Lucian Croitoru

In October 2009, Croitoru, supported by the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L), was passed over by Parliament in favour of Bogdan Olteanu, a leading member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and a lawyer by profession, for the position of National Bank vice-governor. This provoked harsh accusations from the economic establishment that Parliament was politicizing the BNR. According to Evenimentul Zilei newspaper, Olteanu was chosen after closed-door negotiations between the PNL and the Social Democrats (or PSD, who had just quit a government coalition with the Democratic Liberals), in exchange for future PNL support of PSD appointees.

Meanwhile, from January to September 1998, he was chief adviser to Finance Minister Daniel Dăianu. Starting that October, and until September 2003, he was adviser to the governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Mugur Isărescu. In 2000, he was personal adviser to Isărescu while the latter was Prime Minister. In 2002, Croitoru became a consultant for USAID and IRIS, as well as for Phare. From September 2003 to July 2007, he was chief adviser of the International Monetary Fund's executive directorate for twelve primarily post-Communist countries. An expert in planning and implementing monetary, fiscal and business restructuring policy, in September 2007, he became Isărescu's adviser on monetary policy.

Croitoru has written several books and over 150 articles on economics. In 1995, he received the PS Aurelian Prize from the Romanian Academy, and in 2000 became a Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania.

Following graduation in 1982, Croitoru worked as an economist at the Bucharest Well and Water Works for two years. His first stint in public service came between 1991 and 1995, when he worked as an expert at the Romanian Government's Department for Economic Reform. From 1995 to 1996, he was a consultant at Bucharest Investment Group; then, until 1997, he was a partner in a research project within the framework of the 1995 Phare programme of the European Union. He was also a research partner in the 1998 Phare framework project, from January 2001 to May 2002. These focused on public finance problems in transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Croitoru was born in Otopeni, Ilfov County. Between 1979 and 1982, he studied at the Faculty of Planning and Economic Cybernetics of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (ASE). He holds a 1995 doctorate from the same university, and has had additional studies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Austria. From 1984 to 1998, Croitoru was a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economy. He taught international macroeconomics at ASE's Faculty of International Economic Relations from 1998 to 2003.

Lucian Croitoru (born February 13, 1957) is a Romanian economist. On October 15, 2009, following the defeat of Emil Boc's government through a motion of no confidence, President Traian Băsescu nominated Croitoru to be Prime Minister of Romania. The nomination was opposed by a majority of Parliament, which adopted a declaration asking for his withdrawal, and vowing support for the candidature of Klaus Iohannis. Croitoru assembled a proposed cabinet, but this was voted down by Parliament on November 4.