From Communist Romania to Deputy Secretary General of NATO

In this episode

My guest today is Mircea Geoana, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, who has had a successful political and diplomatic career for more than three decades.

At the age of 36, he was appointed as an ambassador to the U.S. and became the youngest ambassador in Romania’s history. He later served as a president of the Romanian Senate, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister.

In 2009, he narrowly lost the elections for the president of Romania when he received 49.6% of the votes. He is a board member of several organizations, including the World Economic Forum, The Aspen Institute, and the European Council for Foreign Relations. He is also a published author and has written several books on foreign policy and international relations.

00:00 Family Background and Communism

Born in communist Romania
His dad (an engineer) and mom (transportation company)
Growing up in communism and feeling oppressed
When communism collapsed, immediately went to see the West
His fascination with America
Apart from the U.S., dreamed of visiting France and Italy

09:25 U.S. Immigration

America is the land of immigrants
People should be welcomed, but it’s not easy to receive too many people
The USA was an inspiration for him on how to rebuild Romania
The transition from communism to the capitalistic system
Wanted to transfer back home the best ideas from the West

12:00 Education

Getting his Ph.D. in Economics and studying in Romania and France
How important is education?
America is an abundant example of success without formal education
Never be satisfied with what you know (education should be ongoing learning of new things)
Many things are available online
Learning how to learn and understanding learning is a constant process
Choose whatever you want, but know you never know enough
The importance of building a social network in college

18:34 What Does NATO Do?

NATO creates the foundation of peace, stability, and security
Insurance policy for 1 billion citizens
Examples NATO efforts

23:05 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

NATO tried very hard to prevent invasion (in January 2021, tried to dissuade Russia but failed)
How did Russia get it so wrong?
Russian leadership lives in a different reality than the rest of the world
He hopes that Russians will realize that their leadership is in wrong
Doubts that Russian citizens have real information
How is this war going to end (both sides need to compromise)?
What makes a successful invasion (pre-conditions for counteroffensive)?
Ukraine requested to join NATO when Crimea was taken
Thoughts on Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Sweden

38:32 Nuclear Weapons and WW3