Former Romanian President Iliescu to leave parliament

18/07/2008

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Former President and former Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Ion Iliescu announced on Thursday (July 17th) that he will not run for parliament in the fall elections. In a statement on his personal blog, Iliescu explained that his decision does not mean that he will leave politics or the PSD, of which he remains honorary president. "Plain and simple, I'm no longer interested in the contest from the viewpoint of the election campaign," Iliescu said, explaining that he wants to step aside for younger candidates. Iliescu was the first president of Romania after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu's communist regime in 1989. (Rompres, Mediafax - 17/07/08)