Gigi Becali

George "Gigi" Becali ( born June 25, 1958 in Zanga, Circle Brăila ) is a Romanian businessman and politician of the party PNG - CD ( Partidul Noua Generation - Crestin Democrat ). He is also the owner of the football club Steaua Bucharest.

Becali trademarks are his omnipresence in the Romanian media and his provocative appearance with vulgar choice of words. His political views is described as a mix between crude ideologies of ultra conservatism, right-wing props ( incitement against homosexuals, denial of the Holocaust in Romania) and Orthodox fundamentalism.

His parents are simple farmers from the ethnic group of the Aromanians. His ancestors originally settled in Albania, but walked in the interwar period, like many other Vlachs in the southern Dobruja ( Romanian: Quadrilateral ), which then belonged to Greater Romania. 1940 this territory was ceded to Bulgaria and the local Aromanians moved to the part of Dobruja, who stayed with Romania. Becali grandfather was involved then in the nationalist Iron Guard, which is why the family was first forcibly resettled on the subsequent seizure of power by the Communists in the Banat and 1951 in the Bărăgan - steppe ( deportation to the Bărăgan - steppe ). There Becali was born in 1958. The family dealt with sheep and could be established despite a planned economy own business, supplied by hotels in Bucharest and in the tourist resorts on the Black Sea with cheese and sheepmeat. This was possible only by bribing local Securitate officers were allowed to accommodate the foreigners under the influence of many hotels were. When after the revolution was legalized private entrepreneurship, Becali gave his learned profession as a mechanic and took over the family business. Through the export of sheep in a big way in Turkey, the business flourished. Becali invested the proceeds in their own trucks and imported on the way home textiles, cigarettes and soap - products that were in short supply in post-communist Romania, Turkey. His business partner at that time was the football player Gheorghe Hagi, who was an international star at that time and earned money as a legionnaire in Spain and Italy. He invested in real estate assets Profit on speculation, at a time when the Romanian real estate market began to develop straight.

Because of some of these transactions, which are regarded as dubious, determined the prosecution against him. Particular attention aroused a land swap with the Romanian Becali Verteigigungsministerium in 1999, in which he made a peddle income of $ 3,000,000 in a short time. Becali still had not at the time of conclusion of the contract the land. Only when the Ministry had taken the decision, he bought local farmers from their land and then exchanged them for a profit. These transactions have made him one of the richest businessmen in Romania, in 2008 his fortune was estimated by the daily Adevarul to 700-750 million euros.

In 2000, he first went into politics, but fell just short of the catchment as a deputy to parliament. In 2003, he was first elected as a great sponsor for the President of the football club Steaua Bucharest, a post he held until 2007. Later he acquired shares in the club and is now regarded as its owner, even if he holds no official position more in the club. As the main financier he appears in the media as a spokesman of the association and makes important decisions, such as the appointment of the coach.

Through his involvement in football he reached national prominence, which helped him in a row in his political career. In 2004 he took over the chairmanship of the small party Partidul Noua generatie which he has since been remodeled according to his ideas on a populist and nationalist course. In 2004 he was a candidate for the office of president, but only won 1.77 % of votes. Also in the first European elections on the occasion of Romania's EU accession in 2007 failed his party. Then he went in an electoral alliance with the second right-wing nationalist party small Partidul România Mare and ran for the regular 2009 elections on their list, which he was elected deputy to the European Parliament. At the time of the election campaign he was just false imprisonment on remand, along with four of his bodyguards, as they arbitrarily arresting thieves who had stolen one of his luxury cars, locked up in the trunk and physically abused, rather than turn them over to the police. Since 17 April 2009, he is free again.

In the European Parliament Becali fell on mainly by its absence, which is why the mirror in 2010 described him as " the laziest MEP ". However, this was also the fact that it temporarily exit from Romania was forbidden because of the ongoing investigation.

During this period, Becali had himself repeatedly referred to as the richest man in Romania, by the international financial and economic crisis, which reached Romania as of 2008, however, he has lost a significant part of its assets.

After a quarrel with his nationalist coalition partner Corneliu Vadim Tudor, Becali joined with his party the camp and ran for the early parliamentary elections in the wake of the sovereign crisis in Romania, 2012 for the existing of Socialists and Liberals coalition Uniunea Social Liberală under the leadership of Victor Ponta. Following the surprisingly clear election victory of the USL Becali is now a member of parliament 25 for the Bucharest constituency

His case from the year 2009 due to deprivation of liberty finally by the Supreme Court ( Curtea de Casaţie şi JUSTITIE ) was decided on 11 February 2013. He was sentenced to three years probation, making him a detention was spared and he does not have to renounce his mandate. In April 2013, the European Court of Justice ruled that the club Steaua Bucharest for the homophobic statements Becali may be held liable. The club had previously pleaded on that Becali has no official function at Steaua and only its sponsor.

George Becali is the main shareholder of the privatized construction company Arcom 1995, the 2004 privatized munitions factory Uzina mecanica Drăgăşani, the poultry fattening Avicola Iaşi, as well as the manufacturer of electronic components Romes.

MEP Member of the European Parliament

As MEP George Becali member of the following committees in delegations: Committee on International Trade, Delegation to the Parliamentary Cooperation Committees EU-Armenia, EU -Azerbaijan and EU - Georgia delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly EURO- NEST and alternates to the Committee on Legal Affairs (European Parliament) Committee on Legal Affairs