Mr. Ionut Popa has replaced Ludovic Orban as deputy mayor at the Bucharest City Hall. The 31-year old engineer has been a member of the Democratic Party (PD) since 1998, although between 2003 and 2005 he defected to the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Mr Teodor Baconschi, 44, has been appointed as Romania's Ambassador to Paris. Married with two children, Baconschi is a Theology graduate with a PhD in Religious Anthropology and Comparative History of Religions at the Sorbonne, Paris. Previous to this position, he was a counsellor to President Basescu. A career diplomat, he was secretary of state for Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for two years until September 2006 and served as Romania's Ambassador to Lisbon and the Vatican.

Mr Ionel Nicu Sava, 44, is the new Romanian Ambassador to Switzerland. With a degree in Military Studies from the University of Sibiu and a PhD in Sociology at the University of Bucharest, Sava became a professor at the Strategic Studies' Desk at the University of Bucharest and director of the Ziua Publishing House. Sava was also counsellor for former Ministers of Defence, Gheorghe Tinca (1994-1996) and Victor Babiuc (1996-2000).

Mr Mihail Florovici, 60, has been appointed as Romania's first Ambassador to Montenegro. With a PhD in IT, Florovici served Romanian diplomacy since 1977. He was a diplomatic counsellor at the Romanian Embassy in Austria (1997-2001). He also taught at the Ecology University in Bucharest (1990-1995) and at the Agora University in Oradea (2001-2005).

Mr Ion Vilcu, 41, has been appointed as Romania's Ambassador to Argentina. A former state counsellor, Vilcu was Ambassador to Chile between 2000 and 2005.

Mr David Eatough has been appointed partner at Badea si Asociatii in association with Clifford Chance. He has worked for Clifford Chance for the last 15 years in offices in Tokyo, London and Singapore. A graduate of the University of Oxford he also worked in investment banking and has consultancy experience in capital markets.

Mr Andrei Caramitru has been appointed as a partner in the McKinsey Romania office, which he is in the process of opening and leading.

Mr Dragos Seuleanu, 42, has been elected as president of Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prior to this position he was vice president of the chamber and, since May 2001, has acted as president of the trade-tourism department in the chamber. With a degree from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Mr Seuleanu also graduated from the EMBA programme at the Romanian-American Business School and was president general manager of Romania’s Radio Broadcasting Corporation.

Mr Emil Delibashev is the new British Airways commercial manager for Romania, in addition to his position as commercial manager for Bulgaria. He is replacing Mrs Corina Enciu, who has taken over as country manager for Delta Airlines in Romania. Mr Delibashev will be based in Sofia and will spend at least three days a week in Bucharest. He has been working for British Airways since 1999, first as travel coordinator and account manager until 2001, when he was appointed as commercial manager. With a degree in international tourism, Mr Delibashev has extensive experience in the travel industry, having previously worked for several tour operators in Bulgaria and Great Britain.

Mr Steven Pepa has been elected as president of the Canadian Business Association (CBA), replacing Mr John Saroudis. Mr Pepa is an attorney-at-law at Wolf Theiss and Associates.

Democrat vice president Cezar Preda has been elected as chief of the Parliamentarian Special Commission for Foreign Intelligence Control. With 204 votes in favour and 46 against, Preda replaces Romeo Raicu, who recently resigned from the Democrat Party. According to the MPs' protocols, the commission head seats are offered politically and resigning from a party automatically means resigning from the commission's head seat. The 48 year-old engineer has been a member of the PD since 1999 and was elected Deputy in the 2004 general elections. Preda is also a vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Mr Marcel Haraszti is the new general manager of Billa Romania, replacing Mr Wolfgang Janisch, who takes over as general manager for Billa in Slovakia. Before this position, Mr Haraszti was country manager for Billa in Ukraine.

Mr Frans van der Ent is the new CEO of insurance company Interamerican.

Mr Jorge Alberto Barrantes Ulloa has been appointed Ambassador of Columbia to Romania and is resident in Warsaw.

Mr Hamid Reza Arshadi had been appointed Ambassador of Iran to Romania.