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Raluca Turcan

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Raluca Turcan
Turcan in 2013
Deputy Prime Minister of Romania
In office
4 November 2019 – 23 December 2020
PresidentKlaus Iohannis
Prime MinisterLudovic Orban
Nicolae Ciucă (Acting)
Preceded byPaul Stănescu
Succeeded byDan Barna & Kelemen Hunor
Minister of Culture
In office
15 June 2023 – 23 December 2024
Prime MinisterMarcel Ciolacu
Preceded byLucian Romașcanu
Succeeded byNatalia-Elena Intotero
Minister of Labor and Social Protection
In office
23 December 2020 – 25 November 2021
Prime MinisterFlorin Cîțu
Preceded byVioleta Alexandru
Succeeded byMarius-Constantin Budăi
President of the National Liberal Party
(Acting)
In office
13 December 2016 – 17 June 2017
Preceded byAlina Gorghiu
Succeeded byLudovic Orban
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 December 2004
ConstituencySibiu County
Personal details
Born
Raluca Tatarcan

(1976-04-02) 2 April 1976 (age 48)
Botoșani, Romania
Political partyNational Liberal Party
(Before 2006; 2014–present)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Democratic Party
(2006–2007)
Democratic Liberal Party
(2007–2014)
SpouseValeriu Turcan (2004–present)
Children1 son
Alma materBucharest Academy of
Economic Studies
National University of Political
Studies and Public
Administration
Transilvania University

Raluca Turcan (née Tatarcan; 2 April 1976) is a Romanian politician. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), she has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Sibiu County since 2004.

She has been married to Valeriu Turcan, a former adviser to Romanian President Traian Băsescu, since 2004. The couple have a son, Eric, born in 2007.[1]

Biography

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She was born in Botoșani to Dumitru and Maria-Margareta Tatarcan;[2] her father is a high school principal.[3] She studied in the Faculty of International Economic Relations at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, graduating in 1999. She was also enrolled at Moscow's Pushkin Institute from 1996 to 1999, and earned a degree in business Russian from there. In 2006, she began work on a master's degree in political marketing at the National School of Administration and Political Science of Bucharest, and that year she also began a doctorate at the Transylvania University of Braşov. She has also pursued studies in Austria and in the United States. From 1999 to 2000, she worked as a public relations consultant for Tofan Grup, an automobile tyre distributor. She was then a parliamentary expert at the Romanian Senate from 2000 to 2004, and from 2000 to 2006 was an associated professor at Transylvania University and at the Romanian-German University of Sibiu.[4]

Turcan began her political career in 2000, as an adviser to the president of the National Council of the National Liberal Party (PNL). In 2002, she moved on to become an adviser to PNL President Theodor Stolojan, which she remained until 2004. That year, which saw her elected to Parliament, she joined the PNL's national leadership council, remaining until 2006. After being ejected from the PNL, she and fellow party dissidents Valeriu Stoica and Cristian Boureanu joined the Stolojan-founded Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), serving as its vice president from March until December 2007. At that point, the party merged with the Democratic Party and Turcan became vice president of the new formation, the PDL.[4] She was re-elected in 2008.[5] While in the Chamber, she has served on several committees, and has twice been president of the Committee on Culture, Arts and Mass Media (2005–2006; since 2008).[6] At the 2012 election, she placed second in her district, but won another term through the redistribution mechanism specified by the electoral law.[7] Following the PNL's loss in the 2016 election and the resignation of its president Alina Gorghiu, Turcan served as interim party leader,[8] until the election of Ludovic Orban on a permanent basis.[9] In May 2019, following the vacancy left by the incarceration of Liviu Dragnea, she ran for Chamber President, losing to Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).[10] She was Deputy Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020 and Minister of Labour and Social Protection from December 2020 to November 2021.[11]

Controversies

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Turcan has worked with civil society groups focusing on mass media, free expression, human rights and health. She has co-authored an English-Russian-Romanian dictionary of economic terms, as well as the book Integrare şi politică fiscală europeană ("Integration and European Fiscal Policy"). Additionally, she has published studies on European integration and public relations.[4]

During her career in politics, Turcan has been the subject of some controversy. After Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu became PNL President and Prime Minister of Romania in 2004, her public criticisms of the party began to increase, so that in July 2006, the party gave her a warning, to which she responded that she would continue making similar statements.[12] She kept her word, and the party expelled her that September.[13] Continuing to attack Tăriceanu, she was at the forefront of a group of PD-L deputies who in March 2008 asked prosecutors to investigate the prime minister for abuse of office and corruption in his attempts to impose an automobile tax (he has links to the industry),[14] and, a year later, before Tăriceanu lost the PNL presidency, declared a united right-wing party encompassing the PD-L and the PNL could be formed if he and a few people around him left the PNL.[15] Shortly after her expulsion, she complained of "a trio monopolising the party, made up of Tăriceanu, Olteanu and Orban, which has practically confiscated it and eliminates anyone who dares share a point of view different from theirs".[16] By contrast, she has been a public supporter of Băsescu, whom she notes shares the PD-L's objectives,[17] and whose suspension she called "a serious abuse".[18] She also predicted that then-PNL leader Crin Antonescu would lose to Băsescu at the 2009 election and noted the party risked marginalisation if it continued its anti-Băsescu strategy.[19] Turcan supports modifying the Constitution in order to enhance presidential powers to those found in a consolidated semi-presidential system.[20]

