Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis nominated liberal Eduard Hellvig (photo, left) to take over as director of the country’s main intelligence service SRI. Hellvig should replace former SRI director George Maior (photo, right), who resigned at the end of January.

Hellvig, who is currently a member of the European Parliament (MEP), must also get the Romanian Parliament’s approval before he will take over his new role.

Eduard Hellvig, 40, is currently vice president of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He was minister of development for a few months, in the first Government led by Victor Ponta. Back then, the PNL had a governing alliance with Ponta’s Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Hellvig withdrew from the Government on incompatibility issues. In December 2014 he got the court to overrule a decision of the National Integrity Agency, which had found him incompatible with his minister position in 2012.

Hellvig got elected to the Chamber of Deputies, in 2012, but resigned one year later to become a member of the European Parliament.

Hellvig was a close collaborator of former liberal leader Crin Antonescu. He then became one of Iohannis’ main supporters.

He graduated the Faculty of Political Studies and Public Administration of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. He worked as a stock broker, between 1997 and 1998.

Eduard Hellvig is a graduate of the National Defense College and the European Center for Security Studies “George C. Marshall”. He also holds a doctorate in political studies.

editor@romania-insider.com