Călin Georgescu

Călin Georgescu (Romanian: [kəˈlin dʒe̯orˈdʒesku]; born 26 March 1962) is a Romanian politician and agronomist. He has long worked in the field of sustainable development, and served as President of the European Research Centre for the Club of Rome (2013–2015).

Georgescu ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 Romanian presidential election; his views have been described as pro-Russian, anti-NATO, and far-right, and he has been described as a right-wing populist, ultranationalist, and conspiracy theorist. Initially polling at approximately 5%, Georgescu's support surged during the campaign, and he ultimately received 23% of the vote, finishing first in the initial round.

Following the election, the Romanian security services alleged that Georgescu's campaign had utilized over €1 million in undeclared funds and that the election infrastructure had been subjected to cyber-attacks believed to originate from "a state actor". Based on these allegations, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round on 6 December.

On 26 February 2025, Georgescu was detained by police and charged with several offenses, including "incitement to actions against the constitutional order." Authorities also imposed a 60-day ban on his media appearances. Georgescu subsequently filed his candidacy for the 2025 Romanian presidential election, but was barred from running by the Central Electoral Bureau on 9 March. At the time of his exclusion, Georgescu was leading in public opinion polls. Nicușor Dan was ultimately elected president.

Early life and education

Georgescu was born on 26 March 1962 in the Cotroceni neighborhood of Bucharest, the son of Scarlat Georgescu and Aneta Georgescu, née Popescu. He graduated in 1986 from the Nicolae Bălcescu Institute of Agronomy in Bucharest and obtained his Ph.D. in pedology from the same institute in 1999.

Diplomatic career

In 1991, Georgescu became head of the Office for the Environment of the Romanian Parliament. In 1992, he became an adviser to the then Minister of Environment Marcian Bleahu. He was Secretary General in the Ministry of Environment from 1997 to 1998.

Georgescu acted as the executive director of the National Centre for Sustainable Development in Bucharest from 2000 to 2013, during which time he coordinated the development of two versions of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, in line with the guidelines of the European Strategy for Sustainable Development. He was President of the European Research Centre for the Club of Rome from 2013 to 2015 and the Executive Director of the UN Global Sustainable Index Institute Foundation in Geneva and Vaduz from 2015 to 2016.

Georgescu has worked as the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights and hazardous waste, and represented Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Political career

Georgescu was proposed as prime minister by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians in 2020 and 2021. Georgescu ran for president in the 2024 Romanian presidential election. Among his campaign stances were strengthening Romania's defence capabilities, diversifying Romania's diplomatic relations, increasing support for farmers, promoting energy and food production, and reducing dependency on imports. He obtained the most votes at 22.95% in the first round of voting on 24 November, and advanced to a runoff scheduled on 8 December along with Elena Lasconi.

On 6 December 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania cancelled the presidential elections, which will have to be rescheduled for a later date. The court did not provide a reason for the cancellation. Russia's meddling with the Romanian elections has been mentioned as the foremost reason. Georgescu filed an appeal in the European Court of Human Rights against the cancellation, which the ECHR rejected on 21 January 2025, saying that it did not have jurisdiction over the elections.

On 6 March 2025, Georgescu definitively lost the trial at ECHR. ECHR has motivated that only elections for legislative bodies are covered by human rights stipulations, elections for the president are not. Also, there was no evidence of having had an unfair trial. ECHR mentioned that ECHR is not subservient to the European Union.

Political views

In November 2020, Georgescu stated that dictator Ion Antonescu and Iron Guard founder Corneliu Zelea Codreanu are heroes through whom "the national history lived, through them speaks and spoke the national history and not through the lackeys of the globalist powers that lead Romania today temporarily". He has also said that the Romanian revolution was used by the West to steal Romanian resources, and has multiple times promoted COVID-19 misinformation.

In November 2024, he spoke with Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli. Georgescu said that if elected, he would fight antisemitism, move the Romanian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Bucharest, and ignore the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu, despite Romania being a state party to the Rome Statute. Romania accused Israel of interfering in the 2024 Romanian presidential election in favor of Georgescu. On 2 December 2024, the Jewish News Syndicate characterized Georgescu as "—a little-known antisemitic, Holocaust-denying, pro-Russia candidate—projected to win a runoff election for prime minister amid allegations of Russian meddling". Haaretz does not see Georgescu as a friend of the Jews.

On 6 December, the Romanian Constitutional Court unanimously annulled the presidential election process due to additional "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" favoring Georgescu.

Georgescu has stated that he favors Romania's geopolitical non-alignment between the two power blocs. He denied being an extremist or a fascist, saying, "We remain directly linked to European values, but we must find our (own) values." He spoke about supporting Romanian farmers, traditional values, the Romanian Orthodox Church, and Romania's energy and agricultural self-sufficiency. He said that Romania would respect its commitments to the EU and NATO, but only "to the extent that they will respect theirs" toward Romania. He criticised Romania's dependence on international companies in sectors such as food, water, and energy. Georgescu accused the arms industry in the United States of fueling the Russo-Ukrainian War, but claimed that, "For me and my people, the most important is the partnership with America." He supported Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine through negotiations.

Several media articles criticized Georgescu for his pro-Russian statements, describing him as a Russophile and demonstrating how he used his social media platforms to spread information sourced to Russian state media. This also resulted in him leaving the AUR in 2022. Georgescu also criticised the European Union and NATO, and in a 2021 interview, he described the latter's ballistic missile defense shield in Deveselu as a "shame of diplomacy", and called it a "disgrace". He has also praised Russian president Vladimir Putin as "a man who loves his country." Moreover, he stated that he wanted to engage with, rather than challenge, Russia, because "Security comes from dialogue, not confrontation." Speaking of the war in Donbas that began in 2014, Georgescu said in 2021: "The situation in Ukraine is clearly manipulated, with the goal of provoking a conflict destined to financially help the military–industrial complex of the USA." Georgescu has also pledged to end military aid to Ukraine if he is elected president. Additionally, he described Ukraine as a fictional state, while suggesting that Romania could annex Ukrainian territories, precisely Northern Bukovina, Budjak, and Northern Maramureș. Georgescu also describes himself as "ultra pro" US President Donald Trump.

Georgescu does not believe in the human Moon landing. In a podcast, he also mentioned that carbonated juices contain nanochips, which "enter you like into a laptop". Georgescu promoted conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific claims such as chemotherapy and vaccines are part of a profit-making "establishment" and a "crime against their peers", water is not H₂O and has its own memory that can influence the human body, C-section births break the divine thread of the child, and other alternative medicine, and healthcare "solutions." Georgescu considers climate change "a global scam", which "has nothing to do with reality".

In his 14 February 2025 Munich Security Conference Address, US Vice President JD Vance singled out Romania's Constitutional Court's annulment decision on their most recent presidential election as one of several examples of Europe's refusal to adhere to America's most current democratic principles.

Elena Trifan speaks of Georgescu's fascist rhetoric.

Stefan Baghiu says Georgescu promoted "a neo-legionary blend of Christian mysticism and New Age philosophy." Many other media outlets agree that he promoted the New Age.

TikTok scandal

Georgescu's campaign utilized social media, particularly TikTok, where his videos had more than 52 million views in a four-day period and attracted the attention of younger voters. The Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence stated that TikTok had given Georgescu "preferential treatment," leading to his "massive exposure". TikTok said Georgescu was treated the same as other candidates and "was subject to exactly the same rules and restrictions."