As Romania’s outspoken envoy prepares to leave the island, Dan Mihalache reflects on identity, diplomacy, AI, culture and the one dream he never managed to finish.
For an ambassador, Sorin Dan Mihalache is surprisingly easy to describe.
Direct. Blunt at times. Political to the bone. Occasionally unorthodox. A diplomat who still talks like a political insider. And a man who genuinely, deeply loves cats.
Which, in a strange way, made Cyprus the perfect posting for him.
As Sorin Dan, or simply “Dan,” as almost everyone calls him, prepares to leave Cyprus at the end of May after serving as Romania’s ambassador since August 2021, he leaves behind something far more personal than the usual diplomatic farewell speeches and polished talking points.
He leaves behind schools, cultural projects, church initiatives, political encouragement for the Romanian community and, somehow woven through all of it, a running conversation about identity, belonging and cats.
Lots of cats.
During what would become his final major interview on the island, the conversation moved effortlessly from artificial intelligence and migration to Romanian language schools and the possibility of building a cat museum in Cyprus.
And somehow, with Dan Mihalache, it all made sense.
“You have a story here,” he said while speaking passionately about his still-unfulfilled idea for a Cyprus cat museum. “The story of who brought the cats. You have Saint Nicholas of the Cats monastery. It can bring people together.”
He was not joking.
Mihalache speaks about cats the way some diplomats speak about geopolitics, with detail, strategy and genuine fascination. Part of that obsession grew during his time as ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he became fascinated by Britain’s famous government cats, including the “Chief Mouser” of the Cabinet Office.
But in Cyprus, the idea evolved into something bigger. In his mind, the island’s centuries-old relationship with cats is not just trivia. It is branding. Tourism. Storytelling. Identity.
And perhaps that says a lot about Mihalache himself.
Behind the humor and directness is a man deeply focused on identity and cultural preservation, especially for the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Romanians living in Cyprus.
Throughout his tenure, Mihalache strongly pushed the idea that Romanians abroad should integrate into Cypriot society without completely losing their language and roots.
Under his watch, the embassy heavily promoted Romanian cultural and educational events, while also supporting Romanian-language learning connected to church initiatives on the island.
“It’s not about assimilating completely,” he said during the interview, arguing that younger generations need cultural grounding to understand their own history and identity.
That mission became one of the defining themes of his years in Cyprus.
Unlike many ambassadors who stay carefully neutral on local political participation, Mihalache openly encouraged Romanians in Cyprus to become more involved in public life.
Speaking about businesswoman and media personality Ramona Filip running for parliament on her husband’s political party platform, Mihalache said he welcomed the development and encouraged more Romanians to step into politics.
“I encourage every Romanian to run,” he said.
He also acknowledged that political participation is not always easy for migrant communities, many of whom simply want stability and work rather than public battles.
But Mihalache sees representation as important, especially for what he describes as Cyprus’ third-largest foreign community after the British and Russians.
Before diplomacy, Mihalache had already spent years inside Romania’s political machine, serving in senior government and presidential roles. That background still shows.
He speaks faster than most diplomats. More openly too.
When asked whether he preferred politics or diplomacy, he admitted diplomacy was not just about receptions and protocol but about building relationships with business leaders, universities, cultural institutions and the media.
And Cyprus, he said, suited him immediately.
When given a choice between postings in Portugal, Croatia and Cyprus, he chose Cyprus because of its political importance, geography and role at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Still, some of his most serious reflections came when discussing artificial intelligence.
Mihalache warned that people underestimate how deeply technology will reshape not only jobs but human relationships and society itself.
A university professor with a PhD in political science and links to academic institutions, including the London School of Economics, he said he already sees major changes in younger generations and their relationship with knowledge itself.
“It’s not just about losing or gaining jobs,” he said.
Yet even during the heavier moments of the conversation, the interview somehow always circled back to cats.
Maybe because cats, much like Mihalache himself, do not fit neatly into diplomatic stereotypes.
As his term comes to an end, the Romanian ambassador says he is still deciding what comes next. His wife continues her work connected to the European Parliament, while the couple’s two daughters remain central to family decisions about the future.
But before leaving Cyprus, there remains one thing he wishes he could have achieved.
Not another trade agreement. Not another diplomatic initiative.
A cat museum.
