Former Foreign Affairs minister Marga is the new president of the Romanian Cultural Institute

Newsroom 11/09/2012 | 12:47

Andrei Marga, the country’s former Foreign Affairs minister, was recently voted head of the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) by the Senate with 50 votes in favor, 26 against while five MPs reframed from voting. The nomination of Marga as president of ICR was controversial because the ruling coalition was accused of trying to politicize the cultural institution by transferring it under the control of the Parliament. According to the new legislation, the director of ICR will no longer be appointed by the president but elections held under the supervision of the parliament will determine the management of the institution.

For this position, Marga was nominated by the National Liberal Party (PNL), a member of the Social Liberal Union (USL). Marga will replace Horia Roman Patapievici, who resigned in August, after the ICR budget was reduced by a third.

The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) is tasked with raising the profile of Romanian culture around the world. Cultural exports from Romania are mostly facilitated by the institute’s 16 foreign branches, located in Berlin, Brussels, Budapest (with a subsidiary in Szeged), Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Venice, Vienna and Warsaw. These are tasked with organizing high-visibility cultural events adapted to suit the tastes of foreign audiences, while at the same time ensuring that a balance is maintained between their uniqueness and an international appeal.