Ludovic Orban – Romanian Conservative With Musical Touch

Orban, 56, who until now led the opposition and initiated the no-confidence vote, must now choose a team and seek support in parliament from the fragmented bloc of MPs that toppled Social Democrat prime minister Viorica Dancila.

Born in the Transylvanian town of Brasov to an ethnic Hungarian father - hence the surname - and a Romanian mother, Orban studied industrial and design technology at the city's university before joining the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, SNSPA, in Bucharest in 1993.

He started his political career in the early 1990s as a Bucharest city councillor and rose to prominence within the party that he heads today when he became its leader in Bucharest.

Between 2004 and 2007, Orban was deputy mayor of the capital. He became Minister of Transport from 2007 to 2008 under liberal prime minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and conservative president Traian Basescu.

After running unsuccessfully to become Mayor of Bucharest, Orban gained a seat in parliament in the 2008 elections. He sat for a second term in the legislature from 2012 to 2016.

Orban has never been afraid to voice his own political opinions, despite those often differing from those of the PNL leadership. 

He publicly opposed the centre-right party's coalition with the Social Democrats in 2011, when the two parties formed an alliance to counter the Democratic Liberal Party and unseat its de facto leader, President Basescu.

Orban tried again to become Bucharest mayor in 2016, but was forced to quit the race after being accused of corruption. Orban, who consistently maintained his innocence, was eventually cleared of any charges.

"Orban is a veteran of the Romanian political scene whose name has been involved in...