Gabriel Oprea (; born 1 January 1961) is a Romanian politician and a general in the army reserves. The former president of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and a former member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who is now an independent, he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Ilfov County from 2004 to 2012 and was a Senator for Bucharest from 2012 to 2016.
In the Adrian Năstase cabinet, he was Minister-Delegate for Public Administration from June 2003 to July 2004; in the Emil Boc cabinet, he was Minister of Administration and Interior from December 2008 to January 2009; again under Boc and continuing under Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, he was Defence Minister (December 2009–May 2012); and in the Victor Ponta cabinet, served as deputy Prime Minister from December 2012, additionally holding the Interior portfolio from January 2014. From June to July 2015, and again from late July into August, he was interim Prime Minister of Romania. That November, he left the government after Ponta's resignation.
Biography
Early life and military career He was born in Fundulea, Călărași County and in 1980 entered the Active Officers' Military School in Sibiu, graduating as an officer in 1983. Following Law studies at the University of Bucharest from 1985 to 1990, he qualified as a lawyer, in 2000 obtaining a Law doctorate from the same institution. Ioana Nicolescu, "Doctoratul lui Oprea, etichetat plagiat de şeful Comisiei de Etică a Universităţii Bucureşti", Adevărul, 4 September 2015; retrieved September 29, 2015 He also finished a course in national security at the Carol I National Defence University in 1997. In 2001, he was a professor at the latter school; he served as thesis adviser at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy in 2002 and has been both professor and thesis adviser at the National Academy of Intelligence since 2008. He has also authored and co-authored a number of books and chapters since 2001. He and his wife Sanda have a daughter and a son. Curriculum vitae at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site; retrieved May 15, 2009
In 2015, an allegation of plagiarism was lodged against Oprea with regard to his thesis; he responded that the source of the complaint was an individual he had fired and who was pursuing a vendetta. A national ethics council unanimously found no evidence of plagiarism. Meanwhile, the head of Bucharest University's ethics committee, speaking in a personal capacity, charged that dozens of pages from the thesis were indeed plagiarized. Oprea's party responded by accusing him of defamation and threatening a lawsuit. Additionally, journalists asserted that three doctoral theses supervised by Oprea were themselves affected by plagiarism. Andra Dolana, "Un nou scandal de plagiat, cu o teză coordonată de Gabriel Oprea", România Liberă, 31 August 2015; retrieved September 29, 2015 A 2023 ruling by the High Court of Cassation and Justice annulled the order withdrawing his title of PhD, prompting Oprea to claim he had been cleared of plagiarism. "Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție a anulat ordinul prin care fostului vicepremier Oprea i-a fost anulat titlul de doctor, în urma verdictului de plagiat", edupedu.ro, 17 October 2023; retrieved October 17, 2023
Oprea served in the Romanian Land Forces from 1983 to 1990, and in 1990 worked in the military law. In 2000, Oprea was made a knight of the Order of the Star of Romania, and the following year attained the same rank in the National Order for Faithful Service. He reached the rank of three-start lieutenant general in the reserves in 2008. "Neculai Onţanu şi Gheorghe Turda, avansaţi la gradul de general" ("Neculai Onţanu and Gheorghe Turda, Advanced to the Rank of General") , Adevărul, 1 December 2008; retrieved May 15, 2009 In October 2009, President Traian Băsescu granted him the rank of four-star general, possibly in exchange for Oprea's support of Băsescu's bid for re-election. Cristian Oprea, "Armata de generali a prezidenţiabilului Traian Băsescu" ("Army of Generals of Presidential Candidate Traian Băsescu"), Cotidianul, 23 October 2009; retrieved October 24, 2009 From 2000 to 2001, he was adjunct director of the National Defence University. From 2001 to 2002, he was a secretary of state at the National State Reserves Administration, and from 2002 to 2003, he was Prefect of Bucharest.
