Radu Timofte
Encyclopedia
Alexandru-Radu Timofte was a Romania
n soldier, politician and spy chief. A member of the Social Democratic Party
(PSD), he sat in the Romanian Senate
from 1990 to 2001, representing Neamţ County
. From 2001 to 2006, he headed Serviciul Român de Informaţii
(SRI), the country's domestic intelligence service.
, Timofte graduated from the Command and General Staff Faculty of the Military Academy
in Bucharest
. He was an active-duty officer at the Interior Ministry until 1988, when he was sent into the reserves because his sister had remained abroad illegally. Right after the fall of the Communist regime
in 1989
, Timofte participated in governing the town of Roman
as a member of the local National Salvation Front Council.
He was elected senator in 1990, 1992, 1996
and 2000
, for the National Salvation Front and its successor organisations, the Democratic National Salvation Front and the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, which evolved into the Social Democratic Party shortly before he left the legislature. As senator, he was president of a commission of enquiry into the September 1991 Mineriad
(1991-92), vice president of the Romanian parliamentary commission to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
, a member of the defence, public safety and national security committee (1992-2001) and vice president of the joint parliamentary committee providing oversight to the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Service. He drafted more than fifteen pieces of legislation, which were adopted by Parliament. Timofte resigned his Senate seat in February 2001.
Days earlier, he had been named director of Serviciul Român de Informaţii (SRI) by President
Ion Iliescu
and had won parliamentary confirmation. Later that year, he was made Brigadier General
in the reserves, becoming a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania
in 2002. In July 2006, together with Foreign Intelligence Service director Gheorghe Fulga and Direcţia Generală de Informaţii şi Protecţie Internă
head Virgil Ardelean
, he resigned this office as a result of the controversy generated by the release and disappearance of terrorism suspect Omar Hayssam
. At the time, it was noted that, whereas the three holdovers from previous administrations kept their positions after new President Traian Băsescu
praised the intelligence services for returning to Romania in May 2005 three hostages whose kidnapping in Iraq
was masterminded by Hayssam, it was also the latter's flight that cost them their jobs.
In June 2009, he was indicted by National Anticorruption Directorate
prosecutors for having allegedly purchased his work home at a below-market price—he paid €
35,000 for an apartment said to be worth around €200,000; the trial began in September. Also that summer, he refused to confirm or deny allegations that Romania had hosted a Central Intelligence Agency
black site
several years earlier. Timofte did meet with CIA director George Tenet
twice in 2002, receiving a medal from him in Washington, D.C.
, and secretly in Constanţa
in 2002. Timofte, aged 60, died in October 2009 from leukemia
, having been at the SRI hospital for several days. He was survived by his wife and three children. Three days later, he was buried with military honours in his native village at a funeral attended by some 5,000 people, including locals, county officials, politicians from various parties, SRI commanders, SPP
heads, and businesspeople. The Romanian Orthodox
service was held by a bishop from nearby Roman and fourteen priests.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n soldier, politician and spy chief. A member of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(PSD), he sat in the Romanian Senate
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
from 1990 to 2001, representing Neamţ County
Neamt County
Neamț is a county of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. It has three communes, Bicaz-Chei, Bicazu Ardelean and Dămuc in Transylvania.-Demographics:...
. From 2001 to 2006, he headed Serviciul Român de Informaţii
Serviciul Român de Informatii
The Romanian Intelligence Service is the Romanian domestic intelligence service. It is considered the descendant of the former Departamentul Securităţii Statului , of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The official decree The Romanian Intelligence Service (', SRI) is the Romanian domestic...
(SRI), the country's domestic intelligence service.
Biography
Born in Horia, NeamţHoria, Neamt
Horia is a commune in Neamţ County, Romania. It is located about 2.5 km south southwest of the centre of Roman. The commune is composed of two villages, Cotu Vameş and Horia.-Natives:...
, Timofte graduated from the Command and General Staff Faculty of the Military Academy
Carol I National Defence University
The Carol I National Defence University , located in Bucharest, Romania, was established in 1889. It seeks to train military and civilian experts in security and national defence, and undertakes scientific studies related to these matters when requested by relevant state authorities.-External links:*...
in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He was an active-duty officer at the Interior Ministry until 1988, when he was sent into the reserves because his sister had remained abroad illegally. Right after the fall of the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
in 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, Timofte participated in governing the town of Roman
Roman, Romania
Roman is a mid-sized city, having the title of municipality, located in the central part of Moldavia, a traditional region of Romania. It is located 46 km east of Piatra Neamţ, in the Neamţ County at the confluence of Siret and Moldova rivers....
as a member of the local National Salvation Front Council.
