The Cîțu Cabinet was the 131st government of Romania, led by the

national liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

(PNL) Prime Minister

Florin Cîțu Florin Vasile Cîțu (; born 1 April 1972) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between December 2020 and November 2021 (acting/ad interim between October and November 2021). Between September 2021 and April 2022, he ...

. It was removed from office after a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

passed by the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

with a record of 281 votes, the largest number of votes on a motion of no confidence since the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

Formation of the government and negotiations

Procedure

The prime minister candidate, who is designated by the president, has to request the investiture vote/vote of confidence from the legislature within 10 days from being appointed.

Consultations with the president

On 6 December 2020, elections for a new Romanian Parliament took place. On 10 December 2020, the incumbent

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indiv ...

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...

, invited all the parties that acceded into the newly elected Parliament, more specifically PSD, PNL, USR-PLUS, AUR, and UDMR/RMDSZ as well as the representatives of the national minorities for consultations at

Cotroceni Palace Cotroceni Palace (Romanian: ''Palatul Cotroceni'') is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Museum. History The ...

on 14 December 2020.

Political negotiations

On 7 December 2020, the leader of the UDMR/RMDSZ senators of the 2016–2020 legislature of the Romanian Parliament,

Attila Cseke Attila-Zoltán Cseke (born 9 June 1973) is a Romanian lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), he was a member of the Romanian Senate for Bihor County from 2008 to 2012, representing the same c ...

stated that

Hunor Kelemen Hunor Kelemen (born 18 October 1967) is a Romanian politician and Hungarian language writer. The current president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), he has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies since 2000, a ...

, the current president of the party, had talked to Klaus Iohannis and that they were awaiting for the finalisation of the count of the election votes. On 9 December 2020,

EPP EPP or Epp may refer to: Organisations * European People's Party, a pan-European centre-right conservative and Christian democratic political party ** European People's Party Group, the centre-right political group formed in European parliament ...

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

from the PNL, Rareș Bogdan, was confident the government would be approved by 23 December, and that the cabinet would have between 16 and 18 ministries. The National Liberal Party (PNL), USR-PLUS, and the

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; hu, Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSZ; ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România, UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian m ...

(UDMR/RMDSZ) had met at Vila Lac 1 on 12 December 2020 to negotiate on making up the coalition government proposition and on several key aspects: the collaboration in the parliament, the government positions, and the governance programme. The UDMR were not prepared, nor willing to take any key function within the newly elected parliament. On 12 December 2020, political negotiations had reached a stalemate, since the liberals wanted

Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...

to preside over the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

, while USR-PLUS wanted Dan Barna to become its president. On 15 December 2020, Dan Barna announced his desire for Cătălin Drulă to become the president of the

on behalf of

USR PLUS USR PLUS was a Romanian progressive, liberal, and centrist political alliance active between 2019 and 2021. Established on 2 February 2019 solely as an electoral alliance between the political parties Save Romania Union (USR) and the Freedom, ...

, which angered Ludovic Orban.

Vote in the parliament

After the president proposed Florin Cîțu to the position of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

on 22 December, the proposed government was subsequently also brought to the parliament for the voting procedure on 23 December. All minister propositions had passed the hearings in the parliamentary commissions on the same day. It was approved by the parliament, with 260 votes in favour and 183 votes against giving the Cîțu Cabinet confidence, more than the minimum 228 necessary votes.

