Romania's political framework is a

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

representative democratic Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

where the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

while the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

represents the country internationally, signs some decrees, approves laws promulgated by parliament and nominations as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

. Romania has a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

, with

legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

vested in the government and the two chambers of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

: the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

of the executive and the legislature. From 1948 until 1989, the

Communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

political structure took place in the framework of a one-party socialist republic governed by the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wo ...

(PCR) as its only legal party. Romania's 1991 constitution (amended in 2003) proclaims it a democratic and social republic, deriving its

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

from the people. According to the constitution, "Human dignity, civic rights and freedoms, the unhindered development of human personality, justice, and political pluralism are supreme and guaranteed values." The constitution provides for a President, a Parliament, a

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

and a separate court system which includes the

High Court of Cassation and Justice The High Court of Cassation and Justice ( ro, Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de Cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of c ...

. The right to vote is granted to all citizens over 18 years of age. The

Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...

rated Romania as a " flawed democracy" in 2016.

Executive branch

Klaus Iohannis Senate of Poland 2015 02 (cropped_2)

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 20 ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, 21 December 2014 , - ,

Nicolae Ciucă Nicolae Ionel Ciucă (; born 7 February 1967) is a Romanian politician and retired general of the Romanian Land Forces. Ideologically a conservative, he has been serving as Prime Minister of Romania since 25 November 2021 after receiving widespr ...

, National Liberal Party (PNL) , 25 November 2021 , - The president is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two five-year terms (four-year terms until 2004). The president is head of state (charged with safeguarding the constitution, foreign affairs, and the proper functioning of public authority), supreme commander of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and chairperson of the Supreme Council of National Defense. According to the constitution, the president acts as a mediator among the state's power centers and between the state and society. The president nominates the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

after consultation with the party holding an absolute majority in

or, if there is no such majority, with all the parties in Parliament. Ambiguity in the

Constitution of Romania The current Constitution of Romania is the seventh permanent constitution in modern Romania's history. It is the fundamental governing document of Romania that establishes the structure of its government, the rights and obligations of citizens, ...

(Article 85 (1), Article 103 (1)) may lead to situations where a coalition of parties obtaining an absolute majority in Parliament, or a party holding a

relative majority A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all vote ...

in Parliament, would be unable to nominate a prime minister because the president would refuse the nomination (with no party holding an absolute majority in Parliament). According to Article 103 (1), "unless no such majority exists", interpreted by the president as "unless no such party exists" (although an absolute majority may be formed by one party, a coalition of parties or an alliance). In the 2008 parliamentary elections, the

Alliance PSD+PC The Alliance PSD+PC ( ro, Alianța PSD+PC) was a center-left electoral alliance in Romania between 2008 and 2009. History Formation In continuation with the 2004 National Union PSD+PUR alliance, the new alliance was founded in 2008 between ...

won 33.09 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 34.16 percent of the seats in the Senate. The PNL won 18.57 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 18.74 percent of the seats in the Senate, giving both parties a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. However, the president nominated a member of the

PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics * Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former political party in Italy *Pole of Freedom ...

(which won less than 32.36 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 33.54 percent of the seats in the Senate. The nominated prime minister chooses the other members of the government, and the government and its program must be confirmed by a vote of confidence from Parliament.

Legislative branch

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

(

ad interim }. Name of episode 1 in season 3 of '' Berlin Station''. , - , ''aut cum scuto aut in scuto'', , either with shield or on shield, , Or, "do or die" or "no retreat". A Greek expression («Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς») that Spartan mothers sa ...

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

) ,

Alina Gorghiu Alina-Ștefania Gorghiu (; born September 16, 1978) is a Romanian lawyer and politician who served as president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) from December 2014 until December 2016. She was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for ...

, National Liberal Party (PNL) , 29 June 2022 , - , President of the Chamber of Deputies ,

Marcel Ciolacu Ion-Marcel Ciolacu (born 28 November 1967) is a Romanian politician who currently serves as the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). A previously little known politician, Ciolacu came into national prominence when he was propped up by a f ...

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(PSD) , 23 November 2021 The national legislature is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

( ro, Parlament), consisting of the

( ro, Camera Deputaților) and the

( ro, Senat). Members are elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage in a party-list

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections m ...

. Beginning in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, members are elected by

mixed member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...

