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Călin Georgescu

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Călin Georgescu (Romanian pronunciation: [kəˈlin dʒe̯orˈdʒesku]; born 26 March 1962) is a Romanian far-right politician, agronomist, and prominent conspiracy theorist,[1] who worked in the field of sustainable development. Georgescu was appointed the executive director of the United Nations (UN) Global Sustainable Index Institute in Geneva and Vaduz for the period 2015–2016. Prior to that, he served as President of the European Research Centre for the Club of Rome (2013–2015).[2]

Călin Georgescu
Georgescu in 2024
Executive director of the United Nations Global Sustainable Index Institute in Geneva/Vaduz
In office
2015–2016
President of the European Research Centre for the Club of Rome
In office
2013–2015
Special Rapporteur in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
In office
2010–2012
Personal details
Born (1962-03-26) 26 March 1962 (age 62)
Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Political partyIndependent (since 2022)
Other political
affiliations		AUR (2020–2022)
Alma materUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest
Occupation

Georgescu is running as an independent candidate in the 2024 Romanian presidential election;[3] his views have been described as pro-Russian, anti-NATO, and far-right,[4][5][6] and he has been described as an ultranationalist, far-right populist, and extremist.[7][8][9] Despite being considered a fringe candidate polling around 5%, he ultimately won 23% and received the most votes in the first round.[10] According to documents provided by the Romanian security services, his campaign used undeclared funds of over €1,000,000 and election infrastructure experienced cyber-attacks believed to originate from "a state actor". The Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round on 6 December. It did not provide a reason for the cancellation.[11][12][13][14]

Early life and education

Georgescu was born in the Cotroceni neighborhood of Bucharest, the son of Scarlat Georgescu and Aneta Georgescu, née Popescu.[15] He graduated in 1986 from the Nicolae Bălcescu Institute of Agronomy in Bucharest and obtained his Ph.D. in pedology from the same institute in 1999.[16]

Diplomatic career

In 1991, Georgescu became head of the Office for the Environment of the Romanian Parliament. In 1992, he became an adviser to the then Minister of Environment Marcian Bleahu. He was Secretary General in the Ministry of Environment from 1997 to 1998.[16]

Georgescu acted as the executive director of the National Centre for Sustainable Development in Bucharest from 2000 to 2013, during which time he coordinated the development of two versions of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, in line with the guidelines of the European Strategy for Sustainable Development. He was President of the European Research Centre for the Club of Rome from 2013 to 2015 and the Executive Director of the UN Global Sustainable Index Institute in Geneva and Vaduz from 2015 to 2016.[17]

Georgescu has worked as the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights and hazardous waste,[18] and represented Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Programme.[19]

Political career

Georgescu was proposed as prime minister by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians in 2020 and 2021.[19][20][21] Georgescu ran for president in the 2024 Romanian presidential election. Among his campaign stances were strengthening Romania's defence capabilities, diversifying Romania's diplomatic relations, increased support for farmers, promoting energy and food production, and reducing dependency on imports.[22] He obtained the most votes at 22.95% in the first round of voting on 24 November,[23] and advanced to a runoff scheduled on 8 December along with Elena Lasconi.[24]

On 6 December 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania cancelled the presidential elections, which will have to be rescheduled for a later date. The court did not provide a reason for the cancellation.[25][12] Russia meddling with the Romanian elections has been mentioned as the foremost reason.[25][12]

Political views

In November 2020, Georgescu stated that dictator Ion Antonescu and Iron Guard founder Corneliu Zelea Codreanu are heroes through whom "the national history lived, through them speaks and spoke the national history and not through the lackeys of the globalist powers that lead Romania today temporarily".[26] He has also said that the Romanian revolution was used by the West to steal Romanian resources, and has multiple times promoted COVID-19 misinformation.[1]

