Petre Daea (73), "an experienced man and a patriot," will replace Adrian Chesnoiu as minister of agriculture, Social Democrat president Marcel Ciolacu announced on July 6, after the meeting of the party's National Political Council.

Daea has repeatedly served as minister of agriculture in the Social Democrat post-communist governments, after a two-decade career in administration during the communist regimes.

The nomination will be submitted to prime minister Nicolae Ciuca, Ciolacu added.

The previous agriculture minister, Adrian Chesnoiu, resigned after the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) initiated investigations related to alleged frauds in the hiring process at his ministry.

"I decided, together with my colleagues, that the current replacement for Mr Adrian Chesnoiu is former minister Petre Daea, an experienced man and a man who does not have to learn [from scratch how to run] the ministry and the problems that farmers have, a much-loved patriot by all those who work mainly in agriculture," the PSD president said, quoted by Bursa.

"As in the past, the vote was unanimous," Ciolacu said, at the end of the PSD National Political Council meeting.

(Photo: George Calin/ Inquam Photos)

andrei@romania-insider.com