. The number of senators and deputies has varied in each legislature, reflecting changes in population. In 2008, there were 137 senatorial seats and 334 seats in the Chamber of Deputies; of the 334 deputy seats, 18 were held by the ethnic minorities representatives which would not meet the five-percent

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

required for other parties and organizations.

Classification of political parties

Romania has a multiparty political system, which makes a majority government virtually impossible (unless a very high score is achieved in the legislative election by one particular political party). Smaller parliamentary parties have sometimes merged with larger ones during previous legislatures prior to 2020. Currently, there are five main parliamentary parties (excluding the 18 ethnic-minority parties which have one representative each) as follows: }) , Conservative liberal,

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

, de facto catch all ,

, Until November 2021, the largest ruling party through a coalition government since December 2020, but forming a minority government only with the UDMR/RMDSZ after early September 2021 until late November of the same year (even after it was dismissed by a recorded-voted

no confidence motion A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

). It is currently part of a

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are ...

government known as the '' National Coalition for Romania'' (''CNR'' for short) along with PSD and UDMR/RMDSZ, being the second largest party within it. Additionally, it is also crushed by internal disputes and growing

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

scandals. , - style="text-align:center;" ! Partidul Social Democrat logo

! style="background-color: " , ,

( ro, Partidul Social Democrat) ,

Social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

, de facto catch all ,

, Between late 2019 and late 2021 in opposition. During late November 2021, it joined the

CNR government alongside PNL and UDMR/RMDSZ, forming a large, comfortable, even constitutional majority. Currently, it is the largest ruling party of the aforementioned coalition. , - style="text-align:center;" ! Logo USR 2022 (1)

! style="background-color: " , ,

Save Romania Union The Save Romania Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați România, USR) is a liberal political party active in Romania and Moldova, currently the third largest party in the Parliament with 43 deputies and 22 senators, and fifth at national level (follow ...

( ro, Uniunea Salvați România) ,

Neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent f ...

, progressive- liberal,

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...

, Cătălin Drulă , Currently, the third largest parliamentary party (previously established as a formal political alliance between the

USR USR may refer to: * USRobotics, a technology firm * USR (Guadeloupe football club), in Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe * U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, a fictional robot manufacturer * /usr, directory in Unix systems, see Filesystem Hierarchy Standard ...

and

PLUS Plus may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Cannonball Adderley Quintet album), 1961 * ''Plus'' (Matt Nathanson EP), 2003 * ''Plus'' (Martin Ga ...

known as the 2020 USR PLUS Alliance and then simply as USR-PLUS/USR PLUS) and in opposition towards the PNL-PSD-UDMR/RMDSZ grand coalition government.

Syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

political position (mostly with considerable focus towards

and the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...

). , - style="text-align:center;" ! AUR Logo

! style="background-color: " , ,

Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians ( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR) is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party currently active in Romania and Moldova. It was founded on 19 September 2019. This was done with the ...

(

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

: ''Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor'') , Romanian nationalism, Romanian irredentism,

Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Estab ...

national conservatism National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...

George Simion George Nicolae Simion (born 21 September 1986 in Focșani, Romania) is a Romanian right-wing to far-right politician and civic activist. He is the president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a political party in Romania that ga ...

, Currently the smallest opposition party in the parliament. At the previous legislative elections, AUR gained only 9% of the votes in all of Romania and its

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

, which, however, resulted in a surprise result that ultimately led the party to become the fourth largest one in the country at central political level. , - style="text-align:center;" ! RMDSZlogo

! style="background-color: " , ,

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; hu, Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSZ; ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România, UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian m ...

( ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România) ,

Centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

, Hungarian minority interests, Hungarian ethnic minority party ,

Hunor Kelemen Hunor Kelemen (born 18 October 1967) is a Romanian politician and Hungarian language writer. The current president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), he has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies since 2000, a ...

, Previously, the smallest ruling party in the centre-right coalition formed in December 2020 (which was later disbanded in September 2021). It is currently part of the CNR ruling grand coalition with PNL and PSD, being still the smallest party (or junior partner). The main four non-parliamentary parties (the first two around the five-percent threshold) with local representatives are as follows: Unlike other former Soviet-bloc countries (such as, most notably, neighbouring

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

), no political party claiming to be the successor of the

(PCR) has been or is currently a significant player on the political scene, although the main continuator of FSN, more specifically PSD, has many times raised suspicions and accusations from electoral contenders regarding the past political careers of many of its current and former members who were first tier, high-ranking members of the PCR before the 1989 Romanian Revolution. The PNL also has many former Securitate members, former PCR members, or their relatives, in part through the merger with the PDL in 2014 but not only.

