President Nicușor Dan appointed new advisers to the team at Cotroceni Palace on Thursday, as announced by the Presidential Administration.
Among them are former Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu, and Sorin Costreie, a philosophy professor at the University of Bucharest.
The decrees signed by Nicușor Dan provide for the following appointments from November 17:
- Valentin-Sorin Costreie – presidential adviser for the Department of Education and Research;
- Vlad Ionescu – state adviser for the Department of Foreign Policy;
- Mădălina-Gabriela Fătu – state adviser for the General Secretariat of the Presidential Administration;
- Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu – honorary adviser for resilience, innovation, and European solidarity;
- Șerban Iftime – honorary adviser for the Department of Economic and Social Policies.
Vlad Voiculescu and Șerban Iftime are honorary advisers and will not be remunerated.
Vlad Voiculescu, criminally prosecuted in the vaccine case
Starting from November 17, Vlad Voiculescu will be an honorary adviser for resilience, innovation, and European solidarity.
Former Minister of Health is criminally prosecuted by the DNA prosecutors in the pandemic vaccine case. He is accused of serious abuse of office, as well as complicity in abuse of office.
The DNA is also investigating former PNL Prime Minister Florin Cîțu, as well as former USR Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă. Prosecutors claim that the three acquired significantly more doses of anti-Covid vaccine than necessary for the Romanian population, causing a budget loss of over 1 billion euros.
This involves tens of millions of doses, purchased in excess of what was needed for the entire population.
Who is Sorin Costreie
Sorin Costreie will be in charge of the Department of Education and Research. Prof. Sorin Costreie is a PhD, serving as the Vice-Rector for Public Relations and University Networks at the University of Bucharest. Previously, he was Vice-Rector for International Relations and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in 2016 and 2017, and has been a member of the University Senate since 2011.
In 2016, Costreie held the position of adviser to the minister and secretary of state at the Ministry of Education during Minister Mircea Dumitru's term, who is currently the Rector of the University of Bucharest.
Additionally, from 2008 to 2016, Costreie led the Quality Management Department at the University of Bucharest.
He holds a PhD in philosophy, with a thesis dedicated to the philosophy of mathematics, and is an associate professor at the Department of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Bucharest.
He has studied in Canada, the United States, Germany, Spain, and Italy, focusing in recent years on areas such as mathematical knowledge and critical thinking.
Since 2014, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy.
Șerban Iftime, son of the PNL Botoșani leader
Șerban Iftime will be an adviser at the Department of Economic and Social Policies. He is the son of Valeriu Iftime, President of the Botoșani County Council and the local PNL branch, according to BotoșaniNews.
Șerban Iftimie is a manager at a large company in the utilities sector, providing engineering services for municipal public utilities (energy, water, automation, and SCADA).