Klaus Iohannis has resigned from the position of president and will lose a number of benefits. He would have lost much more if he was suspended. After the resignation, the interim of the function will be provided by Ilie Bolojan, the president of the Senate.
Klaus Iohannis Photo: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea
Klaus Iohannis, 65, announced his resignation on Monday, February 10, the day before Parliament begins the procedure that, theoretically, could have led to the loss of all the benefits of retired president.
By resigning from office, Iohannis remains only without the president’s allowance for the next few months, more precisely until the new president is elected and will take over his duties. It also loses immunity and will have to leave, on Wednesday, from the Lac 1 villa in which the Presidents of Romania are.
If he had been taken down from the position of president of the state by suspension, then he would lose all the benefits, including the former head of the state. He remained without allowance as a former president of the state, without the official protocol villa from the Romanian state, without a car and protection from the security and protection service.
The former president will benefit from a monthly life allowance equivalent to 75% of the gross salary he had in office. This means a monthly income of about 2,300 euros a month. This allowance can be cumulated with other income of the president, obtained as salary income or as a pension. Thus, Anton Hadăr, president of Alma Mater, says that the pension that Iohannis will receive as a pensioner as a result of his teaching career will amount to 8,500 lei, ie about 1,700 euros. This means a monthly income from the two pensions of about 4,000 euros.
He will also be entitled to a protocol house, made available by RA-APPS, with the obligation to bear the maintenance expenses. As well as “a space for organizing the work cabinet, classified with a position of counselor and a secretary position, both attributed to the destination of residence”. It has not yet been established the villa to be attributed by the government.
The president benefits from guard and protection, as well as the free use of a car, permanently provided by the protection and security service, according to the regulations in force.
Theoretically, the president could lose all these benefits if he had been suspended following a referendum. The first necessary step was to be taken on Tuesday, when Parliament’s reunited Houses should have voted the request to suspend President Klaus Iohannis, submitted by the opposition.
The decision had to be adopted by two thirds of the members of the two Houses of Parliament (Senate and the Chamber of Deputies).
The next step would have been convening a national referendum to validate or reject the decision of the Parliament.
