Norica Nicolai

Norica Nicolai is a Romanian lawyer and politician. An independent who previously belonged to the National Liberal Party (PNL) and before that the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNŢ-CD), she was a member of the Romanian Senate for Cluj County from 2000 to 2008, and a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2019. She was at the centre of a conflict between Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu and President Traian Băsescu in early 2008, with the latter rejecting, ultimately successfully, the former's nomination of Nicolai to be Justice Minister.