Ștefan Radu Oprea has been nominated for the role of Minister of Defense in the cabinet led by Luca Niculescu. Currently serving as the spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he is also a senator and has held various ministerial and governmental positions.
Born in June 1970, Oprea graduated in 1994 from the Faculty of Technological Equipment at the University of Petroleum and Gas in Ploiești, according to his official CV. He began his career in several companies before joining the PSD structures in Prahova County and later moving into both local and central administration. He has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since 2007.
Oprea was appointed as the prefect of Prahova in 2009, and in 2010, he became the vice president of PSD Prahova and a member of the PSD National Council.
A Career in Parliament and Government
In 2012, he was elected to the Senate on behalf of the PSD from the same county, marking his entry into the upper chamber of Romania’s Parliament, where he is currently in his fourth term. Oprea served as Minister for Business Environment, Trade, and Entrepreneurship in the cabinet of Viorica Dăncilă from January 2018 until the fall of that government on October 10, 2019. Furthermore, he held the position of Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism in Marcel Ciolacu’s first cabinet from June 2023 until December 2024.
He also served as the Secretary General of the Government between June 2025 and April 2026 under Ilie Bolojan’s leadership, prior to being dismissed through a vote of no confidence.
Experience Related to Defense
Oprea’s relevant experience for the role of Minister of National Defense appears limited. He served as a Secretary in the Senate’s Committee on Defense, Public Order, and National Security from December 2019 to December 2020. Additionally, he holds a certificate in professional competence for a postgraduate program in national defense and security, specifically in military sciences, intelligence, and public order, obtained from the National Defense College in Bucharest.
Legal Issues from the Past
In 2016, Radu Oprea faced legal challenges when he was indicted for tax evasion. However, the High Court of Cassation and Justice ruled that there were several irregularities in the indictment. When he was nominated for a ministerial position in Dăncilă’s government in 2018, Oprea stated that there were no pending legal issues against him and that “the matters had been resolved long ago.”
On January 5, 2016, he was charged alongside his former business partner, Mihai Ștefănescu, in a tax evasion case implicating several companies they controlled, with ANAF as a civil party in this case. In February 2016, the court noted several irregularities in the indictment against Oprea and requested prosecutors to rectify them. A month later, in March 2016, the case was returned to the prosecution.
Current Financial Standing
In his latest asset declaration submitted in July 2025, while serving as Secretary General of the Government, Oprea reported owning a 50% share of a 440 square meter plot of land in Ploiești, purchased in 2011. He also disclosed a 50% ownership of a residential house of 105 square meters in Ploiești, along with 100% ownership of a 47 square meter apartment in the same city.
Oprea estimated the value of his jewelry at €40,000, acquired between 1994 and 2011. His financial disclosures also included a nearly three million lei loan he provided personally to City Imobiliar SRL and a loan of almost €190,000 taken from UniCredit.
