Restoring Prefects in a Post-communist Context: The Challenges of Romanian Reform

Bearer of a by-secular history of state-building, the Romanian prefect has been, according to the successive epochs and political regimes, the holder of public dignity, the representative of the political power, or a high civil servant. In post-communist Romania, attempts have been made to professionalize the highly politicized institution of the prefect. Although this goal was formally achieved, recruitment is far from being politically neutral, considering that prefects are replaced with every change in government. At the same time, although the Constitution assigns a very important role to prefects, their real room for manoeuvre remains actually very limited.