Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR), two positions he assumed in 2004. He previously served as the President of the Senate, the second position in the Romanian state, from 10 March 2014 until he resigned on 2 September 2019, having previously resigned from his own party, the PNL, and then becoming an independent senator. In July 2014, he established the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) which later merged with the Conservative Party (PC) in order to form the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). Personal life Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu was born in Bucharest. His mother, Alexandrina Louiza, was of Greek ancestry–her mother was fully Greek while her father was half-Romanian, half-Greek. He has been married five times and has three children. Popescu-Tăriceanu is a graduate of the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest and has a master's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Early political career Between 1996 and 1997, he served as Minister of Industries and Commerce in Victor Ciorbea's CDR-led cabinet. Between 1996 and 2004, he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies, representing Bucharest. Between 2000 and 2004, he was vice president of the PNL group in Parliament, as well as vice president of the Budget, Finances and Insurance Committee in the Chamber of Deputies. Prime Minister Following the victory of Traian Băsescu in the 2004 presidential election, Băsescu appointed Popescu-Tăriceanu as Prime Minister, in line with a pre-electoral agreement between the two parties of the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). The new government took office on 29 December; it was approved by Parliament by a vote of 265 for and 200 against. Consequently, he became the first National Liberal prime minister of Romania since 1937. The Tăriceanu government oversaw a number of major reforms, such as the introduction of a flat tax, the revaluation of the leu, the abolition of conscription and professionalization of the Romanian Armed Forces, and the accession of Romania to the European Union in 2007. His term also coincided with a considerable economic boom in Romania. However, economists criticized several of Tăriceanu's policies, such as the introduction of a "first registration tax" for motor vehicles, faulty management of over