Ana Birchall (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Ana Călin; born 30 August 1973) is a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

lawyer and politician. Since 2012, Birchall has served as a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for

Vaslui County Vaslui County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km2. * Romanians - over 98% * Romani ...

representing the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. In the

Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from 2012 to 2015. He was president of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD) from 2010 to ...

and Sorin Grindeanu Cabinets, Birchall served as the Prime Minister's representative for

European affairs Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the partnership with the United States. After the resignation of

Florin Iordache Florin Iordache (; born 14 December 1960) is a Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Grindeanu Cabinet from 4 January 2017 to 9 February 2017. He also served as President of the Chamber of D ...

following anti-corruption protests, Birchall served as Minister of Justice, first on an interim basis and later permanently in the Cabinet of Viorica Dăncilă. Between 2019-2019 Ana Birchall was Deputy Prime Minister in charge with the Strategic Partnerships of Romania. On 12 November 2019 Birchall was expelled from the PSD and as Minister of Justice.

Biography

Ana Birchall was born on 30 August 1973 in

Mizil Mizil () is a town in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. Located in the southeastern part of the county, it lies along the road between the cities of Ploiești and Buzău, and to the northeast of the national capital, Bucharest. Its position led i ...

and grew up in Fulga,

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/k ...

. Birchall received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and received her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

specializing in

bankruptcy law Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and International financial law. Birchall graduated from Yale ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

''. Birchall continued her studies at Yale Law and pursued her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

under

Anthony T. Kronman Anthony Townsend Kronman (born May 12, 1945) is an American legal scholar who serves as a Sterling Professor at Yale Law School specializing in contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility. He was the 14th ...

. Her doctorate thesis was a comparative analysis of bankruptcy law between the

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. After her doctorate studies, Birchall worked as a lawyer on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

for legal firm

White & Case White & Case LLP is a global white-shoe law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide. History The firm was founded on May 1, 1901, when two Wall Street lawyers, Justin DuPratt White, 31, a ...

, Her clients included

ENRON Enron Corporation was an American Energy development, energy, Commodity, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was led by Kenneth Lay and developed in 1985 via a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both re ...

, MCI-Worldcom,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

and UPC. In 2003, Birchall decided to return to Romania and enter the political sphere. Birchall began her career internally within the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, serving as an advisor to the Minister of External Affairs and later as head of equal opportunities in the party, head of education and research for the party, and as the spokesperson for the local Bucharest wing of the party. Birchall also continued her legal career as a member of the Bucharest

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

and continued her work with White & Case LLP In 1998, Birchall married

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

businessman Martyn Birchall. The two had a son, Andrew in 2001. They live in Bucharest. In January 2017, Birchall was appointed Minister for Europe and, in 2019, she was preparing for Romania’s presidency of the EU Council. Following the widespread public protest in early 2017, she was appointed Interim Minister of Justice and succeeded in restoring public regard for the justice system and the Ministry of Justice. Her actions at the Ministry of Justice incurred the wrath of corrupt vested interests, which led her to be forced out of the government in June 2017. In January 2018, Birchall was appointed Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility of Strategic Partnerships and successfully advanced relations with several countries. From April 2019, she resumed her post as Interim Minister of Justice during a time of concern with regard to the course of judicial reform and the fight against corruption. Afterwards, in May 2019, she assumed the responsibility of Minister of Justice and advanced judicial reform in the face of concerted attempts by multiple vested groups to disrupt progress. During 2020, she managed to guide parliamentary legislation that for the first time effectively addressed the recovery of assets gained as the proceeds of crime. As of December 2023, she was the Special Envoy for Strategic and International Affairs at

Nuclearelectrica SN "Nuclearelectrica" S.A. (SNN) is a partially state-owned Romania, Romanian nuclear energy company incorporated in 1998 by the reorganization of RENEL. The company is under the authority of the Government of Romania, Ministry of Energy, and th ...

, the Romanian nuclear power energy company.

Defamation and false cases

In May 2008, a legal application for divorce was submitted under Birchall's name in Bucharest's First District Court. Birchall, who found out about the application from the press, submitted a request to cancel the application. Birchall later proved that the application was not hers, and that the signature was different than her own. Birchall accused political opponents of trying to discredit her ahead of local and parliamentary elections, as her name was being circulated as a future minister of education. In September 2008, in the middle of the

election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

, Birchall faced another scandal. Iosif Buble of Antena 1 released a 34-second video on the internet which purported to show a woman similar to Birchall in intimate poses with an unknown man. Birchall vehemently denied the allegations, and brought out a forensic expert who said that the a person in the video was physically different than her. Cancan magazine apologized to Birchall and her family for the story and retracted their claims about Birchall's appearance in the film. Birchall sued Iosif Buble in court, alleging that it was part of a campaign of denigration and defamation against her political career. The court ruled in favor of Birchall in both the first instance and the appeal.

References

Bibliography

* Andreea Țuligă
„M-am trezit cu câteva SMS-uri «deocheate»”
''Evenimentul zilei'', 10 august 2008

External links

* Personal site
„Activitatea profesională”

„Despre mine”

blog
* en White & Case
Ana Birchall

10 august 2008, Andreea Țuligă, ''Evenimentul zilei'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Birchall, Ana 1973 births People from Mizil Ministers of justice of Romania Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Women members of the Romanian Cabinet 21st-century Romanian women politicians 21st-century Romanian politicians Romanian women lawyers Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Yale Law School alumni University of Bucharest alumni Living people