Ilie Bolojan

Ilie Gavril Bolojan (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈli.e boloˈʒan]; born 17 March 1969) is a Romanian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Romania since 2025. He formerly held several public offices, including acting President of Romania, President of the Senate, Mayor of Oradea, and President of the Bihor County Council. Following the National Liberal Party's defeat in the first round of the later annulled 2024 Romanian presidential election, and the subsequent resignation of Nicolae Ciucă, Bolojan became the party's acting president and was elected president of the Senate of Romania.^[1]

On 12 February 2025, following the resignation of Iohannis, Bolojan became the acting president of Romania, serving until Nicușor Dan's inauguration on 26 May 2025 following his victory in the 2025 Romanian presidential election. During his acting presidency, his term as president of the Senate was suspended and took office again after Dan's presidency began. On 20 June 2025, Bolojan was named as Prime Minister of Romania by President Dan and was sworn in on 23 June 2025.^[2]

Bolojan was born on 17 March 1969 in Vadu Crișului, a commune in Bihor County, in the Socialist Republic of Romania. He is unrelated to Victor Bolojan, a high-ranking Communist politician (Central Committee member 1969–1979) and diplomat.^[3] Bolojan graduated from the Emanuil Gojdu Mathematics-Physics High School in Oradea and studied mechanics (1988–1993) at the Traian Vuia Polytechnic Institute in Timișoara and mathematics (1990–1993) at the West University of Timișoara.^[4] He became a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 1993. During 1993–1994, he was a teacher at the Tileagd Auxiliary School.

Between 1996 and 2004, Ilie Bolojan was a local councilor of the town of Aleșd, and from 2004 a member of the Bihor County Council. In 2005 and 2006, he attended specialisation courses in public administration in France and at the National Institute of Administration in Bucharest. In the period 2005–2007, he was commissioner ('prefect') of Bihor County, and in the period 2007–2008 he held the position of secretary general of the Government.

In 2008, Bolojan was elected mayor of the municipality of Oradea with 50.37% of the vote,^[5] becoming the first mayor of the city elected in the first round after 1989. He started a program of administrative and economic reforms, modernising the infrastructure, rehabilitating the historic center and attracting investors, thus Oradea became more attractive from an economic and tourist point of view.^[6][7] In 2012 and 2016, Bolojan was re-elected mayor, obtaining 66.08%, and 70.95% of the vote, respectively.^[8][9]

In 2020, Bolojan was elected president of the Bihor County Council with 61.51% of the vote.^[10] He continued to promote infrastructural development and investment attraction projects for the county, improving public services and creating a more efficient and transparent administrative system.^[11][12][13]

Following the December 2024 parliamentary elections, Bolojan became a member of the Romanian Senate, and on 23 December 2024, he was chosen as the president of the Senate of Romania.^[1]

Following the resignation of Klaus Iohannis on 12 February 2025, Bolojan became acting president in accordance with the presidential succession laws. During the handover ceremony, Iohannis greeted Bolojan at the Cotroceni Palace and held a brief meeting with him.^[14][15] He served as acting president until 26 May 2025, when Nicușor Dan's presidency began following his victory in the 2025 Romanian presidential election.^[16]

During his tenure, the presidency of Romania saw a boost in reputation after the lackluster final years of the Iohannis presidency, with more public appearances and media visibility. In foreign affairs, Bolojan reiterated Romania's commitment to helping Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine with logistics and additional deliveries,^[17] ensured stronger ties with southern neighbor Bulgaria^[18] and had a major meeting with Emmanuel Macron regarding French military presence on NATO's Eastern flank,^[19] though opposing the presence of additional nuclear weapons.^[20]

Domestically, he was seen as a stabilizing force following the social and institutional crisis caused by the annulment of the Presidential elections months prior.^[21] He promised a more organized and better regulated presidential election^[22] and reiterated the obligation of national institutions to respect and serve the Romanian people.^[23] Bolojan met with local banking associations to discuss and implement plans regarding EU funds absorption and investments in local businesses and infrastructure.^[24] He also militated for an increase in defense spending in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War, saying "“defence is no longer a free service".^[25] His interim presidency came to an end on 26 May 2025 following Nicusor Dan's win in the presidential elections. After nearly a month of negotiations, he assumed the premiership after being named by Dan.

On 16 June, President Dan hinted that he would appoint Bolojan prime minister later that week,^[26] with the coalition deal with the PSD being confirmed the following day. Under the agreement, Bolojan would be appointed prime minister but would have to leave office for a PSD member in 2027.^[27] He was formally nominated on 20 June,^[28] and confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies in a 301 to 9 vote three days later.^[29][30]

His term began during a period of high distrust in national institutions. The previous two Ciolacu governments left Romania with the highest inflation rate in the EU at the time of the beginning of his term (5.8% in June 2025)^[31] and a budget deficit of 9.3% (also highest in the EU) of total GDP^[32] due to excessive increase in spending; Marcel Ciolacu had previously ignored warnings from his Finance Minister, Marcel Bolos, about the deficit and inflation.^[33]

Bolojan collaborated with the ministers of his cabinet in order to tackle these two issues primarily, by adopting a number of unpopular economic measures, split into multiple packages. In the first package, the VAT was increased from 19% to 21%, marking the first hike since 2016. Additionally, the government consolidated its reduced VAT rates of 5% and 9% into a single reduced rate of 11%, applicable to a broad range of goods and services.^[34] These tax increases were met with challenges: public protests and some limited threats of strikes and a no-confidence vote. Eventually, the measures passed successfully.^[35]

The second wave of measures targeted the public sector: the government sought to downsize the administrative apparatus of multiple institutions which were the subject of unmotivated increases in personnel in the years prior, resulting in higher spending.^[36][37] The numbers of employees were reduced nad remuneration capping were also targets of the measures. A pressing issue that has been present in Romanian society for a considerable number of years is that of judicial pension reform. Currently, magistrates and judges in Romania can retire a lot earlier than many other employees and also benefit from a much higher pension than average.^[37][38] This was a significant measure that the prime minister sought to implement, but it was shot down by Romania's supreme court on 20 October 2025.^[39]

Initially, Bolojan's premiership was met with public enthusiasm; however, the implementation of strict fiscal measures has elicited criticism from broader society. Among his peers, he is regarded as a serious, disciplined, and calculated politician. His governing ability is constrained by the compromises required to maintain the coalition government he leads. In early January 2026, Bolojan described the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela as a "special operation" that was "not usual". He stated that Romania would align with the EU's position and expressed hope for a democratic transition in Venezuela.^[40]

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