Laura Codruța Kövesi
Former Romanian corruption / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Laura Codruța Kövesi?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Laura Codruța Kövesi (née Lascu; Romanian pronunciation: [ˈla.ura koˈdrut͡sa ˈkøveʃi]; born 15 May 1973) is the first European Chief Prosecutor and the former chief prosecutor of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (Romanian: Direcția Națională Anticorupție - DNA), a position she held from 2013 until she was fired on the order of Justice Minister Tudorel Toader on 9 July 2018. Prior to this, between 2006 and 2012 Kövesi was the Prosecutor General of Romania (Romanian: Procuror General), attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Romanian. (February 2018) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Laura Codruța Kövesi | |
---|---|
European Chief Prosecutor | |
Assumed office 31 October 2019[1] | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate | |
In office 17 May 2013 – 9 July 2018 | |
President | Traian Băsescu Klaus Iohannis |
Preceded by | Daniel Morar |
Succeeded by | Marius Iacob (Acting)[2] |
Prosecutor General of Romania | |
In office 2 October 2006 – 2 October 2012 | |
President | Traian Băsescu |
Preceded by | Ilie Botoș |
Succeeded by | Tiberiu Nițu |
Personal details | |
Born | Laura Codruța Lascu (1973-05-15) 15 May 1973 (age 51) Sfântu Gheorghe, Covasna County, Romania |
Spouse |
Eduard Kövesi
(m. 2002; div. 2007) |
Education | Babeș-Bolyai University University of Sibiu West University of Timișoara |
Upon appointment in 2006, Kövesi was the first woman and the youngest Prosecutor General in Romania's history. She is also the only public servant to have held the office of Prosecutor General for the entire duration of its term.[3]
Kövesi was described by The Guardian in 2015 as a "quiet, unassuming chief prosecutor who is bringing in the scalps", leading "an anti-corruption drive quite unlike any other in eastern Europe – or the world for that matter".[4] Her tenure as head of the DNA has substantially increased public confidence in the institution, both within Romania and across the EU, with a 2015 poll reporting that a high 60% of Romanians trust the DNA (compared to 61% for the Romanian Orthodox Church and only 11% for the parliament).[4][5] In February 2016, Kövesi was renominated for chief prosecutor by the Ministry of Justice, based on the positive results achieved under her leadership.[6][7]
In early 2018, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader proposed her dismissal as DNA chief prosecutor after presenting a report on her managerial activity at DNA based on 20 categories and allegations.[8] Among the accusations were: excessive authoritarian behavior, discretion of the Chief Prosecutor of the DNA, involvement in other prosecutors' inquiries, prioritization of the files according to the media impact, violating the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Romania and signing illegal agreements with the Secret Services. President Iohannis initially refused to dismiss her, but a Constitutional Court decision forced him to do so, stating that he can only verify its legality, not the arguments that lead to the proposal.
In October 2019, after beating out competition from French magistrate Jean-François Bohnert, Kövesi was confirmed as the first European Chief Prosecutor.[9]
On 5 May 2020, the European Court of Human Rights held that the aforementioned dismissal of Kövesi violated her right to a fair trial as well as her right to free speech.[10]