Theodor Paleologu (; born July 15, 1973) is a Romanian historian, diplomat and politician. An independent who was formerly a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the People's Movement Party (PMP) and the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L), he was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Bucharest from 2008 to 2016. Additionally, in the first Emil Boc cabinet (December 2008 to December 2009) he was Minister of Culture, Religious Affairs and Cultural Heritage.
Early life The son of Olimpia and Alexandru Paleologu, he was born in Bucharest and completed secondary studies at the city's German High School. About Me, retrieved March 3, 2009 He then attended Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University from 1992 to 1998, where he obtained undergraduate and master's degrees in philosophy. He also attended the École normale supérieure from 1996 to 2001. From 1998 to 2001, he worked on a doctorate in political sciences at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and LMU Munich. He was a lecturer at Boston College from 1999 to 2000, a visiting professor at Deep Springs College in 2003, and a research fellow at the University of Notre Dame (2001–2002), New York University (2002), Harvard University (2002–2003), and the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study (2005). He was an external lecturer at the University of Copenhagen in 2007 and 2008, and since 2003, he has been assistant professor and director of the summer university at the European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin. Between 2005 and 2008, he served as Romania's ambassador to Denmark and Iceland; Profile at the Romanian Government site , retrieved March 3, 2009 he resigned from the office in order to pursue his successful parliamentary campaign. "Theodor Paleologu - biografie" ("Theodor Paleologu - Biography"), Adevărul, 18 December 2008, retrieved March 3, 2009
Political activity In the Chamber, he sat on the Arts, Culture and Mass Media Committee. Profile at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site, retrieved March 3, 2009 As minister, his top priority was the preservation of Romania's historic monuments. "Paleologu spune că va îmbunătăți legislația pentru protejarea patrimoniului național" ("Paleologu Says He Will Improve Legislation for Protecting the Nation's Cultural Heritage") , Adevărul, 23 January 2009, retrieved March 3, 2009 His ministerial term ended when he was not reappointed to a new cabinet under Boc at the end of 2009. Monica Iordache Apostol, "Guvernul Boc, zero barat" ("Boc Government, Total Zero"), Jurnalul Național, 31 August 2010; retrieved September 4, 2010 At the 2012 local election, he ran for mayor of Bucharest's Sector 1, finishing second with 14.1% of the vote. "Chiliman a obținut un nou mandat" ("Chiliman Wins New Term") , România liberă, 11 June 2012; retrieved June 13, 2012 Running in the legislative election later that year, he placed second in his district, but won another term through the redistribution mechanism specified by the electoral law. Carmen Vintilă, "Cine câștigă la loteria redistribuirii: Blaga, Anastase, Udrea, Boagiu, Stănișoară" ("Who Wins the Redistribution Lottery: Blaga, Anastase, Udrea, Boagiu, Stănișoară"), Evenimentul Zilei, 11 December 2012; retrieved December 11, 2012 In February 2014, he followed Elena Udrea in resigning from the PD-L and joining the People's Movement Party (PMP). "Theodor Paleologu a demisionat din PDL pentru a se alătura PMP" ("Theodor Paleologu Resigns from PDL in order to Join PMP") , România Liberă, 3 February 2014; retrieved April 2, 2014 A year later, he entered the National Liberal Party (PNL), proclaiming that the PMP had degenerated into a "total fiasco". "Theodor Paleologu trece la PNL" ("Theodor Paleologu Switches to PNL") , 22, 4 February 2014; retrieved June 15, 2016 In June 2016, the PNL expelled him after he criticized the party leadership for its disrespect toward Save Bucharest Union leader Nicușor Dan. Cătălina Mănoiu, "Conducerea PNL a decis să îi excludă din partid pe Theodor Paleologu și Cristian Bodea" ("PNL Leadership Decides to Expel Theodor Paleologu and Cristian Bodea"), Mediafax, 15 June 2016; retrieved June 15, 2016 Paleologu ran as an independent in the December election and won some 8,000 votes, well short of the approximately 25,000 needed to secure a seat. Iulia Iancu, "Elena Udrea, Remus Cernea și Theodor Paleologu au pierdut alegerile parlamentare" ("Elena Udrea, Remus Cernea and Theodor Paleologu Lost Parliamentary Elections") , România liberă, 12 December 2016; accessed 13 December 2016
