediafax, 10 November 2009; accessed August 31, 2010
15. (in Romanian) Andrei Aştefănesei, "Remeş şi Mureşan – câte 3 ani de închisoare" ("Remeş and Mureşan – 3 Years' Imprisonment for Each"), Adevărul, 14 February 2012; accessed February 11, 2014
16. (in Romanian) Cosmin Carp, "Decebal Traian Remeş a ieşit din închisoare" ("Decebal Traian Remeş Leaves Prison"), Adevărul, 11 February 2014; accessed February 11, 2014
17. (in Romanian) "Fostul ministru Decebal Traian Remeș a murit" ("Former Minister Decebal Traian Remeş Dies"), Adevărul, 14 February 2020; accessed February 14, 2020
18. (in Romanian) "Declaraţia de avere a ministrului Remeş, publicată pe site-ul Ministerului Agriculturii" ("Holding Declaration of Minister Remeş, Published on Agriculture Ministry Site"), Mediafax, 23 October 2007; accessed August 31, 2010