He was elected senator in 1990, 1992, 1996
Romanian legislative election, 1996
Legislative elections were held in Romania on 3 November 1996, together with the Presidential election. The elections were won by the Romanian Democratic Convention, an alliance of liberal, Christian Democratic and green parties. This marked the first time that the Party of Social Democracy was out...
and 2000
Romanian legislative election, 2000
Legislative elections where be held in Romania on November 26, 2000, together with the Presidential election. The Greater Romania Party made big gains, as did the PDSR, which became the ruling party. The formerly governing Romanian Democratic Convention lost all its seats and was shortly...
, for the National Salvation Front and its successor organisations, the Democratic National Salvation Front and the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, which evolved into the Social Democratic Party shortly before he left the legislature. As senator, he was president of a commission of enquiry into the September 1991 Mineriad
Mineriad
See also The 1990s: the rise and decline of miners' unionsA Mineriad is the term used to name any of the successive violent interventions of miners in Bucharest. These interventions were generally seen as aimed at wrestling policy changes or simply material advantages from the current political...
(1991-92), vice president of the Romanian parliamentary commission to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Founded in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance. Its current President is Karl A...
, a member of the defence, public safety and national security committee (1992-2001) and vice president of the joint parliamentary committee providing oversight to the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Service. He drafted more than fifteen pieces of legislation, which were adopted by Parliament. Timofte resigned his Senate seat in February 2001.
Days earlier, he had been named director of Serviciul Român de Informaţii (SRI) by President
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
and had won parliamentary confirmation. Later that year, he was made Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in the reserves, becoming a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
in 2002. In July 2006, together with Foreign Intelligence Service director Gheorghe Fulga and Direcţia Generală de Informaţii şi Protecţie Internă
Directia Generala de Informatii si Protectie Interna
Direcţia Generală de Informaţii şi Protecţie Internă is the criminal intelligence agency of the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform....
head Virgil Ardelean
Virgil Ardelean
Virgil Ardelean is a Romanian police chief, head of Direcţia Generală de Informaţii şi Protecţie Internă between 1998 and 2007.-Biography:Ardelean was born in Pericei, Sălaj County...
, he resigned this office as a result of the controversy generated by the release and disappearance of terrorism suspect Omar Hayssam
Omar Hayssam
Omar Hayssam is a Syrian-born Romanian financier who was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison after a Romanian court found him guilty of masterminding the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005.-Early life:...
. At the time, it was noted that, whereas the three holdovers from previous administrations kept their positions after new President Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
praised the intelligence services for returning to Romania in May 2005 three hostages whose kidnapping in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
was masterminded by Hayssam, it was also the latter's flight that cost them their jobs.
In June 2009, he was indicted by National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate
National Anticorruption Directorate , formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office , is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offenses that caused a material damage higher than €200,000 or whose value of the involved amounts or goods is...
prosecutors for having allegedly purchased his work home at a below-market price—he paid €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
35,000 for an apartment said to be worth around €200,000; the trial began in September. Also that summer, he refused to confirm or deny allegations that Romania had hosted a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
black site
Black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black project is conducted. Recently, the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , generally outside of U.S. territory and legal jurisdiction. It...
several years earlier. Timofte did meet with CIA director George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
twice in 2002, receiving a medal from him in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and secretly in Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
in 2002. Timofte, aged 60, died in October 2009 from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, having been at the SRI hospital for several days. He was survived by his wife and three children. Three days later, he was buried with military honours in his native village at a funeral attended by some 5,000 people, including locals, county officials, politicians from various parties, SRI commanders, SPP
Serviciul de Protectie si Paza
Protection and Guard Service is an institution of the Romanian state. It operates in the domain of national security and it is specialized in protecting the Romanian officials, the foreign officials during their stay in Romania, and their families, according to the law...
heads, and businesspeople. The Romanian Orthodox
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
service was held by a bishop from nearby Roman and fourteen priests.