Mircea Geoană became NATO Deputy Secretary General in October 2019, after a distinguished domestic and international career. Mr Geoană is the first Deputy Secretary General from Romania, and the first from any of the countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War. Mr Geoană was born in Romania on 14 July 1958. He studied at the Polytechnic University in Bucharest, the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest, the Ecole Nationale d’Administration in Paris, and he holds a PhD from the Economic Studies Academy of Bucharest. Mr Geoană has served as a diplomat and a politician, and in 2009 was his party’s candidate to be President of Romania. Mr Geoană is a strong advocate of transatlantic integration. He has held a number of international positions including the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in 2001 and personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Georgia in 2005. He is President and founder of the Aspen Institute Romania and publishes extensively on domestic and international affairs. In 2000, he was made a Commander of the National Order, The Star of Romania. He has also been awarded the French Legion d’Honneur and the Italian Stella della Solidarieta. Mr Geoană is married to Mihaela, an architect by training and former President of the Romanian Red Cross. They have two children, Ana Maria and Alexandru. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian.