NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has decided to appoint Mircea Geoana from Romania as the next Deputy Secretary General. He will replace Rose Gottemoeller from the United States, who took up her position in October 2016, a release posted on the NATO website reads.
”I am happy to announce the appointment of Mircea Geoana as the next Deputy Secretary General. He is a staunch advocate of the transatlantic bond and will bring long experience as a statesman and diplomat to this post. He will be the first Romanian to hold this senior office. I am very grateful to Rose Gottemoeller. Her diplomatic skills and her expertise in international security policy have been invaluable to the Alliance, as NATO continues to adapt to a more unpredictable security environment,” Jens Stoltenberg is quoted as saying.
Mircea Geoana reacted that he is delighted by the appointment, as it is a challenge and an opportunity to serve NATO.
“I am delighted to be appointed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as the next Deputy Secretary General. This is both a great challenge and a great opportunity to serve our Alliance, which keeps almost one billion people safe. Throughout my diplomatic and political career, I have been an advocate for the transatlantic bond and for Romania’s Euro-Atlantic integration, so I am truly honoured to be the first Romanian to be appointed to this key post. This is also a recognition of Romania’s strong contribution to NATO,” the former Foreign minister said in Facebook post.
Mircea Geoana is the founder and president of the Aspen Institute Romania. He previously served as President of the Romanian Senate, Foreign Minister, and Romania’s Ambassador to the United States. He will take up his post in mid-October 2019.
Dan Mircea Geoană, born on July 14, 1958 served as speaker of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from December 2008 until this was revoked on November 2011. From April 21, 2005 until February 21, 2010 he was the head of the Social Democratic Party, Romania’s largest party. He was the candidate of the party for the position of President of Romania in the 2009 presidential election. He was dismissed from PSD on November 22, 2011 but rejoined the party in late 2012. Now he is the acting president and founder of P.S.RO, the Social Romanian Party founded in April 2015. He is also the president of Aspen Institute Romania, which is an apolitical and non-profit organization, Wikipedia.org reads.
After Liviu Dragnea’s arrest on May 27, PM Viorica Dancila, who had taken over the interim PSD presidency, sent reconciliation messages to all the Social Democrats ousted from the party in the past years, including to Mircea Geoana. Yet, Geoană responded that his immediate plans “don’t include a comeback in the militant politics”.