Energy Minister Sebastián Burduha (PNL) admitted that he was in the referendum for the traditional family in 2018 and said that he expressed the option.

Sebastian Burduch was asked on Prima Tv’s Insider Politic show on Saturday how he feels about the same-sex marriage debate.

“Marriage from a religious point of view, that is, a religious wedding, is a matter for the Church. Therefore, I consider it normal and we are a secular state. The Church does not interfere in the affairs of the state, nor the state in the affairs of the Church. So I think it’s definitely important to keep this distinction between these two things…” Sebastian Burduya said, according to News.ro.

To the remark that these lines of demarcation are being erased, and we see a lot of money from the state budget going to churches and the involvement of some priests in political life, he replied: “Unfortunately, I remember my grandfather, who was a priest almost 60 years old, somewhere in Piatra Neamts, Bacău, and absolutely never renounced the reverend, but at the same time did not speak about state affairs. He really cared about those aspects, and I think that’s important. Of course, we had a referendum in Romania, a referendum on the family, as it was defined. He referred, I think, to Article 48 of the Constitution and defined, added the definition of family, namely between a man and a woman. But this did not affect Article 26, the one that practically guarantees private life and the fact that the state does not interfere in the private life of Romanians. And this is an important thing. Regarding all these topics, I’m sure they are important especially for certain audiences, but Romania has an agenda full of conflict in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, the energy sector and many others. I think that rather we need to find those elements that unite us both politically and socially, and not those that divide us.”

When asked if he was at the referendum for the traditional family, Burduzhah answered: “I was at that referendum.”

He was also asked if he disagreed with the fact that it was Liviu Dragnius’ referendum.

“No, I didn’t see things that way. I expressed an option. I respect all Romanians who had other choices and I think it is right to ask Romanians what they want, how they see this state, how they perceive the various articles of the Constitution regarding all these sensitive issues. Here I gave two examples, 26 out of 48. In 26, the state clearly says that it does not interfere in the private life and choice of every citizen. In the 48th version of the referendum, a clearer definition was chosen…”, Sebastian Bourduya added.

“I also have my values, I come from a family of priests, I had 14 priests in my family, my grandfather was a priest, at one point he dreamed of following his path. I’m a faithful person, I follow all the fasts – I don’t think I’ve said this before – but these are my personal values ​​that I hold dear and I don’t want to impose them on anyone else. I believe that it is important for every Romanian to define their own set of values,” Burduia added.

What does Sebastian Burduja think about civil partnership

He was also asked if the PNL would agree to a civil partnership law that would provide greater legal rights to those living with people of the same sex.

“I believe that rights in a democracy should be equal, and this is a principle, a fundamental pillar of the National Liberal Party, at least from IGDuca onwards, so for 100 years, four main platforms of liberals and democracy and democratic have been defined. and liberal values ​​were one of these pillars,” Burduja also confirmed.

Who is Sebastian Burduha?

Sebastián Burduja, PhD in economics and a graduate of Stanford and Harvard universities, is the Minister of Energy in Çolaku’s cabinet and the leader of Sector 1 of the PNL. He previously held the position of Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization in the Government of Romania.

In December 2019, Burduja was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Finance by then-liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orbán.

Later, Burduja, whose branch was split between Orbán and Kitsu last year, was included by the latter in the list of his supporters. Burduja did not have a clear positioning at that time. Kitsu announced his resignation from the leadership of the PNL on Saturday, just six months after being appointed party president, as party leaders who had supported him are now demanding his removal and the speedy organization of a new party congress. PNL.

Sebastián Burduha led the Youth Civic Action Party (PACT), which was founded in 2016 and merged with the PNL in March 2019.

In 2016, he returned to Romania after 12 years spent abroad. Since 2012, he worked as an expert at the World Bank. He studied at such prestigious universities as Stanford and Harvard. Sebastian Burduja said in an interview that he finished his studies in the USA with the financial help of his family.

He is the son of banker Marinel Burduzhi, former vice president of Bancorex. Marinel Bourduya was for many years the first vice president of Raiffeisen Bank, from where he retired in 2012. A few months later, he reappeared in the banking environment as the CEO of Dorinela Umbrarescu’s bank – Banca Romana de Credite si Investitii (BRCI). He stayed at Umbrarescu for about two years, after which he resigned for personal reasons. In the fall of 2015, Burduya returns to the financial services market through a merger in IFN with former Minister of Health Ioan Bazak, an importer of Ferrari cars in our country. He is also licensed as a sommelier, with a collection of around 9,000 rare wines.

In 2009, Burduja founded the League of Romanian Students Abroad (LSRS), and in 2011 he founded the CAESAR Foundation – Center for Access to the Experience of Romanian Students and Graduates. Dan Voiculescu, Sebastian Guita, Mihai Gadea and Ecaterina Andronescu attended and gave speeches at the LSRS launch.