Valentin Popa
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Valentin Popa is a Romanian engineer, university professor, and politician. On 17 February 2012, he was elected rector of the
Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava The Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (, USV), also known as University of Suceava (), is a public university in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania, officially founded in 1990 and initially established in 1963 as the '' ...
(USV). He was also minister of education of Romania from 29 January to 28 September 2018.


Academic career

Popa obtained a degree in electronic and telecommunications engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Iași, the current
Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași The Gheorghe Asachi Technical University (; acronym: TUIASI) is a public university located in Iași, Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania. Classified by the Ministry of Education as an ''advanced research and education university'', it has t ...
(TUIASI), in 1989. He started his academic career as a teaching assistant in a college of this university in
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
, which would one year later become the current
Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava The Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (, USV), also known as University of Suceava (), is a public university in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania, officially founded in 1990 and initially established in 1963 as the '' ...
(USV). He obtained a PhD from the same Polytechnic Institute of Iași in 1998, and rose through all the academic ranks in
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
until he became full professor in 2005, and was habilitated to supervise doctoral research in 2009. On 17 February 2012 he was elected rector of the
Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava The Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (, USV), also known as University of Suceava (), is a public university in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania, officially founded in 1990 and initially established in 1963 as the '' ...
(USV).


International profile

During his mandate as rector, Popa raised the international profile of
Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava The Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (, USV), also known as University of Suceava (), is a public university in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania, officially founded in 1990 and initially established in 1963 as the '' ...
(USV). On 7 July 2015, the
President of Moldova The president of the Republic of Moldova () is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020. Duties and functions The president "represents the State" and is "…the guarantor of n ...
,
Nicolae Timofti Nicolae Timofti (; born 22 December 1948) is a Moldovan jurist and politician who was President of Moldova from 23 March 2012 until 23 December 2016. He served as head of Moldova's Superior Magistrate Council and was 2011–2012 Moldovan preside ...
, was awarded an honorary doctorate by this university, in the presence of 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 ...
,
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, ...
. Popa was also the one who proposed Russian ambassador Valeri Kuzmin at a seminar in
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
to strengthen scientific co-operation in order to improve tank braking systems. The polemic Moscow diplomat in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
had declared that Russia had not intervened in the eastern Ukrainian region of
Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...
, as proved by the fact that, when they really did intervene in
Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...
, their tanks did not stop until they were close to the Georgian capital
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
. In 2015 he sponsored the creation of the first master's degree entirely taught in English at the University of Suceava, which was also the subject of a double-degree agreement with a Spanish university.


Political activity

The nominalization of Popa as minister of national education faced the initial opposition of an influential faction of 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 ...
(PSD). They backed the powerful
Ecaterina Andronescu Ecaterina Andronescu (; born 7 April 1948) is a Romanian engineer, professor, and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), she sat in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies from 1996 to 2008, representing Bucharest, and was a Senato ...
, who had been active in national politics since 1996, including three times as minister of national education. Commentators of this internal conflict, that was very apparent in the Executive Committee of the party, already foresaw that the "hunt" of the new appointee, as they defined it, would continue in the media. But Popa's nomination resisted the pressures, as he had the backing not only of his party branch in
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
, but also of 45 out of 48 Romanian rectors and, most importantly, of the then national leader of the party,
Liviu Dragnea Liviu Nicolae Dragnea (; born 28 October 1962) is a Romanian engineer and former politician. Starting his career in the Democratic Party (PD), he joined the Social Democratic Party (PSD), eventually becoming its leader. After holding several pos ...
. On 27 September 2018 he announced his resignation as minister of national education, as a result of a dispute with the
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; , RMDSZ ; , UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian minority of Romania. Officially considering itself a federation of minority interests ra ...
(UDMR/RMDSZ), a confidence and supply partner of the coalition government he was part of, over whether
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...
courses for Hungarian minority pupils should be taught by native Romanian speakers.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popa, Valentin Living people Ministers of education of Romania Rectors of universities in Romania 1964 births Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași alumni