Bogdan Aurescu

A career diplomat, Bogdan Aurescu was appointed Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 February 2009. Since August 2010, he is Secretary of State for European Affairs; he also coordinates the Security Policies Directorate.

He joined the Ministry in 1996, starting his activity within the Legal and Treaties Directorate, as desk officer. Between 1998 and 2003 he was successively counsellor within the Minister’s Cabinet, deputy director of the Legal and Treaties Directorate, director of the Minister’s Cabinet, director of the Legal and Treaties/International Law and Treaties Directorate, director general of the General Department for Legal Affairs.

Between 2003 and 2004 he was Under-Secretary of State within the Ministry – Government Agent for the European Court of Human Rights, and between 2004 and 2005 Secretary of State for European Affairs. Since September 2004, Bogdan Aurescu was the Romanian Agent before the International Court of Justice, coordinating – all along the procedures – the activity of the team which represented Romania in the case against Ukraine before the International Court of Justice on Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea, finalized on 3 February 2009. Currently, he has the diplomatic rank of minister-counsellor.

He is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague ), substitute member of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe, alternate representative of Romania to the Danube Commission and arbitrator designated by Romania according to article 2 of Annex VII to the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea. He is also president of the International Law Section of the Association of International Law and International Relations of the Romanian Branch of the International Law Association (London ), editor-in-chief of the Romanian Journal of International Law and member of the Editorial Board of the „Judicial Courier”.

Since 2004, Bogdan Aurescu is professor lecturer within the Public Law Department of the Faculty of Law – University of Bucharest (where he taught or still teaches Public International Law, Diplomatic and Consular Law, International Organisations and International Relations, International Jurisdictions) having started his teaching activity in 1998. He has also tought Public International Law and Law of Treaties classes within other academic institutions, such as the Diplomatic Academy/Romanian Diplomatic Institute or the National School of Political and Administrative Sciences. Since 2004 he is also associated professor at the “Nicolae Titulescu” University of Bucharest for the Master Programme on International and EU Law, teaching International Jurisdictions. In July 2006 he was visiting professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Hamburg, Germany, within the ERASMUS Teaching Staff (TS) mobility programme.

He has a PhD in legal sciences with the qualification „very good” and the distinction “Summa cum Laude”, the title of the PhD thesis being “The Concept of Sovereignty and the Primacy of International Law” (2003).

Bogdan Aurescu graduated the National College „Sfântul Sava” (1992), the Faculty of Law (in 1996, “with Merits”) and the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest (in 1998), the Institut Franco-Roumain du Droit des Affaires et Cooperation Internationale “N.Titulescu-H.Capitant” (1996) and the National Defense College of Bucharest (2000).

In 2002 he was awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Diploma of merits for outstanding contribution to the diplomatic activity of Romania. He was conferred the National Orders “Faithfull Service” (Serviciul Credincios) (2002), “Diplomatic Merit” (Meritul Diplomatic) (2007), and “The Star of Romania” (Steaua României) (2009), in the rank of “Knight”.

He is author or co-author of 15 volumes in the field of International Law and of some tens of articles published in Romanian or foreign journals, such as „Romanian Journal of International Law”, Annals of the University of Bucharest – Law Series", „Annuaire Français de Droit International”, „The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law”, „Helsinki Monitor. Security and Human Rights”, „European Yearbook of Minority Issues”, „Revue Hellenique de Droit International”, „Chinese Journal of International Law”. As a substitute member (independent expert) of the Venice Commission, he was or is rapporteur or co-rapporteur for 20 reports, opinions or studies of this forum.

Bogdan Aurescu speaks fluently English and French.

He was born on 9 September 1973 and is not married.