Several media articles criticized Georgescu for his pro-Russian statements, describing him as a Russophile and demonstrating how he used his social media platforms to spread information sourced to Russian state media.[27][28][29] This also resulted in him leaving the AUR in 2022.[22] Georgescu also criticised the European Union and NATO, and described the latter's ballistic missile defense shield in Deveselu as a "shame of diplomacy",[30] and called it a "disgrace".[5] He has also praised Russian president Vladimir Putin as "a man who loves his country". He said that he wanted to engage with, rather than challenge, Russia, because "Security comes from dialogue, not confrontation".[31][22][32] Speaking of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014, Georgescu said: "The situation in Ukraine is clearly manipulated, with the goal of provoking a conflict destined to financially help the military-industrial complex of USA."[33][34] Georgescu has also pledged to end military aid to Ukraine if he is elected president.[35]

Georgescu does not believe in the human Moon landing.[36] In a podcast, he also mentioned that carbonated juices contain nanochips, which "enter you like into a laptop", and considers climate change "a global scam", which "has nothing to do with reality".[36][37][38]

TikTok scandal

Georgescu campaign used social media, especially TikTok, where his videos had more than 52 million views in a four day period and attracted the attention of younger voters. The Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence said that TikTok had given Georgescu "preferential treatment" leading to his "massive exposure". TikTok said Georgescu was treated the same as other candidates and "was subject to exactly the same rules and restrictions".[39]

On 4 December 2024, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis declassified and published Romanian intelligence agency documents, which stated that Georgescu growth was "not organic" and was funded and coordinated by a "state actor". Iohannis declassified the documents at the request of the intelligence agencies. The documents said that Georgescu's advertising campaign slogan "Balance and verticality" was in its methodology identical to an earlier TikTok campaign slogan "Brother near brother" purchased by Russian actors and targeting Ukraine. Romanian media said that the person who funded the Georgescu campaign was a right-wing supporter named Eugen Sechila. The documents said that the campaign was coordinated through Telegram and Discord channels, where advice was given to participants on how to bypass TikTok security mechanisms, avoid geoblocking and bans for comment spam. One involved account "bogpr" identified as registered for a Romanian citizen Bogdan Peșchir, made donations to other TikTok accounts of over €1 million, including €381,000 to accounts directly involved in promoting Georgescu campaign. The South African advertising company FA Agency contacted a number of TikTok influencers and offered €1,000 for promoting Georgescu videos. In total, over 25,000 accounts were involved in promoting these videos.[40][41] The Constitutional Court annulled the results of the election on 6 December. It did not provide a reason for the cancellation. Georgescu's opponent, Elena Lasconi, said "The constitutional court’s decision is illegal, amoral and crushes the very essence of democracy, voting".[11]

Personal life

Georgescu is married and has three children. He has two TikTok accounts, one of which accumulated more than 1.7 million likes before it was deleted at the time of the presidential election in 2024, while the other has 3.7 million likes and 274,000 followers, growing in the weeks prior to the election.[22] He is also a judo practitioner.[32]

