Daniel David has resigned as head of the Ministry of Education. His resignation was requested by Ilie Bolojan

Daniel David has resigned as Minister of Education, government sources told HotNews. This resignation came at the request of the prime minister, the sources explained. Another version, supported by sources close to Daniel David, says that the resignation was not requested by the prime minister but was the minister's decision.

HotNews reached out to Daniel David for comment, but he did not respond.

UPDATE 21.30: Daniel David confirmed the resignation in a message published on his personal blog. “Today, December 22, 2025, exactly one year after the invitation to become Minister of Education and Research (December 22, 2024), I asked the Prime Minister to release me from the position of Minister of Education and Research, by submitting my resignation to his cabinet. I recently received confirmation. Although the resignation is a unilateral act, I wanted it to be an amicable departure, as was our collaboration,” Daniel David said.

The name of the possible replacement

Daniel David was appointed minister at the proposal of the PNL, but without being a party member. Now, the vacant place in the government will be filled following a proposal that the PNL also has to make, the Ministry of Education being one of the ministries in the current coalition government that belongs to the liberals.

The proposal for the position of minister is to be submitted on Tuesday. According to HotNews sources, Marilen Pirtea is currently considered to be Daniel David's successor. Pirtea is a PNL deputy in his third term. Since 2012, he is also rector of the West University in Timișoara.

Marilen Pirtea was accused of plagiarism in an article written by journalist Emilia Șercan, in PressOne, in 2016.

Another possible option for the position left vacant by Daniel David is Luciana Antoci, who is now Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's advisor to the government on education issues.

HotNews contacted the two to ask about a possible appointment, but did not receive a response.

A year at the head of the Ministry of Education

David was at the head of the Ministry of Education from December 2024 when he was appointed in the Ciolacu 2 government. Later he was also retained in the executive led by Ilie Bolojan who took office in June 2025.

Before assuming the position of minister, Daniel David was rector at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.

His one-year tenure was marked by several controversies. In the first package of fiscal and budgetary measures adopted by the Bolojan government, school and student scholarships were cut. At the time, Daniel David was criticized after he advised students upset about scholarship cuts to take part-time jobs. “I didn't work at the university, my parents supported me”, admitted the minister.

Also, a report produced by the Institute of Education Sciences, published by Edupedu.ro, which warned of the risks of the measures in the Bolojan Law, was blocked by Minister Daniel David. The ministry modified the document, removed essential conclusions and sent only a truncated version to the press, Edupedu revealed.

What Daniel David used to say about a resignation

In fact, Daniel David spoke publicly on Sunday about his desire to leave office.

“I tell you honestly, I came with a horizon of a few months. until May, when the presidential institution had to be established and the country stabilized. From May, I came with the idea that I would stay until school started, to help the country pass through international evaluations, that it looked very bad for a minister of the largest budget system to leave, and I didn't know how school would start after the fiscal-budgetary measures. After that, the idea was that I would stay until the European Commission makes the global assessment and they will tell us that things are ok, European funds are not blocked and the country is stable”, answered Minister Daniel David, after being asked on Sunday evening, on TVR Info.