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President Klaus Iohannis announced, on October 11, 2021, that he has decided to designate Dacian Ciolos as candidate for the position of prime Minister.
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Dacian Ciolos was born in Zalau on July 27, 1969.
He graduated from the Horticulture Faculty of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) in Cluj in 1994 and then obtained his diploma in Advanced Agronomy, specializing in "Systems of Rural Production and Development," from the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique, ENSA, in Rennes, France. Ciolos participated in courses on agriculture and trade organized by the World Bank Institute and University Roma III (October 2005).
Between 1996 and 1997 he enrolled for a Scientific Master's degree (MSc) course with the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique, ENSA, in Montpellier, France, and for a PhD in the economics of farming, agricultural, food and rural development with the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique, ENSA, in Montpellier, France (2000-2006).
Ciolos worked as a consultant on socio-economic analysis on the agricultural and rural development project in Arges County (1995). He was also a intern in Brussels, the rural development division, and in charge of preparing the SAPARD programme (1997-99), coordinator of French-Romanian cooperation programmes in agricultural development (1999-2001) and task manager with the delegation of the European Commission to Romania (2002-2003).
Ciolos served as a counsellor to the Minister of Agriculture (January 2005-May 2007) and as a representative on the Special Committee on Agriculture of the European Council.
Between May 2007-October 2007 Dacian Ciolos worked as Undersecretary of State for European Affairs with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR).
He was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tariceanu Government on October 11, 2007 after the resignation of Decebal Traian Remes and held this position until December 22, 2008.
Dacian Ciolos is not affiliated with any political party.
Until February 2010, he served as the chairman of the presidential commission on drawing up a strategy in agriculture, which was set up on July 6, 2009, through a decree signed by President Traian Basescu.
Dacian Ciolos was appointed European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and took office on February 9, 2010. As part of his term, which ended in 2014, he managed one of the most important portfolios and conducted the first reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
On November 27, 2014, Dacian Ciolos received the "Personality of the Year for a European Romania", awarded by Eurolink House of Europe, a part of the International Federation of European Houses (FIME). In October 2015, Ciolos received the title of Professor Honoris Causa of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Cluj-Napoca.
On July 1, 2015, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker appointed Dacian Ciolos as Special Advisor on Food Security, a title which entails close collaboration with several EC members on the EU's contribution to solving this global challenge.
On November 10, 2015, he was designated Prime Minister, by President Klaus Iohannis. On November 18, he was invested in the position, at the Cotroceni Palace. His mandate concluded on January 4, 2017.
Dacian Ciolos founded, in 2017, the Romania 100 Platform, together with four former colleagues in the 2016 Government. The next year, he was part of a group that initiated the political project Romania Together, which in December 2017 became PLUS (Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity).
At the National Convention of the Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (PLUS) in January 26, 2019, Dacian Ciolos was elected chairman of the political formation with 99.17% of the votes. On December 7. 2019, the National Convention of PLUS validated, with a majority of votes, his mandate as chairman of the party.
Since February 2, 2019, Dacian Ciolos is co-chair of the USR-PLUS 2020 Alliance, together with the chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR), Dan Barna, the alliance being built in the session of the USR Political Committee, which decided to participate on joint lists for the European Parliament elections. On the same date, the representatives of USR and PLUS announced the joint candidate list, Dacian Ciolos occupying the first position.
On August 15, 2020, the two formations of the 2020 Alliance - USR and PLUS decided to merge. On April 16, 2021, the merger through absorption between the USR and PLUS was definitively approved by the Bucharest Court of Appeals. The leadership of the party was to be made up of two co-chairs - Dan Barna and Dacian Ciolos - and the National Joint Bureau formed of the USR PLUS leaders.
He was elected an MEP on the USR-PLUS 2020 Alliance list, following the ballot on May 26, 2019, according to the final results announced by the Central Electoral Bureau on June 3, 2019. He submitted, on June 17, 2019, his candidacy to run the new centrist-liberal group Renew Europe in the European Parliament, formed of parts of the former ALDE group, being elected on June 19, 2019.
In August 28, 2021, during USR PLUS Political Committee meeting, the candidacies of the co-chairs Dan Barna and Dacian Ciolos were presented, as well as that of Senator Irineu Darau, for the chairmanship of USR PLUS. In the first round of the vote, taking place online, between September 14-23, Dacian Ciolos obtained 15,111 votes (46%), Dan Barna - 14,404 (43.9%), Irineu Darau - 3,300 (10.1%).
MEP Dacian Ciolos was elected, on October 1, 2021, as chair of USR PLUS, following the second round of the internal elections for this position. He obtained 19,603 votes, while his competitor, Dan Barna, received 18,908.