Latest elections

Presidential election

The last presidential election was held on 10 and 24 November 2019.

European Parliament election

The last European Parliamentary election was held on 26 May 2019. , - , - style="background-color:#C9C9C9" !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="4" , Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , No. of
Candidates !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , Elected !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , Change
in seats !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , % of seats !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" rowspan="2" , % of votes , - !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" , National Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , EU Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , EP Group , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,
( ro, Partidul Naţional Liberal) , style="text-align:left;" , EPP , style="text-align:left;" ,

EPP Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...

, style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,449,068 , style="text-align:right;" , 10 , style="text-align:right;" , , style="text-align:right;" , 30.30% , style="text-align:right;" , 27.00% , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, Partidul Social Democrat) , style="text-align:left;" , PES , style="text-align:left;" , S&D , style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,040,765 , style="text-align:right;" , 9 , style="text-align:right;" , , style="text-align:right;" , 27.27% , style="text-align:right;" , 22.50% , - , , style="text-align:left;" , 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance
( ro, Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS) *

( ro, Uniunea Salvați România) *

Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party The Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (, PLUS) was a pro-European, liberal political party established on 26 October 2018, whose president was Dacian Cioloș, former Prime Minister of Romania from 2015 until 2017, elected on 26 January 2019. ...

( ro, Partidul Libertății, Unității și Solidarității) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ALDE&R , style="text-align:right;" , 40 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,028,236 , style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 24.24% , style="text-align:right;" , 22.36% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

PRO Romania PRO Romania (, PRO) is a minor extra-parliamentary social liberal political party in Romania. History The founding of PRO Romania was initiated in 2017 by former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, former acting/ad interim Prime Minister and Minist ...

( ro, PRO România) , style="text-align:left;" , EDP , style="text-align:left;" , S&D
ECR , style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 583,916 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.06% , style="text-align:right;" , 6.44% , - , style="background-color:#90EE90;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

People's Movement Party The People's Movement Party ( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară, PMP) is a minor extra-parliamentary nominally centre-right Christian democratic, national-conservative political party in Romania. History The PMP was created as a political founda ...

( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 522,104 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.06% , style="text-align:right;" , 5.76% , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, Uniunea Democrată a Maghiarilor din România) , style="text-align:left;" , EPP , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 476,777 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.06% , style="text-align:right;" , 5.26% , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
( ro, Alianța Liberalilor și Democraților) , style="text-align:left;" , ALDE , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 372,760 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 4.11% , - , style="background-color:#DDDDDD;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

: Peter Costea , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 131,021 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 1.44% , - , style="background-color:#DDDDDD;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

: George-Nicolae Simion , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 117,141 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 1.29% , - , style="background-color:#DDDDDD;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

: Gregoriana Carmen Tudoran , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 100,669 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 1.11% , - , style="background-color:#D90000", , style="text-align:left;" ,

National Union for the Progress of Romania The National Union for the Progress of Romania ( ro, Uniunea Națională pentru Progresul României, UNPR) is a political party in Romania. The party was formed in March 2010 by independents who had broken away from the Social Democratic Party (P ...

( ro, Uniunea Națională pentru Progresul României) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 54,942 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.61% , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Prodemo Party
( ro, Partidul Prodemo) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 26 , style="text-align:right;" , 53,351 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.59% , - , style="background-color:, , style="text-align:left;" ,

United Romania Party The United Romania Party ( ro, Partidul România Unită) was a Romanian nationalist political party. It was founded by former members of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), such as Bogdan Diaconu and Greater Romania Party (PRM), like Horațiu Ș ...

( ro, Partidul România Unită) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 30 , style="text-align:right;" , 51,787 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.57% , - , style="background-color:red, , style="text-align:left;" , Romanian Socialist Party
( ro, Partidul Socialist Român) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 28 , style="text-align:right;" , 40,135 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.44% , - , style="background-color:red, , style="text-align:left;" , Independent Social Democratic Party
( ro, Partidul Social Democrat Independent) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 43 , style="text-align:right;" , 26,439 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.29% , - , , style="text-align:left;" , National Unity Block - NUB
( ro, Blocul Unității Naționale - BUN) , style="text-align:left;" , — , style="text-align:left;" , ''No MEPs'' , style="text-align:right;" , 12 , style="text-align:right;" , 20,411 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0% , style="text-align:right;" , 0.23% , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=4 , Total: 18,267,256 expected voters (turnout – 51.20%) ! style="text-align:right;" , 483 ! style="text-align:right;" , 9,352,472 ! style="text-align:right;" , 33 ! style="text-align:right;" , 1 ! style="text-align:right;" , 100% ! style="text-align:right;" , 100% , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=11 , Source
Summary of the results
, - ''Notes'':

