Lazăr Comănescu currently serves as Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS). Born in 1949, he is a graduate of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES) and holds a PhD in international economics from the same institution. He started his diplomatic career in the Romanian Foreign Ministry in 1972, and over nearly four decades dedicated most of his work to multilateral diplomacy at both regional and global levels.
His distinguished career spans senior roles including Ambassador to NATO (1998–2001), Ambassador to the European Union (2001–2008), Ambassador to Germany (2009–2015), and two terms as Romania's Minister of Foreign Affairs (in 2008 and again from 2015 to 2017). He also served as Secretary of State for European and Euro-Atlantic Affairs and as Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Romania. He was directly involved in Romania's EU accession process, contributing to the elaboration and implementation of Romania's integration strategy and playing a key role in accession negotiations.
Comănescu was elected by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs for a three-year term as Secretary General, assuming his duties on 1 July 2021. In his role, he has emphasized that despite existing challenges in the Black Sea region, the organization continues to operate successfully. He has been awarded Romania's Order of Loyal Service (Grand Cross), Germany's Grosses Verdienstkreuz, and France's Légion d'Honneur (Officer).