After a second vote of no confidence passed in the Parliament of Romania on 27 April 2012, this time aimed against the Ungureanu Cabinet, Victor Ponta was asked by President Traian Băsescu to form a new Government. His cabinet, unveiled on 1 May, received the parliamentary vote of confidence on 7 May 2012 and governed Romania until the 2012 Romanian legislative election.

Leonard Orban is a Romanian independent technocrat who served as the Commissioner for Multilingualism in the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU). He was responsible for the EU language policy and was the first Romanian Commissioner and the first member of the Commission whose portfolio is exclusively multilingualism. His term of office began on 1 January 2007 and ended on 9 February 2010. With a background in engineering and economics, Orban has taken up various posts working for the accession of Romania to the European Union, most prominently as Deputy and later as Chief Negotiator for his country at the time of final negotiations with the European Union.