Marcel Ciolacu, elected to Chamber of Deputies Speaker

The Lower House plenary elected on May 29 Social Democrat Ion-Marcel Ciolacu to Speaker of this legislative body.

Ion-Marcel Ciolacu was born November 28, 1967 in Buzau. He earned a law degree at the Ecological University of Bucharest (1991 - 1995) and then completed a master's degree in Public Finance Management at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) (2010 - 2012).

He pursued postgraduate studies in local development economy, the management of local public relations, administrative law, public finances at the Ecological University in Bucharest (2003 - 2004), as well as in security and national defence, "Security and good governance", at the National Defence College in Bucharest (2008 - 2009), informs the website of the Chamber of Deputies, www.cdep.ro.

A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) since 1990, Ciolacu has successively served at local and national level as deputy chair of the PSD Buzau Youth Organization (1996 - 2000), vice-chairman of the PSD Buzau Municipal Organization (2000 - 2010); vice-chairman of the PSD Buzau County Organization (2000 - 2010); chairman of the PSD Buzau Municipal Organization (2010 - 2015); member of the PSD National Council, coordinator of the Department of Economy, Investments and Jobs (as of May 2015). He is the president of the PSD Buzau County Organization (elected in 2015), and member of the PSD Executive Committee, according to the cited source.

Ciolacu was interim Buzau County prefect (November - December 2005); legal advisor at ALCOM SRL (2004 - 2005, 2006 - May 2007); executive director at URBIS SERV SRL (May 2007 - July 2008).

He served as Buzau deputy mayor between 2008 and 2012.

In the December 2012 elections Ion-Marcel Ciolacu won a seat of deputy running on the PSD list in the Buzau County constituency No. 10 - No. 7 uninominal college. He held the position of secretary of the Chamber of Deputies, member of the Standing Bureau, as of February 2015.

At the general election of December 11, 2016 he won a seat of deputy in Buzau County constituency No. 10 (validated on December 21, 2016). He was PSD floor leader in the Chamber of Deputies (February - June 2017). Quaestor of the Chamber of Deputies' Standing Bureau (as of February 2018) and president of the joint select Committee on the drafting of the administrative code (as of April 2018).

Ion-Marcel Ciolacu was Deputy PM without portfolio in the Mihai Tudose government (June 29, 2017 - January 29, 2018) and also served as acting Defence Minister (September 6 - 12, 2017).