Nicolae Ciucă facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicolae Ciucă
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![]() Official portrait, 2021
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President of the Senate of Romania | |
In office 13 June 2023 – 23 December 2024 |
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Preceded by | Alina Gorghiu (acting) |
Succeeded by | Ilie Bolojan |
Prime Minister of Romania | |
In office 25 November 2021 – 12 June 2023 |
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President | Klaus Iohannis |
Deputy | Hunor Kelemen Sorin Grindeanu |
Preceded by | Florin Cîțu |
Succeeded by | Cătălin Predoiu (acting) Marcel Ciolacu |
Acting 7 December 2020 – 23 December 2020 |
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President | Klaus Iohannis |
Deputy | Raluca Turcan |
Preceded by | Ludovic Orban |
Succeeded by | Florin Cîțu |
Minister of National Defence | |
In office 4 November 2019 – 25 November 2021 |
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Prime Minister | Ludovic Orban Himself Florin Cîțu |
Preceded by | Gabriel-Beniamin Leș |
Succeeded by | Vasile Dîncu |
President of the National Liberal Party | |
In office 10 April 2022 – 25 November 2024 |
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Preceded by | Gheorghe Flutur (acting) |
Succeeded by | Ilie Bolojan (acting) |
Senator of Romania | |
Assumed office 21 December 2020 |
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Constituency | Dolj County |
Chief of the Romanian General Staff | |
In office 1 January 2015 – 28 October 2019 |
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President | Klaus Iohannis |
Preceded by | Ștefan Dănilă |
Succeeded by | Daniel Petrescu |
Personal details | |
Born | Plenița, Dolj County, Socialist Republic of Romania |
7 February 1967
Political party | National Liberal Party (2020–present) |
Other political affiliations |
Romanian Communist Party (1986—1989) |
Spouse | Cristina Maria Ciucă |
Children | 1 |
Awards |
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Military service | |
Branch/service | Romanian Land Forces |
Years of service | 1988–2019 |
Rank | General |
Commands |
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Battles/wars | |
Nicolae Ionel Ciucă (born 22 September 1967) is a Romanian politician and a retired general. He used to be a leader in the Romanian Land Forces. From November 2021 to June 2023, he served as the Prime Minister of Romania. He was supported by his party, the National Liberal Party (PNL), and other major parties. Since April 2022, he has also been the president of the National Liberal Party. In June 2023, he stepped down as prime minister as part of an agreement with another political party. He was then replaced temporarily by Cătălin Predoiu and later by Marcel Ciolacu.
Ciucă has taken part in military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the top military leader, known as the Chief of the Romanian General Staff, from 2015 to 2019. After that, he became the Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021. For a short time in December 2020, he was the acting leader of the Romanian government. In November 2021, he was chosen again to form a new government and became prime minister.
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Early Life and School
Nicolae Ciucă was born in Plenița, a town in Dolj County, Romania. This happened on 7 February 1967. He finished high school at the Tudor Vladimirescu Military Lyceum in Craiova in 1985. Later, in 1988, he graduated from the Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu.
Military Career and Missions
During his time in the military, Nicolae Ciucă served in several important missions. He was deployed to Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq. From 2001 to 2004, he led the 26th Infantry Battalion, also known as the "Red Scorpions." With this group, he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Ancient Babylon in Iraq. He was promoted to the rank of General on 25 October 2010.
In 2015, he became the Chief of the Romanian General Staff, which is a very high military position. His four-year term was extended for another year by the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in 2018.
Political Career and Leadership
In October 2019, Nicolae Ciucă became the Minister of Defense in the government led by Ludovic Orban. He officially retired from the military on 28 October 2019. In October 2020, he joined the National Liberal Party (PNL). He ran for a seat in the Senate of Romania in the 2020 elections and was elected.
On 7 December 2020, after the prime minister resigned, Ciucă was named acting prime minister. He led the government temporarily until a new government was formed later that month.
In October 2021, after the previous government ended, President Iohannis asked Ciucă to try and form a new government. He presented his plans, but at first, he couldn't get enough support from other parties. However, he was nominated again in November 2021. On 25 November, the parliament approved him with many votes, and he became the Prime Minister of Romania.
After the previous leader of the National Liberal Party resigned in April 2022, Ciucă was elected as the new head of the party. This meant he was both the prime minister and the leader of his party.

In August 2022, Ciucă signed the first agreements for the Anghel Saligny investment program. This program aims to help develop towns and cities for Romanian citizens.
In March 2023, Ciucă introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant named ION. This AI was meant to check social media to understand what Romanian people wanted and thought. However, it was later revealed that the AI wasn't actually generating responses on its own. Instead, a human operator was choosing pre-written answers. Also, only positive messages received by ION were shared publicly.
On 12 June 2023, Nicolae Ciucă resigned as prime minister. This was part of an agreement between the political parties. He was replaced by Marcel Ciolacu. The very next day, on 13 June 2023, Ciucă became the President of the Senate of Romania.
Awards and Honors
Nicolae Ciucă has received several important awards for his service. He was given the Commander rank of the Ordre national du Mérite from France. He also received the Commander rank of the National Order of Merit from Romania. In 2019, he was awarded the Officer rank of the Order of the Star of Romania. In 2020, he received the Legion of Merit from the U.S. Ambassador.
Personal Life
Nicolae Ciucă is married to Cristina Maria Ciucă. They have one child together.
See also
- Orban I Cabinet
- Orban II Cabinet
- Cîțu Cabinet
- Ciucă Cabinet