Ion Iliescu

President of Romania

(Official president's website, CNN, BBC, The Financial Times, Radio Free Europe)

Ion Iliescu was elected president of Romania on 10 December 2000. Iliescu, Romania's first post-communist president, from 1990 to 1996, regained the post after a clear victory over ultra-nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor. He succeeded centrist Emil Constantinescu.

Born on 3 March 1930, Iliescu is a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest and the Institute for Energy in Moscow. In 1948 he co-founded the Union of Romanian Students Associations, and in 1956, the Union of Romanian College Students Associations. In 1955, Iliescu joined the Energy Engineering Institute in Bucharest as a design engineer. Between 1967 and 1971 he served as Minister of Youth.

In 1971, Iliescu was secretary of the central committee of the Romanian Communist Party, but lost the post after criticising Nicolae Ceausescu's "Cultural Revolution" policy. He persisted in his criticism as vice president of the Timis district council and president of the Iasi district council between 1974 and 1979, and was gradually pushed out of politics.

Between 1979 and 1984, Iliescu headed the National Council for Water Resources, and later the Technical Publishing House, until the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, when Iliescu became president of the National Salvation Front Council.

In February 1990, he headed the Provisional Council for National Unity. Iliescu was elected president of Romania in May 1990 and won the first presidential elections after the adoption of Romania's new constitution, in October 1992.

After his term, he was elected senator of the Party of Social Democracy in the November 1996 elections and then party president in January 1997.

After taking the presidential oath for the second time, in December 2000, Iliescu promised he would work to reduce poverty and steer Romania towards EU membership.