References

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  1. ^ (in Romanian) Family Archived 2018-04-30 at the Wayback Machine; accessed 5 May 2009
  2. ^ (in Romanian) Profile Archived 2018-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, alegeri.tv
  3. ^ (in Romanian) "Lucrările la extinderea A.T. Laurian sunt mai încurcate ca oricând" ("Extension Works at A.T. Laurian Are More Confused than Ever"), Jurnalul de Botoșani și Dorohoi, 16 June 2007; accessed 5 May 2009
  4. ^ a b c (in Romanian) Curriculum vitae at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site; accessed 5 May 2009
  5. ^ (in Romanian) Election results Archived 2018-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, alegeri.tv
  6. ^ (in Romanian) Profile at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site; accessed 5 May 2009
  7. ^ (in Romanian) Carmen Vintilă, "Cine câștigă la loteria redistribuirii: Blaga, Anastase, Udrea, Boagiu, Stănișoară" ("Who Wins the Redistribution Lottery: Blaga, Anastase, Udrea, Boagiu, Stănișoară"), 11 December 2012; accessed December 11, 2012
  8. ^ (in Romanian) Matei Năstase, "Raluca Turcan, noul președintele interimar al PNL" ("Raluca Turcan, the New Interim PNL President"), 12 December 2016; accessed December 12, 2016
  9. ^ (in Romanian) Radu Eremia, Laura Andreea Popa, "Ludovic Orban este noul preşedinte al formaţiunii după o victorie zdrobitoare" ("Ludovic Orban Is the New President of His Party after a Crushing Victory"), Adevărul, 17 June 2017; accessed June 17, 2017
  10. ^ (in Romanian) "Deputatul PSD Marcel Ciolacu a fost ales președinte al Camerei Deputaților" ("PSD Deputy Marcel Ciolacu Elected Chamber of Deputies President"), G4Media, 29 May 2019; accessed May 29, 2019
  11. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan, propusă ministru al Culturii" ("Raluca Turcan, Proposed as Culture Minister"), Agerpres, 13 June 2023; accessed June 15, 2023
  12. ^ (in Romanian) "PNL - Raluca Turcan este la un pas de excludere" ("PNL - Raluca Turcan Is a Step Away from Expulsion") Archived 2018-06-27 at the Wayback Machine, Jurnalul Naţional, 7 July 2006; accessed 5 May 2009
  13. ^ (in Romanian) "Liberalii au mai pierdut doi parlamentari" ("The Liberals Have Lost Two More Parliamentarians"), Cronica Română, 2 October 2006; accessed 5 May 2009
  14. ^ (in Romanian) "Plângere penală impotriva lui Tăriceanu" ("Penal Complaint against Tăriceanu"), 9am.ro, 5 March 2008; accessed 5 May 2009
  15. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan: Un PNL fără Tăriceanu ar putea duce la unificarea forţelor de dreapta" ("Raluca Turcan: A PNL without Tăriceanu Could Lead to the Union of Right-wing Forces") Archived 2018-06-27 at the Wayback Machine, Ziua, 6 February 2009; accessed 5 May 2009
  16. ^ (in Romanian) "'Tripleta Tăriceanu-Olteanu-Orban conduce PNL prin teroare!'" ("'The Tăriceanu-Olteanu-Orban Trio Leads the PNL through Terror!'"), Cronica Română, 13 October 2006; accessed 5 May 2009
  17. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan: PD-L şi Băsescu urmăresc aceleaşi obiective" ("Raluca Turcan: PD-L and Băsescu Share the Same Objectives"), stirilocale.ro, 24 March 2008; accessed 5 May 2009
  18. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan: 'Electoratul va vota covârşitor de partea preşedintelui'" ("Raluca Turcan: 'the Electorate Will Vote Overwhelmingly for the President'"), stirilocale.ro, 19 April 2007; accessed 5 May 2009
  19. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan pe post de 'mama Omida': Îi prevăd eşecul lui Crin Antonescu la prezidenţiale" ("Raluca Turcan as 'mama Omida': I Predict Crin Antonescu's Failure at the Presidential Elections")[permanent dead link‍], Ziua, 27 March 2009; accessed 5 May 2009
  20. ^ (in Romanian) "Raluca Turcan: Prin modificarea Constituţiei preşedintele trebuie să devină principalul factor al puterii executive" ("Raluca Turcan: Through Constitutional Modification, the President Should Become the Chief Executive Actor")[permanent dead link‍], Ziua, 30 January 2009; accessed 5 May 2009
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Party political offices
Preceded by President of the National Liberal Party
Acting
(2016–2017) 		Succeeded by
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