Political beginnings and first cabinet post In 2003, Oprea joined the PSD, and aside from serving in the Năstase government, he became president of the party's Ilfov County branch in 2004 and of its defence policy department in 2006. He was also part of its national coordinating bureau in 2004–2005. At the 2004 election, he won a seat in the Chamber, where he served on the joint parliamentary committee providing oversight to the activities of Serviciul Român de Informaţii (SRI) and worked mainly on legislation affecting that agency. Re-elected in 2008, Election results , alegeri.tv; retrieved May 15, 2009 he was soon named to the Administration and Interior portfolio. Cornelia Trif, "Miniştrii Guvernului Boc au fost validaţi" ("The Ministers of the Boc Government Have Been Validated") , City News, 20 December 2008; retrieved 10 May 2009 At the time, his wealth drew some attention; in 2008, he had bank accounts worth over €1 million, three houses and two apartments in and around Bucharest, and a Mercedes-Benz. "Gabriel Oprea, nominalizat la MAI, a fost ministru pentru Administraţie în Cabinetul Năstase" ("Gabriel Oprea, Nominated for MAI, Was Minister of Administration in the Năstase Cabinet"), Mediafax, 18 December 2008; retrieved 10 May 2009
Oprea announced his priorities as minister to be security for citizens, in particular the maintenance of order in large cities; decentralisation combined with a strengthening of local institutions; and for Romania to join the Schengen Area by 2011. "Ministrul Gabriel Oprea a cerut poliţiştilor clujeni toleranţă zero la infracţionalitate" ("The Minister Gabriel Oprea Asked Cluj-Napoca Police Officers to Have Zero Tolerance for Infractions"), Mediafax, 3 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009 However, he quickly ran into political difficulties when a scandal erupted within the party regarding the state secretaries and departmental directors Oprea had named to posts within the ministry; particularly controversial was the appointment of Virgil Ardelean to head the General Directorate for Internal Information and Protection. Oprea was attacked by his rival for the ministerial post, Liviu Dragnea; by former President Ion Iliescu and his allies, whose own candidate Oprea had defeated; and eventually by party leader Mircea Geoană, who charged Oprea with acting unilaterally and outside party discipline by making the appointments without consulting him. However, some defended Oprea, saying he had acted within his legal prerogatives and that it was not Ardelean and the other appointees they objected to, but the fact that they could not place their own supporters in the positions Oprea filled. Dan Cărbunaru, "Război în PSD. Numirea lui Ardelean declanşează scandalul" ("War in PSD. Ardelean's Appointment Triggers Scandal"), Gândul, 10 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009 The affair caused some tension in the coalition government as well: Prime Minister Emil Boc of the PD-L signed Oprea's appointments also without consulting Geoană. Iulia Barbu, "'Vulpea' bagă dihonia în PSD" ("'The Fox' Splits the PSD") , Jurnalul Naţional, 10 January 2009; retrieved 15 May 2009
Following several days of scandal and with no sign of support from President Traian Băsescu, Mara Răducanu, Lavinia Dimancea, "Băsescu i-a întors spatele" ("Băsescu Turned His Back to Him") , Jurnalul Naţional, 13 January 2009; retrieved 15 May 2009 Oprea resigned his post after three weeks on the job, claiming he had acted "properly and legally" but that the appointments had "disturbed certain people" and he was unwilling to be a "puppet minister". "Ministrul de Interne, Gabriel Oprea, a demisionat din funcţie" ("Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea Resigns His Office"), Mediafax, 13 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009 Shortly afterwards, following the party leadership's withdrawal of its political support for Oprea as minister, he resigned as Ilfov County party chairman, "Gabriel Oprea a demisionat de la conducerea PSD Ilfov" ("Gabriel Oprea Resigns from the PSD Ilfov Leadership"), Mediafax, 14 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009 and then left the party itself (and the defence policy department presidency) after the leadership initiated moves to expel him, saying he did not wish to subject county party members (most of whom he believed would have continued to stand by him) to "pressures from headquarters". "Gabriel Oprea a demisionat din PSD" ("Gabriel Oprea Resigns from the PSD"), Mediafax, 15 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009 A month later, in February 2009, with Oprea now sitting as an independent, the Chamber unanimously voted to approve him as a member of the defence committee. "Gabriel Oprea, votat ca membru al Comisiei de apărare din Camera Depurtaţilor" ("Gabriel Oprea, Approved as Members of the Defence Committee in the Chamber of Deputies"), Mediafax, 15 January 2009; retrieved May 15, 2009
UNPR leadership and later ministerial assignments Joining the new National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR), he was elected its executive president in May 2010. "Marian Sârbu a fost ales preşedintele UNPR, Oprea este preşedinte executiv" ("Marian Sârbu Elected UNPR President, Oprea Is Executive President"), România Liberă, 1 May 2010; retrieved July 14, 2015 Meanwhile, he returned to the Boc cabinet in late 2009, as Defence Minister. "Gabriel Oprea, general cu patru stele în rezervă, nominalizat pentru Ministerul Apărării" ("Gabriel Oprea, Four-Star General, Nominated as Defence Minister"), Mediafax, 20 December 2009; retrieved July 14, 2015 As such, he drew controversy for using a ministerial helicopter to fly to and from party events. He served until May 2012, including, during the last phase, under Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu. "Mesajul lui Victor Ponta la preluarea mandatelor M.A.I. şi MApN" ("Victor Ponta's Message at Interior and Defence Swearing-in"), antena3.ro, 8 May 2012; retrieved July 14, 2015 At that point, incoming prime minister Victor Ponta, despite having criticized UNPR members as "traitors" and "undercover officers", reached an agreement with Oprea, who provided parliamentary support to the new government. Cristian Câmpeanu, "Ponta îmbrăţişează 'trădătorii' şi 'ofiţerii acoperiţi' de la UNPR" ("Ponta Embraces UNPR's 'Traitors' and Undercover Officers'"), România Liberă, 2 May 2012; retrieved July 14, 2015 That December, he was elected to the Senate, and subsequently became deputy prime minister. Anca Simina, "Gabriel Oprea, vicepremier în Guvernul Ponta II" ("Gabriel Oprea, Deputy Premier in Second Ponta Government"), Gândul, 19 December 2012; retrieved July 14, 2015 2012- profile at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site; retrieved July 14, 2015