Sorin Frunzăverde


Sorin Frunzăverde was a Romanian politician. He served as the Minister of National Defense of Romania on two occasions as well as the Minister of Tourism and Ministry of Water, Forestry and Environmental Protection. He was also the President of the Caraș-Severin County Council a member of the Parliament of Romania and a Member of the European Parliament from 2007–2009. Formerly a member of the Democratic Liberal Party, he joined the National Liberal Party in 2012.
In 2015, he was charged with influence peddling by the National Anticorruption Directorate and convicted the following year. He received a two-year suspended sentence.

Biography

Early life and career

He was born on 26 April 1960 in Bocşa, Caraş-Severin County, Romania and educated in Reșița. He graduated from metallurgical faculty of the Politehnica University of Bucharest with a degree in metallurgical engineering. He joined the Reșița Ironworks as an engineer and later became the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Caraş-Severin County.

Political career

In 1992, he won election to the county council of Caraş-Severin County, becoming president of that body in 1996.
In December 1997, he was appointed as Ministry of Water, Forestry and Environmental Protection in the cabinet of Victor Ciorbea. After Radu Vasile became prime minister in 1998, Frunzăverde moved to the position of Minister of Tourism.
He twice served as Minister of National Defense. The first appointment, from 13 March 2000 to 28 December 2000, came in the First cabinet of Mugur Isărescu when President Emil Constantinescu chose him to replace defence minister Victor Babiuc, who had left the Democratic Party but refused to leave the ministerial post. He returned to the post from 25 October 2006 to 5 April 2007, in the first cabinet of Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu after defence minister Teodor Atanasiu resigned following a long running dispute with President Traian Băsescu.
He was a Member of the European Parliament, where he was the Head of the Romanian delegation to the EPP, vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Within the European Parliament, he was involved in the EU-Western Balkans dialogue, acting as a member in the Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe and the Delegation to the EU-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee. He pushed for his party to join the European People’s Party group after having been affiliated with the Socialist International.

Personal life

Frunzăverde was fluent in English, Italian, and German, and was married with one child. He died from kidney disease on 3 November 2019 at the age of 59.