Following the resignation of the Emil Boc government he was appointed prime minister serving through April 2012 when his cabinet was dismissed following a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

[1] He was confirmed by the Parliament for a second term as Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, after President Klaus Iohannis nominated him in June 2015 but he resigned in September 2016, citing health issues.

In March 2004 he received a PhD degree from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University after submitting a thesis on the "Conversion and integration in the Romanian society in the early-modern era".

He subsequently served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998–2000), and was a Vienna-based representative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (2000–2004).

[8] On November 27, 2007, Băsescu nominated Ungureanu to head the Foreign Information Service (SIE), the directorship of which had been vacant since Claudiu Săftoiu's March 19 resignation, related to the same scandal in Iraq.

In July 2012, he founded the non-governmental organization of Center-Right Civic Initiative (ICCD), together with PDL leaders Cristian Preda and Monica Macovei.

On 11 September, he met with the Italian deputy and member of The People of Freedom (PdL), Claudio Scajola, the Mayor of Rome and Giovanni Battista Re, secretary of Holy See.