[4] In addition, eight ministerial portfolios were consolidated into four:[5] The reshuffling of the Third Ponta Cabinet came after ministers from the Hungarian-minority party, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), left the coalition and resigned from their respective ministries.

Prime Minister Ponta decided to change the cabinet's image, which had been negatively affected by his loss in the November 2014 presidential elections and by a scandal involving voting procedures in the diaspora.

During the ceremony of taking the oath, outgoing president, Traian Băsescu, criticized two of the members of the new cabinet, Liviu Pop and Sorin Cîmpeanu, accusing them of contributing to the destruction of educational institutions, calling Ponta a liar and alluding to the plagiarism scandal that resulted in the prime minister surrendering his doctorate.

[6] The Opposition, headed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), announced a possible motion of censure after 1 February 2015,[7] with President Klaus Iohannis supporting the effort to bring down the Ponta government.

[10] On 4 November 2015, Victor Ponta and his Cabinet resigned amid mass protests against generalised corruption linked to the Colectiv nightclub fire,[11] being succeeded by the Cioloș Cabinet, made up entirely by politically independent members.