Sevil Shhaideh (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈsevil ˈʃajde];[2] Dobrujan Tatar: Sevil Şayideh, née Geambec (Dobrujan Tatar: Ğambek, Crimean Tatar: Cambek); born 4 December 1964) is a Romanian economist, civil servant and politician. On 21 December 2016, she was proposed by the Social Democrats to be Prime minister of Romania, but was rejected by the president, Klaus Iohannis.

Sevil Shhaideh
Shhaideh in 2015
Deputy Prime Minister of Romania
In office
29 June 2017 – 17 October 2017
PresidentKlaus Iohannis
Prime MinisterMihai Tudose
Preceded byAugustin Jianu
Succeeded byPaul Stănescu
In office
4 January 2017 – 16 June 2017
PresidentKlaus Iohannis
Prime MinisterSorin Grindeanu
Preceded byVasile Dîncu
Succeeded byAugustin Jianu
Minister of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds
In office
4 January 2017 – 17 October 2017
PresidentKlaus Iohannis
Prime MinisterSorin Grindeanu
Mihai Tudose
Preceded byVasile Dîncu (Regional Development and Public Administration)
Dragoș Dinu (European Funds)
Succeeded byPaul Stănescu
Minister of Regional Development and Public Administration
In office
20 May 2015 – 17 November 2015
PresidentKlaus Iohannis
Prime MinisterVictor Ponta
Preceded byLiviu Dragnea
Succeeded byVasile Dîncu
Personal details
Born
Sevil Cambek

(1964-12-04) December 4, 1964 (age 59)
Constanța, Romania
CitizenshipRomania
Political partySocial Democratic Party
ReligionSunni Islam[1]

Studies and career

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Shhaideh was born on 4 December 1964, in Constanța, Romania. Her mother Muezel Cambek (née Karpat) is of Crimean Tatar origin and her father Saedin Cambek is of Turkish origin.[3] In 1987 she graduated from the Academy of Economic Sciences of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Planning and Cybernetics. She then worked in the public administration of Constanța County, becoming head of the Directorate General for Projects. In the same period, she was the coordinator of the National Union of Romanian county councils.[4][5] Since 2012 she worked as secretary of state in the Ministry of Regional Development.[6]

Between May and November 2015 Shhaideh was minister of regional development and public administration in the Social Democratic government headed by Victor Ponta, succeeding Liviu Dragnea.[7]

On 21 December 2016 she was indicated by the PSD and ALDE parties as candidate for prime minister to the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis.[4] Dragnea, the PSD leader, indicated that he would keep the overall political responsibility over a Shhaideh government.[8] If she had been approved, she would have been the first woman and first Muslim to hold that position. On 27 December, Iohannis, who comes from the National Liberal Party defeated by the governing coalition, rejected the nomination, prompting Dragnea and Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, the leader of junior coalition partner Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to accuse Iohannis of playing partisan politics and to consider his removal from the presidency.[9]

Personal life

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Shhaideh family are of the Sunni Muslim faith and belonged to the long established Turkish and Tatar ethnic minorities of Romania. Her mother is the niece of the Turkish historian Kemal Karpat.[10][11]

She is married to the Syrian businessman Akram Shhaideh (Arabic: أكرم شحيدة); the Romanian politician Liviu Dragnea was a witness at their wedding ceremony in 2011. According to a declaration of financial interests from July 2015, the couple own three properties in Syria, one in Latakia and two in Damascus.[10][12]

References

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  1. ^ Gillet, Kit (21 December 2016). "Romania Set for First Female, and First Muslim, Prime Minister". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Primul interviu cu Sevil Shhaideh. Dezvăluiri despre amenințările primite". Antena 3. 2016-12-29.
  3. ^ Posta (21 December 2016). "Romanya'da Müslüman Türk Başbakan Önerisi: Sevil Shhaideh". Posta. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  4. ^ a b Maria Dicu (21 December 2016). "Sevil Shhaideh – propunerea PSD pentru funcţia de premier". bitpress.ro. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  5. ^ "Sevil Shhaideh, biografie. Cine este propunerea PSD pentru funcția de prim-ministru". antena3.ro. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  6. ^ Cătălin Legănel (20 May 2015). "Cine este Sevil Shhaideh, secretarul de stat propus pentru funcţia de ministru al Dezvoltării". gandul.info. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  7. ^ "Cine este Sevil Shhaideh, noul ministru al Dezvoltării". digi24.ro. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  8. ^ "Romania's leftists propose ex-development minister for prime minister | Reuters". reuters.com. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  9. ^ Paun, Carmen (27 December 2016). "Romanian president rejects Muslim woman for prime minister". POLITICO. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b Sabina Fati (21 May 2015). "Un reprezentant al tătarilor în guvernul României: Sevil Shhaideh". Radio Europa Liberă. Europa Libera. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  11. ^ Daily Sabah (21 December 2016). "Muslim, Turkish Sevil Shhaideh set to be Romania's first female prime minister". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  12. ^ Alina Grigoras Butu (21 December 2016). "Update: PSD proposes woman of Turkish origin as Prime Minister. Liviu Dragnea says it will be their only proposal". The Romania Journal. Retrieved 2016-12-21.