The Conservative Party ( ro, Partidul Conservator) was between 1880 and 1918 one of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

's two most important parties, the other one being the Liberal Party.Scurtu 1982, p.41''n''; for the founding of the party, this source gives February 1880, does not specify day of month. The party was the party of government for a total of 14 years, more than a third of its existence. It was founded on 3 February 1880 in Bucharest, although the doctrines and various groups of conservatives had already existed for some time. Precursors to the party had included the political grouping "Juna Dreaptă" (November 1868) and the newspaper '' Timpul'' (founded March 1876). The party relied on the support of the great landowners, the bourgeoisie, and some intellectuals. Their economic policy encouraged light industry and crafts but did not oppose investments in

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); or ...

. The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt showed that some reforms needed to be made in the Romanian social and political scene. That is why in 1913, the Conservatives accepted some reforms, such as the

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

promoted by the Liberals. In 1917, under pressure from the Liberals, rather than oppose modifications to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...

, the Conservatives did not accept the changes and tried to adapt. However, after the union of Romania with

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

, they never played an important role in the politics of Romania. In the early 20th century, the party underwent several schisms. In January 1908, Take Ionescu left to found the Conservative Democratic Party (''Partidul Conservator-Democrat'', PCD). In May 1915, Nicolae Filipescu led a group out of the party that favoured joining World War I on the ''Entente'' side; in October 1916, the Filipescu and Ionescu groups fused as the Conservative Nationalist Party (''Partidul Conservator Naţionalist''). In 1918–19 the party split into the ''Partidul Conservator-Democrat'' (which, in 1922, fused with the National Party) and the short-lived ''Partidul Conservator-Progresist''.Ioan Scurtu, Theodora Stănescu-Stanciu, Georgiana Margareta Scurtu
footnote
from ''Istoria Românilor Între Anii 1918–1940''. On the site of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely ...

. This is a citation for the 1922 fusion. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
appears to be a dead link.-->

Party presidents

* Manolache Costache Epureanu, Emanoil (Manolache) Costache Epureanu (February–September 1880) *

Lascăr Catargiu Lascăr Catargiu ( or Lascăr Catargi; 1 November 1823 – ) was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab ...

(1880–99) *

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (22 September 1833 – 22 March 1913), was a Romanian politician and lawyer, one of the leading Conservative Party policymakers. Among his political posts were minister of public instruction in Romania, presid ...

(1899–1907) *

Petre P. Carp Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in '' România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...

(1907–13) *

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the '' Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...

(1913–14) * Alexandru Marghiloman (1914–25) Source: Scurtu 1982.

Other important members

* Alexandru Lahovari * Dimitrie S. Niţescu * Mihail G. Cantacuzino * Dimitrie A. Grecianu * Constantin Garoflid

Governments formed

Theodor Rosetti Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders ...

(23 March – 12 November 1888) *

(12 November 1888 – 26 March 1889) *

(29 March – 3 November 1889) * George Manu (5 November 1889 – 15 February 1891) * Ioan Emanoil Florescu (21 February – 25 November 1891) *

(27 November 1891 – 3 October 1895) * Gheorghe Cantacuzino (11 April 1899 – 7 July 1900) *

(7 July 1900 – 13 February 1901) *Gheorghe Cantacuzino (22 December 1904 – 12 March 1907) *

(29 December 1910 – 28 March 1912) *

(14 October 1912 – 31 December 1913) * Alexandru Marghiloman (5 March – 24 October 1918)

Party publications

*'' Timpul'' (15 March 1876 – 17 March 1884; 13 November 1889 – 14 December 1900) *''Epoca'' (16 November 1885 – 14 June 1889; 2 December 1895 – 13 February 1901) *''Conservatorul'' (15 December 1900 – 15 November 1914) *''Steagul'' (14 November 1914 – July 1922)

Electoral history

Legislative elections

Notes and references

---- *Ioan Scurtu, ''Viața politică din România 1918–1944'', Albatros, 1982. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party (Romania, 1880-1918)