Romania appoints new Consul General in Odesa

Romania has appointed a head of the Consulate General in Odesa after almost six years of being run by a temporary head.

According to the BucPress agency, diplomat Doru-Georghe Licu is the new Consul General of Romania in Odesa.

This appointment comes in an important context for the Romanian community in southern Ukraine, as well as for Romanian-Ukrainian consular relations, after the Consulate General in Odesa was suspended in February 2022 due to the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consulate General of Romania in Odesa resumed its activities in the fall of 2025 in a limited mode, given the security situation in Ukraine. The ministry clarifies that the goal is to gradually return to the normal functioning of the consular office, as far as security conditions allow.

Doru Liciu was the Romanian Consul in Toronto from 2008 to 2017, and later served as the Head of Service in the Diplomatic Archives Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to this appointment, he was Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Turkey.

He holds a doctorate in history and his research focuses on international relations, history of diplomacy and Romanian-Spanish relations. He has also worked in academia and published studies and collections in the field of history of diplomacy and international relations.

Regarding consular activities, the MFA clarifies that they were carried out in the mode of a mobile consulate, with monthly trips of approximately two weeks by the head of the consular office from Kyiv to Odesa. So far, seven such on-site consulates have been organized.

In June 2025, representatives of Romanian cultural associations in Odesa region sent an open letter to Romanian President Nicusor Dan, the Romanian Parliament, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging them to reopen the Consulate General of Romania in Odesa.

Since February 2022, during the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, the Consulate General of Romania in Odesa has been closed. Representatives of the Romanian diaspora insisted that it was the only closed consulate in Odesa besides the Russian one.

Кирило Бойко