Traian Basescu

BUCHAREST, Romania: Pop by the Golden Blitz pub during happy hour, and you just might run into the president of Romania. He'll be the one huddling with a confidant, hamming before the cameras, or dancing a friend around the room.
Traian Basescu — unbuttoned, unorthodox, some say unpresidential — is shaking up the political scene in this ex-communist country accustomed to colorless, aloof leaders.
On Jan. 1, the 55-year-old former sea captain will steer his nation into the European Union, an accomplishment he described in an interview...
» Read the rest of the post


