Confusion at the Ministry of Education: 16 days after the announced resignation, Daniel David is still a minister: “I am also waiting for the appointment of a new management” / What the Government says

Daniel David announced his resignation from the position of Minister of Education on 22 December 2025. The surprise announcement coincided with the holiday period, and since then no interim leadership has been appointed at the Ministry of Education, and the Government has not made an official announcement regarding David's resignation. In this context, HotNews asked the Government, but also the Ministry of Education, who is leading the institution at the moment. The answer: also Daniel David.

The law stipulates that after a minister submits his resignation, the Government sends the document to the president, and by a decree signed by the head of state, the resignation is noted. At the same time, until the official appointment of a new person at the head of the respective ministry, the prime minister proposes an interim minister to the president.

For example, when Ionuț Moșteanu resigned from the position of interim Minister of Defense, Radu Miruță was appointed, then he was also the choice for the full leadership of the ministry.

In the case of Daniel David, the Government did not make any official announcement regarding the registration of the resignation, and the president did not take note of the resignation of the Minister of Education by decree until Thursday, January 8, 2026, i.e. 16 days after the announcement of the resignation.

The Government's explanations: Daniel David is still a minister

Daniel David is still the Minister of Education, the spokeswoman for the Government, Ioana Dogioiu, told HotNews, when asked who currently leads the institution.

Asked why an interim leadership was not appointed in the 16 days that passed since the announcement of Daniel David's resignation, the Government spokeswoman also said that “Mr. Minister David was exercising his duties”.

Regarding the deadline by which the prime minister will make a new proposal for minister, Ioana Dogioriu responded with a quote from prime minister Ilie Bolojan, who spoke on January 3, in a show on Digi24, about the situation in Education.

“We are analyzing the options we have and, as I said, after a decision that the PNL, which supports this portfolio, will take, we will come up with a proposal in January,” the prime minister said then.

Daniel David, asked when he will end his mandate: You should ask the Prime Minister

HotNews also reached out to Daniel David. Asked if he still exercises his ministerial duties and goes to the ministry, he admitted that, at least legally, he is still the Minister of Education.

Daniel David explained that during all this time no new projects are started at the ministry and “only the processes related to the normal and usual operation of the system or projects that have already started/are ongoing (before December 22)” are taking place.

Asked by HotNews when his mandate as Minister of Education is to end, Daniel David said that this question “must be addressed to the Prime Minister”.

“I submitted my resignation from December 22 to his cabinet. So, I am also waiting for the appointment of a new management,” said Daniel David.

PNL does not yet know who it will appoint to replace Daniel David

The two people considered to replace Daniel David at the Ministry of Education are Marilen Pirtea or Luciana Antoci, as HotNews wrote, citing political sources, since Daniel David's resignation.

Contacted by HotNews on Thursday, Marilen Pirtea did not give a concrete answer when asked if she had made a decision regarding taking over the position of Minister of Education.

“We have not completed the discussions,” replied Pirtea.

He had previously admitted that he had been offered the position of Minister of Education, but said he was waiting for the holiday period to end to have a discussion with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.

Luciana Antoci could not be contacted by HotNews for a point of view.

Pirtea's career, the name circulated for Education

Marilen Pirtea, PNL deputy in his third term and honorary adviser to Prime Minister Bolojan, is the name considered at the moment to take over the Ministry of Education, HotNews sources say in the context of Daniel David's resignation.

Pirtea (52 years old), rector of the Western University of Timișoara since 2012, is also vice-president of the National Council of Rectors in Romania, also since 2012, and vice-president of the Danube Rectors' Conference, a network made up of almost 70 universities in the region, according to the description on the organization's official website.

In 2016, investigative journalist Emilia Șercan wrote in PressOne that several scientific articles signed by Marilen Pirtea between 2008-2015 “show strong suspicions of plagiarism”.

The liberal is also president of the “Universitaria” Consortium, as well as a member of the Council of the Doctoral School of Economic Sciences of the Romanian Academy, he also writes in his CV from the Chamber of Deputies.

He is currently also an honorary advisor to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in the fields of education and research.

Pirtea has a doctor's degree in economics and master's and bachelor's degrees in finance-banking specialization, all at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the Western University of Timișoara.

The CV shows that he completed several training courses at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute, including “International Security: Challenges of the 21st Century” and “Diplomacy & Intelligence”

Pirtea also mentions in his CV that he is the author of several studies, including some “concerning the financial policy decisions of commercial companies, regarding the selection of investments, the choice of financial structure, the destination of profits and external financing”.

What a career Luciana Antoci hasthe second name circulated for Education

Another possible option for the post of Minister of Education is Luciana Antoci. In September, she was released from the post of prefect of Iași County to become a state adviser in the field of education in the team of Prime Minister Bolojan.

During the period 2021-2025, Antoci was a general school inspector in Iasi during the period 2021-2025, according to his CV, published on the website of the Prefecture of Iasi.

Previously, he was also deputy general school inspector for one year. Since 2003, she has been a teacher of Romanian language and literature at the “Grigore Moisil” Theoretical Computer Science High School in Iași.

Luciana Antoci has a doctorate in education sciences, obtained at “AI Cuza” University in Iași.