Publications

  • Romania at Crossroads, Editura Logos, București, 2014 and Editura Christiana, 2016 (second revised edition and the country project)
  • Pentru un ideal comun [In Search of Common Purpose] (in Romanian). Bucharest: Compania Publishing House. 2012. ISBN 9789731960920. OCLC 809933615.
  • "România după criză. Reprofesionalizarea" [Romania After the Crisis. Reshaping Professional Worth], coordinators Mircea Malița [ro] and Călin Georgescu, Compania Publishing House, Bucharest, 2010. ISBN 9789731960845. OCLC 826656439
  • "Trezirea la realitate" [A Wake-up Call], in România post-criză. Reprofesionalizarea României III [Romania after the Crisis], 3rd IPID Report, Bucharest, 2010, pp. 5–15.
  • "Reclădirea capitalului uman" [Rebuilding Human Capital], in Șansa României: oamenii. Reprofesionalizarea României II [A Chance for Romania: Betting on People], 2nd IPID Report, București, 2009, pp. 7–18.
  • "Romania at the Eve of the Third Millennium", in Millennium III, special issue on "Which Forces are Driving Europe?, European Conference of the National Associations of the Club of Rome", Bucharest, 23–24 May 2008, pp. 95–103.
  • "Reprofesionalizarea României" [Reshaping Professional Worth in Romania], 1st IPID Report, Bucharest, 2008; author and editor.
  • National Sustainable Development Strategy of Romania 2013-2020-2030, (available in Romanian and English), Government of Romania, Bucharest, 2008; Project Manager.
  • Planurile Locale de Dezvoltare Durabilă "Agenda Locală 21" [Local Sustainable Development Plans under Local Agenda 21], for 40 local authorities, 2000–2008; Project Manager.
  • National Sustainable Development Strategy, (available in Romanian and English), United Nations Development Programme, Bucharest, 1999; Project Manager.
  • România 2020, co-editor with Mircea Malița [ro] et al., Editura Conspress, București, 1998. ISBN 9789739623391. OCLC 895707059

