Ecaterina Andronescu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ecaterina Andronescu KSR
Minister of Education
In office 20 November 2018 – 2 August 2019
Prime Minister	Viorica Dăncilă
Preceded by	Valentin Popa
In office 2 July 2012 – 21 December 2012
Prime Minister	Victor Ponta
Preceded by	Ioan Mang
Succeeded by	Remus Pricopie
In office 22 December 2008 – 1 October 2009
Prime Minister	Emil Boc
Preceded by	Anton Anton
Succeeded by	Daniel Funeriu
In office 28 December 2000 – 19 June 2003
Prime Minister	Adrian Năstase
Preceded by	Andrei Marga
Succeeded by	Alexandru Athanasiu
Senator of Romania
In office 30 November 2008 – 20 December 2020
Deputy of Romania
In office 22 November 1996 – 14 December 2008
Personal details
Born	(1948-04-07) 7 April 1948 (age 77) Malovăț, Mehedinți County, Romanian People's Republic
Political party	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Education	Politehnica University of Bucharest

Ecaterina Andronescu, born on April 7, 1948, is a Romanian engineer, university professor, and politician. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). She served in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies from 1996 to 2008. Later, she was a Senator from 2008 until 2020, representing Bucharest. Ms. Andronescu held the position of Minister of Education four times. She served in this role in 2000-2003, 2008-2009, 2012, and 2018-2019. She is married and has one child.

Early Life and Education

Ecaterina Andronescu was born in Malovăț, a town in Mehedinți County, Romania. She studied at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. In 1972, she became an engineer after graduating from the Industrial Chemistry Faculty. She continued her studies and earned a doctorate in the same field in 1982. During the 1990s, she also pursued further education in Western Europe.

University Career

Ms. Andronescu began her career at Politehnica University of Bucharest. She worked as an assistant lecturer from 1972 to 1983. Then, she became a lecturer from 1983 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994, she was a reader, and since 1994, she has been a full professor at the university.

She also held leadership roles at the university. From 1989 to 1992, she was the assistant dean of the Industrial Chemistry Faculty. She then served as dean from 1992 to 2004. In 2004, she became the university's rector, which is like the president of a university. She held this position until 2012.

Throughout her academic career, she was very active in research. She published over 155 scientific papers in journals both in Romania and other countries. She also worked on more than 60 scientific research projects. Additionally, she wrote three books and was granted a patent for an invention.

Political Career

In 1996, Ecaterina Andronescu joined the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR). This party later became known as the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Before joining the party, she had already been working as a secretary of state at the Education Ministry since 1995.

First Time as Education Minister

In the autumn 1996 elections, she won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. She served on the education, science, and youth committee. After being re-elected in 2000, she was appointed as the Minister of Education. She held this important role until June 2003.

During her first time as minister, she made some significant changes to the education system. For example, she brought back a required exam for students to enter universities. She also changed how students were admitted to high schools. Another change she made was to the way the baccalaureate exam (a national high school graduation exam) was graded. These changes were sometimes seen as experimental and caused some discussion.

Return to Government

Ms. Andronescu was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2004. In 2008, she was elected to the Senate. During her campaign, she spoke about improving education. She highlighted her past efforts to bring computers into classrooms and build school gyms. She also supported a law that increased teachers' salaries by 50%, which was approved by Parliament.

After being elected to the Senate, she became the Minister of Education again in 2008. This was her second time in the role. During this period, there were some challenges. For instance, errors were found in a national high school admission test. She also announced that her ministry would no longer issue diplomas for a private university, claiming it had not followed proper accreditation rules. She worked on creating a new education law, but this process was complex due to different political views. She resigned from the cabinet in October 2009, along with other members of her party.

Third and Fourth Terms as Minister

In July 2012, Ecaterina Andronescu became the Minister of Education for the third time. This appointment came during a time when there were discussions about academic integrity. She stated that she had always acted professionally. She was re-elected to the Senate in December 2012. In the Senate, she served as the president of the education committee.

In 2014, she won a seat to become a member of the European Parliament. However, her party leader asked her to stay in Romania because her work was considered very important for the country. She continued to serve in the Senate after the 2016 parliamentary election.

In November 2018, Ms. Andronescu was nominated to be the Minister of Education for the fourth time. This happened after the previous minister resigned. She served in this role until August 2, 2019. She was removed from office by the prime minister following a controversial public statement.

Awards and Recognition

Ecaterina Andronescu has received several honors throughout her career. In 2002, she was made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania. This is a high honor in Romania. The following year, she became a corresponding member of the Baia Mare Technical Academy. She has also received honorary doctorates from five different universities in Romania, recognizing her contributions to education and science.