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 Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

's two most important parties, the other one being the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

.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 ''Timpul'' (Romanian for "The Time") is a literary magazine published in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine t ...

'' (founded March 1876). The party relied on the support of the great landowners, the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

, 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); o ...

. 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 stanc ...

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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, 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 Ap ...

, they never played an important role in the

politics of Romania Romania's political framework is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic where the Prime Minister is the head of government while the President represents the country internationally, signs some decrees, approves laws promulgate ...

. In the early 20th century, the party underwent several schisms. In January 1908,

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...

left to found the Conservative Democratic Party (''Partidul Conservator-Democrat'', PCD). In May 1915,

Nicolae Filipescu Nicolae Filipescu (December 5, 1862 – September 30, 1916) was a Romanian politician. Filipescu was the mayor of Bucharest between February 1893 and October 1895. It was during his term the first electric tramways circulated in Bucharest. Betw ...

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 Princel ...

. 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, preside ...

(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 Alexandru Marghiloman (4 July 1854 – 10 May 1925) was a Romanian conservative statesman who served for a short time in 1918 (March–October) as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I. Early career Born in Buz ...

(1914–25) Source: Scurtu 1982.

Other important members

* Alexandru Lahovari * Dimitrie S. Niţescu *

Mihail G. Cantacuzino Mihail G. Cantacuzino (6 April 1867 – 28 August 1928) was a Romanian politician. After receiving doctorates in Law and Literature from the University of Paris, he became a prominent member of the Conservative Party. He served as Mayor of B ...

* Dimitrie A. Grecianu *

Constantin Garoflid Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konsta ...

Governments formed

Theodor Rosetti Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 23 March 1888 and 22 March 1889. 1837 bir ...

(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) *

(5 March – 24 October 1918)

Party publications

*''

'' (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)