Călin Georgescu

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 Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Political party	Independent (2022–present)
Other political affiliations	AUR (2020–2022)
Alma mater	University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest
Occupation	Agronomist • Diplomat • Politician

Călin Georgescu (born 26 March 1962) is a Romanian politician and agronomist who worked in the field of sustainable development. Georgescu was appointed the executive director of the United Nations 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). He is also a member of the Club of Rome International in Switzerland.

Early life and education

Georgescu was born in the Cotroceni neighborhood of Bucharest, the son of Scarlat Georgescu and Aneta Georgescu, née Popescu. He is a graduate of the Land Reclamation College, Nicolae Bălcescu Institute of Agronomy in Bucharest (1986) and obtained his Ph.D. in soil science in 1999.

Diplomatic career

Georgescu acted as the executive director of the National Centre for Sustainable Development in Bucharest from 2000 to 2013. He was appointed by the Romanian Government to coordinate the development of two consecutive versions of the National Sustainable Development Strategy (in 1999 and 2008), in line with the guidelines of the European Strategy for Sustainable Development. A former Senior Fellow with the United Nations Development Programme, Georgescu also held various positions in the UN system, such as UN Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and waste on the enjoyment of human rights and Representative of the UNEP National Committee for Romania.

He also held such positions as: Adviser to the Minister of Environment, Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Director of the International Economic Organisations Department in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary General of the Romanian Association for the Club of Rome and executive director of the Institute for Innovation and Development Projects.

Political career

According to a statement given in November 2020, Georgescu stated that Ion Antonescu and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu are heroes through whom "he lived the national history, through them speaks and spoke the national history and not through the lackeys of the globalist powers that lead Romania today temporarily".

Georgescu was proposed as prime minister in 2011, 2012, and 2016. In 2020 he was proposed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a party that just entered the Romanian Parliament following the December 2020 Romanian legislative election. During the 2021 Romanian political crisis which resulted in the removal from office of the Cîțu Cabinet, the same party proposed him again.

Several media articles criticized Georgescu for his pro-Russian statements, some even considering him the representative of Russian interests in Romania. Georgescu is also a critic of the European Union and NATO, describing the installation of the bloc's ballistic missile defence shield in Deveselu as a "shame of diplomacy".

Georgescu ran as president in the 2024 Romanian presidential election. Among his campaign stances were increased support for farmers, promoting energy and food production, and reducing dependency on imports. He obtained an plurality in the first round of voting on 24 November.

Publications

• Romania at Crossroads, Editura Logos, Bucuresti, 2014 and Editura Christiana, 2016 (second revised edition and the country project)
• "Pentru un ideal comun" [In Search of Common Purpose], Compania Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012.
• “România după criză. Reprofesionalizarea” [Romania after the crisis. Reshaping Professional Worth], coordinators Mircea Malița and Călin Georgescu, Compania Publishing House, Bucharest, 2010.
• “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.
• Romania 2020, Editura Conspress, București, 1998, Editor.