By July 2019, Paleologu was a front-runner for the PMP nomination for the November presidential election. The following month, Mihail Neamțu withdrew from the party's internal race, endorsing Paleologu. He thus became the party’s candidate, Daniel Budescu, "Theodor Paleologu este candidatul PMP la alegerile prezidențiale" ("Theodor Paleologu Is the PMP Candidate in the Presidential Election"), G4 Media, 25 August 2019; retrieved August 25, 2019 placing fifth with 5.7% of the vote. "Rezultate provizorii vot alegeri prezidențiale 2019" ("Provisional Results of the Presidential Election"), Digi24, 11 November 2019; retrieved November 12, 2019
Presidential elections
ElectionAffiliationFirst roundSecond roundVotesPercentagePositionVotesPercentagePosition 2019 527,098 not qualified
Private life Paleologu was married to Sarah Nassif, a French opera singer of Lebanese origin. "Paleologu jr. - amintirile unui tânăr ambasador" ("Paleologu, Jr. - Memories of a Young Ambassador"), Evenimentul Zilei, 21 May 2006, retrieved March 3, 2009 The two are divorced and have one son, Mihail. Cezar Paul-Bădescu, , Adevărul, 3 February 2009, retrieved March 3, 2009 "Paleologu: 'Să te ferească Dumnezeu de furia mielului'" ("Paleologu: 'May God Protect You from the Lamb's Wrath'", Evenimentul Zilei, 27 January 2009, retrieved April 2, 2014
In 2013, he began holding private courses on the humanities and diplomacy in his family home. "Theodor Paleologu predă cursuri de 'Understanding Romanian Mentality', la domiciliu" ("Theodor Paleologu Teaches Courses on 'Understanding Romanian Mentality', at Home") , Jurnalul Național, 4 December 2012; retrieved April 2, 2014 This venture eventually evolved into Casa Paleologu, which later branched out into online courses, conferences and study trips. "Theodor Paleologu semnează un eseu despre educație și modul în care o practică de aproape 10 ani la Casa Paleologu" ("Theodor Paleologu Signs an Essay about Education and the Way in Which He Practices It for Almost 10 Years at Casa Paleologu", Observator Cultural, 27 May 2022, retrieved October 14, 2025
Published works
Despre conservatism, in the volume Nostalgia Europei, coordinated by Cristian Bădiliță and Tudorel Urian (Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2003) (On Conservatism). Joseph de Maistre sau bunul simț ca paradox, postface to the anthology Joseph de Maistre, Providență și istorie (Ed. Anastasia, București, 1998) (Joseph de Maistre, or Common Sense as Paradox). Sous l’œil du Grand Inquisiteur – katékhon ou Antéchrist? Contribution à la théologie politique (Éditions du Cerf, Paris, Collection „Passages“) (Under the Eye of the Grand Inquisitor – Katechon or Antichrist? A Contribution to Political Theology). De la Karl Marx la stenograme (Ed. Curtea Veche, București, 2005) (From Karl Marx to the Transcripts). Era supărăcioșilor (Ed. Curtea Veche, București, 2009) (The Age of the Touchy). Povestea Casei Paleologu (Ed. Fundației Paleologu, București, 2022) (The Story of Casa Paleologu). Leadership à la grecque de la Plutarh citire (Ed. Fundației Paleologu, București, 2023) (Leadership à la Grecque, as Read from Plutarch). Cum pregătim un discurs (Ed. Fundației Paleologu, București, 2023) (How to Prepare a Speech). Les pathologies du pouvoir – Pensées d’un convalescent (Ed. Les Éditions Ovadia, Paris, 2024) (The Pathologies of Power – Thoughts of a Convalescent). Patologiile puterii. Gândurile unui convalescent, original title: Les pathologies du pouvoir – Pensées d’un convalescent, Colecția Filosofii Agora, tr. Irinel Antoniu, Editura Trei, 2025, ISBN 978-606-40-2658-3 (The Pathologies of Power: Thoughts of a Convalescent).
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