Radu Ştefan Mazăre
| Radu Mazăre | |
|---|---|
Radu Mazăre kitesurfing
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| Mayor of Constanța | |
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In office June 2000 – May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Gheorghe Mihăeși |
| Succeeded by | Decebal Făgădău (acting) |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania for Constanța County |
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In office November 27, 1996 – June 27, 2000 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 5, 1968 Bucharest |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Political party |
Democratic Party (1995-1997) Independent (1997-2003) Social Democratic Party (since 2003) |
| Alma mater | Merchant Marine Institute, Constanța |
| Profession | Electronic engineer |
| Website | http://www.radumazare.ro/ |
Radu Ştefan Mazăre (born July 5, 1968) is a Romanian politician. His political activity began with his election to the lower house of the Parliament on the Democratic Party list, which he left in 1997 to serve as an independent. In 2000 he defeated all party-supported contestants to be elected mayor of Constanța, one of Romania's largest cities and its foremost seaport. Joining the Social Democratic Party in 2003, he went on to win the following three elections with a comfortable majority. In 2015, during his fourth term, Mazăre resigned amid accusations of corruption, citing the unbearable stress caused by what he claimed to be politically motivated investigations.
He is a graduate of the "Mircea cel Batran" Institute of Nautical Sciences (Electromechanics Department) in Constanța, class of 1991.
Mazăre founded the Telegraf newspaper, the local Neptun TV channel and was a shareholder of the Conpress Holding. He joined the Democratic Party (PD) and was elected to the Romanian Chamber of Deputies in 1996. He later resigned due to "differences between electoral promises and [the] realities of government".
He is considered one of the top 300 richest people in Romania and was accused of being a so-called "local baron" of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). In November 2008, The Diplomat reported that the National Anti-corruption Department had accused Mazăre, along with 36 other municipal employees, of corruption, abuse of public service, forgery, and criminal complicity. The group was charged with giving €114 million ($144 million) worth of state-owned land along the coast of the Black Sea and public beaches in Constanta and Mamaia to individuals, including Mazare's family. Mazăre was awarded 5,000 Romanian Lei in damages after the Anti-corruption Department refused to provide information about the qualification of the experts.
Another controversial event took place in July 2009 when, during a fashion show, Radu Mazăre participated wearing a Nazi Wehrmacht uniform, together with his son, who was also wearing a Nazi uniform. He explained that he "always liked this uniform, and admired the rigorous organization of the German army". According to Mazare, "I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it". Two days later he issued a public apology to Jewish organisations, declaring that by wearing the uniform he wanted to pay homage to Claus von Stauffenberg, a leading member of the failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler during World War II.
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Wikipedia