Sevil Shhaideh (;

Dobrujan Tatar Dobrujan Tatar is the Tatar language of Romania. It includes Kipchak dialects, but today there is no longer a sharp distinction between the dialects and it is mostly seen as one language. This language belongs to the Kipchak Turkic languages, ...

: ''Sevil Şayideh'', née Geambec (

: ''Ğambek'', ); born 4 December 1964) is a

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 ...

n economist, civil servant and politician. On 21 December 2016, she was proposed by 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 ...

to be

Prime minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...

, but was rejected by the president,

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

Studies and career

Shhaideh was born on 4 December 1964, in

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

. Her mother Muezel Cambek (née Karpat) is of Crimean Tatar origin and her father Saedin Cambek is of Turkish origin. In 1987 she graduated from the Academy of Economic Sciences of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Planning and Cybernetics. She then worked in the public administration of

Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...

, becoming head of the Directorate General for Projects. In the same period, she was the coordinator of the National Union of Romanian county councils. Since 2012 she worked as secretary of state in the Ministry of Regional Development. Between May and November 2015 Shhaideh was minister of regional development and public administration in the

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

government headed by

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 ...

, succeeding Liviu Dragnea. On 21 December 2016 she was indicated by the PSD and ALDE parties as candidate for

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

to the

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

. Dragnea, the PSD leader, indicated that he would keep the overall political responsibility over a Shhaideh government. If she had been approved, she would have been the first woman and first Muslim to hold that position. On 27 December, Iohannis, who comes from the National Liberal Party defeated by the governing coalition, rejected the nomination, prompting Dragnea and

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania, prime minister of Romania from 2004 to 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...

, the leader of junior coalition partner Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to accuse Iohannis of playing partisan politics and to consider his removal from the presidency.

Personal life

Shhaideh family are of the

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

faith and belonged to the long established Turkish and

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

ethnic minorities of Romania. Her mother is the niece of the Turkish historian

Kemal Karpat Kemal Karpat (15 February 1924, Babadag Tulcea, Romania – 20 February 2019, Manchester, New Hampshire, United States) was a Romanian- Turkish naturalised American historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early life ...

. She is married to the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n businessman Akram Shhaideh (); the Romanian politician Liviu Dragnea was a witness at their wedding ceremony in 2011. According to a declaration of financial interests from July 2015, the couple own three properties in Syria, one in

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

and two in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shhaideh, Sevil Romanian economists 1964 births Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Living people Romanian people of Turkish descent Romanian people of Crimean Tatar descent Women members of the Romanian Cabinet Ministers of regional development of Romania Romanian Sunni Muslims Deputy prime ministers of Romania People from Constanța 21st-century Romanian politicians 21st-century Romanian women politicians