A little-known former economy minister who surrendered his Ph.D. after plagiarism accusations was confirmed by Parliament on Thursday as Romania’s prime minister, a decision that disappointed reformers.

Mihai Tudose, 50, will succeed Sorin Grindeanu, who was forced out last week as a result of a split in the governing party, the Social Democrats.

The party’s leader, Liviu Dragnea, is widely seen as Romania’s de facto leader, though he is ineligible to be prime minister because of a fraud conviction.

Corruption is arguably the greatest issue in Romania. Giant protests, the largest in the country since the fall of communism in 1989, erupted this year after the government tried to push through proposals that would have pardoned officials imprisoned for bribery and raised the financial threshold above which official misconduct is punishable by prison.