References

  1. ^ a b Ross, Tim; Jack, Victor; Petre, Andrei (25 November 2024). "Who is Călin Georgescu, the far-right TikTok star leading the Romanian election race?". POLITICO. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Who is Călin Georgescu, the surprise lead in Romania's presidential elections?". Romania Insider. 25 November 2024.
  3. ^ Lynch, Niamh (25 November 2024). "Romania in shock after far-right candidate wins first round of presidential election". Sky News. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  4. ^ O'Sullivan, David (25 November 2024). "Shock in Romania after little-known populist secures presidential lead". Euronews. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b Atkinson, Emily (25 November 2024). "Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election". BBC Home. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  6. ^ Ilie, Luiza; Vilcu, Mara (26 November 2024). "In election shock, Romanian far-right NATO critic set for presidential contest". Reuters. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  7. ^ Higgins, Andrew (25 November 2024). "Ultranationalist Leads First Round of Romania's Presidential Election". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Grădinaru, Magda (25 November 2024). "Exclusiv: Istoricul austriac care a avertizat de doi ani despre Călin Georgescu: Ce înseamnă pentru România această ascensiune legionară fără precedent". spotmedia.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  9. ^ Diaconescu, Andra (27 November 2024). "Victory of Romania's 'TikTok Messiah' is an alarm bell for Europe". euronews.
  10. ^ Jack, Victor; Paun, Carmen (24 November 2024). "Ultranationalist candidate scores stunning first-round win in Romania election". POLITICO. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Romanian court annuls first round of presidential election". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Pantazi, Cristian; Tăpălagă, Dan (6 December 2024). "BREAKING OFICIAL Curtea Constituțională a anulat alegerile prezidențiale cu două zile înainte de turul 2 între Elena Lasconi și Călin Georgescu. Procesul se reia de la zero, guvernul va stabili data alegerilor. Decizia, luată pe fondul acuzațiilor de ingerință a Rusiei". G4Media.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  13. ^ "PRO TV Chisinau: Stiri din Moldova". Pro TV (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  14. ^ iuliane (5 December 2024). "Romanian authorities reveal massive financing for pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu". Romania Insider. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  15. ^ Mircea, Virginia (17 December 2020). "Călin Georgescu, fișă de cadre". www.cadranpolitic.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b Cicovschi, Afrodita (25 November 2024). "Ce studii are Călin Georgescu și ce locuri de muncă a avut". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  17. ^ Chirileasa, Andrei (25 November 2024). "Who is Călin Georgescu, the surprise lead in Romania's presidential elections?". Romania Insider. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  18. ^ Zsurzsán, Anita (2 December 2024). "Nationalist Leader Promises a Self-Sufficient Romania". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  19. ^ a b Paternoster, Tamsin (25 November 2024). "Who is Romanian far-right presidential candidate Călin Georgescu?". euronews. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  20. ^ Matei, Cristian (7 December 2020). "AUR a anunțat pe cine va propune ca premier: "Călin Georgescu este un român patriot"". Stirileprotv.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  21. ^ Matei, Cristian (11 October 2021). "Simion: "AUR propune un premier independent, care să respecte interesele națiunii române"". Știrile Pro TV (in Romanian). Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d McGrath, Stephen (25 November 2024). "Who is Calin Georgescu, the far-right populist who won the 1st round of Romania's presidential race?". Associated Press. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Pro-Russia candidate surges in Romania presidential vote". France 24. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  24. ^ McGrath, Stephen (26 November 2024). "A far-right populist shocks Romania by heading into the presidential runoff". Associated Press.
  25. ^ a b Păcurar, Bogdan (6 December 2024). "Reacția lui Ciolacu după anularea alegerilor: „Singura soluție corectă după desecretizarea documentelor CSAT"". Digi24 (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  26. ^ Costita, George (13 December 2020). "Cine este Călin Georgescu, propunerea AUR pentru funcția de premier" (in Romanian). Digi24. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  27. ^ Henley, Jon (25 November 2024). "Shock as pro-Russia independent wins first round of Romanian election". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  28. ^ Cartianu, Grigore (7 April 2021). "Călin Georgescu-AUR, rusofil pe față la Pandele TV, promovat de Sputnik: 'Șansa României este înțelepciunea rusească. Complexul militar industrial american este interesat să împingă către un conflict'". Ziariștii (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  29. ^ Despa, Oana (9 October 2021). "Cum propagă grupurile de Facebook ale AUR propaganda rusă". Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Shock in Romania as hard-right Nato critic Calin Georgescu takes lead in presidential election". The Guardian. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  31. ^ Ilie, Luiza; Bayer, Lili; Gray, Andrew (25 November 2024). "Calin Georgescu, the far-right outsider who could be Romania's new president". Reuters.
  32. ^ a b Shamim, Sarah (25 November 2024). "Who is Calin Georgescu, Romanian right-wing candidate leading the election?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  33. ^ Despa, Oana (8 October 2021). "Cum propagă grupurile de Facebook ale AUR propaganda rusă (en: How Alliance for Romanian Unity promotes Russian propaganda on Facebook)". Europa Liberă România. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  34. ^ Cartianu, Grigore (7 April 2021). "Călin Georgescu-AUR, rusofil pe față la Pandele TV, promovat de Sputnik: 'Șansa României este înțelepciunea rusească. Complexul militar industrial american este interesat să împingă către un conflict'". Ziariștii. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  35. ^ Rainsford, Sarah (5 December 2024). "Romania's far right presidential frontrunner vows to end Ukraine aid". BBC.
  36. ^ a b Sources for Moon landing:
  37. ^ Pavel, Stefania (26 November 2024). "Ce dosar penal i s-a deschis candidatului Călin Georgescu: 'Nu înțeleg să fac apologia unei mișcări extremiste'". Ziare.com (in Romanian).
  38. ^ Voicu, Andreea (26 November 2024). "Ce spunea Călin Georgescu despre sucurile carbogazoase: 'S-a predat marfa de plastic, tot ce înseamnă nanocipuri, și intră în tine ca într-un laptop'" (in Romanian). Gândul. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  39. ^ "TikTok tactics shake up politics in Romania". France 24. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  40. ^ "Romania hit by major election influence campaign and Russian cyber-attacks". BBC News. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  41. ^ Redacția, Cristian Pantazi (4 December 2024). "BREAKING Serviciile secrete au declasificat informațiile despre Călin Georgescu: Susținere de la persoane care au atentat la suveranitatea României / Activitatea pe Tiktok ar fi fost coordonată de un actor statal / Voturi cumpărate / Campanie similară a Rusiei în Ucraina". G4Media.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 5 December 2024.
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