October 24, 2017 UPDATE

King Mihai I of Romania turns 96 on Wednesday, when the Romanian Army Day is also celebrated

Newsroom, 24.10.2017, 19:12

King Mihai I — King Mihai I of Romania turns 96 on Wednesday, and will have a private birthday celebration at his residence in Switzerland, the website romaniaregală.ro reports. On behalf of Romania’s former sovereign, Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Crown, will grant decorations to Romanian and foreign personalities and collaborators of the Romanian Royal House, in a ceremony in Bucharest. On Wednesday evening, the Romanian Athenaeum will host the 10th annual concert organized by the charity Princess Margareta of Romania. King Mihai I is suffering from two severe forms of cancer and withdrew from public life last spring. In 1947, only 7 years after taking the throne, Mihai I was forced by the communist regime to abdicate and to leave the country. He was only allowed to return to Romania after the anti-communist Revolution, when he regained his Romanian citizenship and some of his estate. King Mihai I lobbied for Romania’s NATO and EU accession, as a special ambassador.

Romanian Army Day – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is participating on Wednesday in Bucharest in the ceremonies occasioned by the Romanian Army Day. Also on Wednesday, PM Mihai Tudose, Defense Minister Mihai Fifor and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea will attend ceremonies held in Carei, northwestern Romania, the last Romanian locality freed 73 years ago from the occupation of the Hungarian troops, allies of Nazi Germany.

Moldova – Eugen Sturza is, as of Tuesday, Moldova’s new Defense Minister after Parliament Speaker, the pro-Western Adrian Candu, approved his appointment. Moldovas Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that that the countrys president, the pro-Russian Igor Dodon, can be temporarily suspended from his duties for “deliberately refusing to exercise a part of his constitutional attributions.” Pro-European Prime Minister Pavel Filip proposed Eugen Sturza as defense minister twice in September, but Dodon, who wants closer relations with Russia, refused to appoint him.

Conference — The Romanian capital city Bucharest is hosting on Tuesday and Wednesday the IAA Global Conference, an international technology, marketing and communication forum. The event brings to Bucharest some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs and inventors, including Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder alongside Steve Jobs and the inventor of the first personal computer produced by the company. Also addressing the hundreds of participants will be speakers from IBM, the Disney studios, Google and the BBC. This year’s conference is dubbed “Creativity can change the world”.

Appointment — The Senate’s economic committee and the Chamber of Deputies’ Information Technology Committee green-lighted a report on the appointment of former PM Sorin Grindeanu as head of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM). Grindeanu has pointed out he is not a member of any political party, after being previously expelled from the Social Democratic Party. The report will be submitted to Parliament for approval. Prime Minister Mihai Tudose proposed Grindeanu for this position.

United Nations – Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said Tuesday, in a message occasioned by the United Nations Day, that Romania has made an important contribution to the promotion of the organization’s values and is firmly supporting democracy and the respect for the fundamental human rights. Romania’s will to contribute responsibly and actively to the UN’s activity is also proven by the country’s candidacy for a non-permanent member seat in the Security Council at the 2019 elections, Melescanu also said.