Ion Jinga
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Ion Jinga | |
|---|---|
 Ion Jinga in 2013 | |
| Permanent Representative of Romania to the Council of Europe | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2022 | |
| Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations in New York | |
| In office 4 August 2015 – 1 July 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Simona Miculescu |
| Succeeded by | Cornel Feruță |
| Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
| In office 7 March 2008 – 4 August 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Ghibernea |
| Succeeded by | Mihnea Motoc |
| Ambassador of Romania to the Kingdom of Belgium | |
| In office 9 April 2003 – 7 March 2008 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 September 1961 |
| Spouse | Daniela Jinga |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest National University of Political Studies and Public Administration College of Europe |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Awards | National Order of Merit (Romania), Officer rank Ordre national du Mérite, Officer rank Order of the Crown (Belgium), Grand Cross rank |
Ion Jinga (born 1 September 1961)[1] is a Romanian diplomat working in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1992. Between 9 April 2003 and 7 March 2008 he was the Ambassador to Belgium[2] and between 7 March 2008 and 4 August 2015 he was Ambassador to the United Kingdom.[3] Between 4 August 2015 and 1 July 2022 he was Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations in New York. On 2 July 2022 he started his term as Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Romania to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.[4]
Born in Câmpulung, Jinga attended from 1976 the city's Dinicu Golescu High School, graduating in 1980 as a valedictorian. He subsequently enrolled in the Faculty of Physics at the University of Bucharest, which he graduated from in 1986. During his final two university years he taught as a physics teacher and after graduation he worked as a physicist engineer at the Institute of Nuclear Power Reactors in Pitești. Between 1991 and 1992 he worked for the Argeș County Prefecture, and on 1 November 1992 he became a diplomat within the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[citation needed]
Jinga graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Bucharest (1987–1992) and from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (1990–1992). In parallel, between 1991 and 1992, he attended a Master's course at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium,[5] which resulted in an MA in European Administration. Next he completed an International Relations course at University of Leeds, United Kingdom, under a "Know How Fund" scholarship offered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Between 1997 and 1999 he conducted a NATO-funded research project entitled "Joining NATO, the EU, and the WEU: differences, similarities, synergies. Romania's case". In 1999 he received a Doctorate in Law for his thesis entitled "Institutional Reform of the European Union in the Context of the Intergovernmental Conference to Review the Maastricht Treaty". His thesis was published as a book entitled "The European Union: Realities and Perspectives" (Ed. Lumina Lex, 1999).
Diplomatic activity
Starting 1 November 1992, Ion Jinga was employed within the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first occupying the position of Third Secretary within the European Union Directorate, then that of Second Secretary within the Minister's Office and subsequently that of First Secretary, Counsellor, Deputy Ambassador and Chargé d'affaires a.i. at the Mission of Romania to the European Union in Brussels. Between 2002 and 2003 he was Director General for the European Union within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one of the six members of the Romanian Delegation to the Convention on the Future of Europe (which prepared the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union, later transformed into the Treaty of Lisbon). On 9 April 2003 he was appointed Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania to the Kingdom of Belgium and on 7 March 2008 he was appointed Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.[6] Between 4 August 2015 and 1 July 2022, he was Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations in New York.[7] On 2 July 2022 he started his term as Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Romania to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.[4] In August 2017, by Presidential Decree, Ion Jinga received the diplomatic rank of Ambassador.[8] Jinga speaks English and French, in addition to his Romanian native language.
During his mandate in the United Kingdom, Ambassador Jinga has proven to be an active presence in the British media, emphasizing positive accounts about his country and reacting in moments where Romania was blamed. Within the context of the announcement of the lifting of work restrictions for Romanian nationals in the UK from 1 January 2014, starting with January 2013 a part of the British media launched a series of negative articles concerning Romanians. Ambassador Jinga responded to these allegations through a series of interviews and articles in British newspapers,[9][10] radio and television, presenting his views on the professional value of Romanians and their significant contribution to the UK economy.[11] When Romania was accused that it was exporting horse meat labelled as beef, Ion Jinga replied in two interviews with the Huffington Post[12] newspaper and Sky News.[13]
In February 2013, Jinga's English-speaking ability was questioned by Romanian media. During that month's meat adulteration scandal, he made a live appearance on CNN. He appeared to be reading off a text rather than providing an impromptu reply, and his English was described as "approximate", "embarrassing",[14] "halting",[15] and "open to interpretation".[16] Subsequently, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement ascribing Jinga's "long pauses and clipped words" to technical difficulties caused by the interviewer's presence in Hong Kong, which led to a delay of several seconds (thus making impossible to say the next phrase prior to hearing the end of the previous one),[17] overlapping voices from a different newsroom and an echo.[18] and made references to the Ambassador's significant number of previous interviews.[17] CNN addressed apologies to the Ambassador and in writing to the Romanian Embassy.[19] Ion Jinga explained the situation in detail within a Romanian TV show which also presented CNN's letter of apologies.[20] However, a part of the Romanian media was extremely vocal against the Ambassador. In his defense came the President of Romania,[21] the Prime Minister[22] and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Romanian intellectual personalities,[23] Romanian and British journalists,[24][25] and student organizations[26] in the United Kingdom. Jinga continued to have a series of subsequent press interventions.[27][28]
At the end of Jinga's mandate of Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom, the British Parliament issued a motion commending "the work of the outgoing Ambassador of Romania to the UK, Dr Ion Jinga, who has played a significant part in developing relations between the two countries; recognizes Dr Jinga's deep historical understanding of the Romanian-British relationship, and the effective and skilled manner in which he has represented his country and the Romanian community in the UK; notes Dr Jinga's impressive diplomatic and intellectual record; and wishes Dr Jinga well in his future roles".[29] This was the first ever British Parliament commendation of any Romanian ambassador.[citation needed]
Jinga was described soon after his appointment as the Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations in New York, as having established himself as an active presence within the UN diplomatic community.[30] Between 2015 and 2016 he chaired the UN Commission on Social Development and,[31] in October 2016, the President of the UN General Assembly appointed him to the position of co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Security Council Reform.[32] This appointment made Ambassador Jinga the first Romanian (and Eastern European) diplomat to chair this highly sensitive and complicated negotiations process.[33] Subsequently, Ion Jinga went on to preside over a number of key UN groups and initiatives. Between 2016 and 2017 he chaired the UN Group of Governmental experts on Transparency of Military Expenditures (MILEX)[34] and between 2017 and 2018 he chaired the UN Commission on Population and Development.[35] In 2018 he took on the role of Chair (elected by acclamation) of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors to the UN,[36][37] that of Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission,[38] and that of Chair of the UN Committee on Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) for the period September 2018 – September 2019.[39]
All of these positions were premieres for the Romanian diplomacy[40][41] and were seen as indicative for the Romanian Ambassador's leadership and professionalism within the UN. In 2017, in recognition of his activity at the United Nations, Ion Jinga was granted the "Diploma for outstanding contributions to the success of the work of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly" by the General Assembly President.[42] In the same year, the Romanian-American Business Council awarded him the "Best Romanian Diplomat in the United States" Award.[43] In March, 2019, Jinga was elected chair of the committee for the United Nations Population Award,[44] which recognizes outstanding personalities, organizations and institutions with remarkable contributions to solving population's problems. He was subsequently reelected in this position in 2020 and 2021.[45]
