 He was the only independent minister in the first Boc Cabinet.In the second Boc cabinet, he was one of three independent ministers of that government (together with Mihail Dumitru and Teodor Baconschi) and the only member of the Tăriceanu cabinet still in office.In December 2009, he was reappointed Minister of Justice, and became the only independent minister, after Dumitru was replaced and Baconschi became a member of PDL.