Fall of the government

The government was threatened as of result of the passing of the "National Anghel Saligny Investment Plan" ( ro, Planul Național de Investiții Anghel Saligny) (or PNDL 3) and of the ousting of Justice Minister Stelian Ion. On 3 September 2021, member of the coalition government,

alongside opposition party AUR lodged a vote of no confidence against

and his government entitled "The dismissal of the Cîțu Government, Romania's only chance to live!" ( ro, Demiterea Guvernului Cîțu, singura șansă a României de a trăi!). All ministers originating from

resigned from their positions on 7 September 2021. On 4 October 2021, a day before the motion of no confidence, the Cîțu Cabinet had approved a multitude of government emergency ordinances ( ro, Ordonanțe de urgență ale Guvernului, O.U.G.) and government decisions ( ro, Hotărâri de Guvern, H.G.). The cabinet continued to function as a PNL-UDMR/RMDSZ minority government until 5 October 2021, when it was dissolved by a motion of no confidence entitled "Stop poverty, price increases and criminals! Down with the Cîțu Government!" ( ro, Stop sărăciei, scumpirilor și penalilor! Jos Guvernul Cîțu!) submitted by 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 Fo ...

(PSD), with 281 votes "for" adoption, and a lack of abstentions and "against" votes. Out of a total of 466 members of parliament, only 318 showed up. On the day of the motion, social democratic members of parliament brought a Superman hanging upside down, in a pool of blood - alluding to a social media post made by Florin Cîțu with the superhero. Deputy president of the PNL,

Alina Gorghiu Alina-Ștefania Gorghiu (; born September 16, 1978) is a Romanian lawyer and politician who served as president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) from December 2014 until December 2016. She was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies fo ...

, reacted to the prop, saying it was a call to violence on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

. Until the next cabinet was voted in the Parliament, the Cîțu cabinet continued on as an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a bro ...

/ad interim government. It is the sixth post-

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

government in the recent history of Romania to be ousted through a

Romanian President The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An in ...

reacted to the result of the vote by saying that the word "crisis" describes "present-day Romania" the best. Negotiations and talks with the president on forming the government to replace the Cîțu Cabinet are expected to start a week after the fall of the government led by Florin Cîțu.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

journalist Radu Marinas considers that the most likely outcome for the next government is a restored PNL-

USR USR may refer to: * USRobotics, a technology firm * USR (Guadeloupe football club), in Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe * U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, a fictional robot manufacturer * /usr, directory in Unix systems, see Filesystem Hierarchy Standard ...

- UDMR/RMDSZ coalition, having a Prime Minister other than

, since an early election would be unlikely, due to it requiring the

Parliament of Romania The Parliament of Romania ( ro, Parlamentul României) is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies ( ro, Camera Deputaților) and the Senate ( ro, Senat). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in B ...

two prime minister proposals from the

in a time period of 60 days. Nonetheless, the PNL began negotiations with the major opposition

(PSD) for a new coalition together with the UDMR, which were closed on 21 November 2021, with the next cabinet, the Ciucă Cabinet, being sworn in on 25 November.

Composition

}) ,

! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 23 December 2020 , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Deputy Prime Minister
( ro, viceprim-ministru) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Dan Barna ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

, 23 December 2020 , 7 September 2021 , - ,

! style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 23 December 2020 , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Foreign Affairs
( ro, Ministrul Afacerilor Externe) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Bogdan Aurescu Bogdan Lucian Aurescu (born 9 September 1973) is a Romanian diplomat serving as the minister of foreign affairs in the Ciucă Cabinet since 25 November 2021. He was Presidential Advisor for Foreign Policy to the President of Romania from May 2 ...

! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Internal Affairs
( ro, Ministrul Afacerilor Interne) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Lucian Bode Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstitio ...

! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
( ro, Ministrul Agriculturii și Dezvoltării Rurale) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Nechita-Adrian Oros ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , 28 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of National Defence
( ro, Ministrul Apărării Naționale) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Nicolae Ciucă ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization
( ro, Ministrul Cercetării, Inovării și Digitalizării) , Ciprian Teleman ! style="background-color: " , , PLUS , 23 December 2020 , 7 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Barna Tánczos (

) ! style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 8 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Culture
( ro, Ministrul Culturii) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Bogdan Gheorghiu ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister for Development, Public Works and Administration
( ro, Ministrul Dezvoltării, Lucrărilor Publice și Administrației) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

! style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Education
( ro, Ministrul Educației) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Sorin Cîmpeanu Mihai Cîmpeanu () is a Romanian politician who served as Minister of Education in Ciucă Cabinet. He had previously held the same position in Ponta IV and Cîțu cabinets, and, between 5 and 17 November 2015, acted as Prime Minister of Roma ...

! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Energy
( ro, Ministrul Energiei) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Virgil-Daniel Popescu ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism
( ro, Ministrul Economiei, Antreprenoriatului și Turismului) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Claudiu Năsui Claudiu-Iulius-Gavril Năsui (born 5 May 1985) is a Romanian politician and economist. A member of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Romanian Chamber of Deputies, he was elected for a Bucharest seat 2020 Romanian legislative election, in 2020 ...

! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

, 23 December 2020 , 7 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Virgil Popescu Virgil Popescu (1916–1989) was a Romanian footballer and later coach. In Yugoslavia, he was known as Stanislav Popesku. Career He was born in 1916 during the First World War, in the Transylvanian town of Zlatna,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 8 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Labour and Social Protection
( ro, Ministrul Muncii și Protecției Sociale) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Raluca Turcan ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Environment, Water and Forests
( ro, Ministrul Mediului, Apelor și Pădurilor) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Barna Tánczos ! style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister for Transport and Infrastructure
( ro, Ministrul Transporturilor și Infrastructurii) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Cătălin Drulă ! style="background-color: " , ,

, 23 December 2020 , 7 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Dan Vîlceanu (

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 8 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Finance
( ro, Ministrul Finanțelor) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Alexandru Nazare ! style="background-color: " , , style="vertical-align:middle;" , PNL , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 8 July 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 8 July 2021 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 18 August 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Dan Vîlceanu ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 18 August 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Justice
( ro, Ministrul Justiției) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Stelian Ion ! style="background-color: " , ,

, 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 1 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 1 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Health
( ro, Ministrul Sănătății) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Vlad Voiculescu ! style="background-color: " , , PLUS , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 14 April 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 14 April 2021 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 21 April 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Ioana Mihăilă Ioana Mihăilă (born 20 November 1980) is a Romanian politician and endocrinologist from USR PLUS, who has been the Minister of Health of Romania since 21 April 2021. Being specialized in endocrinology since 2010, she is a member of the Romania ...

! style="background-color: " , , PLUS , 21 April 2021 , 7 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 8 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister of Investments and European Projects
( ro, Ministrul Investițiilor și Proiectelor Europene) , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

Cristian Ghinea Cristian Ghinea (born 1977) is a Romanian publisher and activist who has been serving as a Minister of Investments and European Projects in the cabinet of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu since 2021. Political career Before entering politics, Gh ...

! style="background-color: " , ,

, 23 December 2020 , 7 September 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" ,

(

) ! style="background-color: " , , PNL , 8 September 2021 , 25 November 2021 , - , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Minister for Youth and Sport
( ro, Ministrul Tineretului și Sportului) , style="vertical-align:middle;" , Eduard Novak , style="background-color: " , , UDMR/RMDSZ , 23 December 2020 , style="vertical-align:middle;" , 25 November 2021 , -

Party breakdown

Party breakdown of cabinet ministers:

Formation

* National Liberal Party *

Save Romania Union The Save Romania Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați România, USR) is a liberal political party active in Romania and Moldova, currently the third largest party in the Parliament with 43 deputies and 22 senators, and fifth at national level (followin ...

Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party The Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (, PLUS) was a pro-European, liberal political party established on 26 October 2018, whose president was Dacian Cioloș, former Prime Minister of Romania from 2015 until 2017, elected on 26 January 2019. ...

End term

* National Liberal Party (PNL) *

(UDMR/RMDSZ) *

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Citu Cabinet Government of Romania 2020 establishments in Romania Cabinets established in 2020 2020 in Romania 2021 in Romania Cabinets disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Romania