After the 2014 election, PNL merged with PD-L/PDL and joined the EPP, and
EPP Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...
.
Prior to the 2019 election,
Save Romania Union The Save Romania Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați România, USR) is a liberal political party active in Romania and Moldova, currently the third largest party in the Parliament with 43 deputies and 22 senators, and fifth at national level (follow ...
had no MEPs, and no European affiliation.
According to th
website of the ALDE Group
USR PLUS will be part of its new group called "ALDE plus Renaissance plus USR-PLUS.
Monica Macovei, the founder of the M10 party, was ousted.
Daciana Sârbu sits with the S&D.
Laurențiu Rebega sits with the ECR.
After the lists have been approved by the Central Electoral Bureau, three candidates of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance have renounced their candidacy. The Central Electoral Bureau ruled the elimination of said positions on the list.

Legislative election

The latest legislative election was held on 6 December 2020. In the two tables below are represented the results for both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies:

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

Local election

The latest general local election was held on 27 September 2020. , - , - style="background-color:#C9C9C9" ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=3 ,

Mayor of Bucharest The Mayor of Bucharest ( ro, Primarul General al Municipiului București), sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for citywide affairs, such as the water system, the ...

(PGMB) ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=3 , Mayors (P) ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=3 , Local Councils
seats (CL) ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=3 , County Councils
seats (CJ) , - , - style="background-color:#C9C9C9" ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Seats , - , , style="text-align:left;" , National Liberal Party
( ro, Partidul Național Liberal - PNL) , style="text-align:right;" , 282,631 (with the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance) , style="text-align:right;" , 42.81% (with the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance) , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,578,820 , style="text-align:right;" , 34.58% , style="text-align:right;" , 1,232 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,420,413 , style="text-align:right;" , 32.88% , style="text-align:right;" , 14,182 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,212,904 , style="text-align:right;" , 30.76% , style="text-align:right;" , 474 , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, Partidul Social Democrat - PSD) , style="text-align:right;" , 250,690 , style="text-align:right;" , 37.97% , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,262,791 , style="text-align:right;" , 30.34% , style="text-align:right;" , 1,362 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,090,777 , style="text-align:right;" , 28.40% , style="text-align:right;" , 13,820 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,605,721 , style="text-align:right;" , 22.32% , style="text-align:right;" , 362 , - , style="background-color:#00aae7 ", , style="text-align:left;" , 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance
( ro, Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS - USR-PLUS) , style="text-align:right;" , 282,631 (with PNL) , style="text-align:right;" , 42.81% (with PNL) , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 490,362 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.58% , style="text-align:right;" , 28 , style="text-align:right;" , 504,563 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.85% , style="text-align:right;" , 1,207 , style="text-align:right;" , 478,659 , style="text-align:right;" , 6.65% , style="text-align:right;" , 65 , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară - PMP) , style="text-align:right;" , 72,556 , style="text-align:right;" , 10.99% , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 353,005 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.73% , style="text-align:right;" , 50 , style="text-align:right;" , 420,791 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.72% , style="text-align:right;" , 2,137 , style="text-align:right;" , 423,147 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.88% , style="text-align:right;" , 67 , - , style="background-color: , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, PRO România - PRO RO) , style="text-align:right;" , 5,315 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.80% , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 331,878 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.45% , style="text-align:right;" , 36 , style="text-align:right;" , 381,535 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.18% , style="text-align:right;" , 1,885 , style="text-align:right;" , 356,030 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.95% , style="text-align:right;" , 56 , - , , style="text-align:left;" ,

( ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România - UDMR) , style="text-align:right;" , - , style="text-align:right;" , - , style="text-align:right;" , - , style="text-align:right;" , 299,334 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.01% , style="text-align:right;" , 199 , style="text-align:right;" , 362,442 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.92% , style="text-align:right;" , 2,360 , style="text-align:right;" , 379,924 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.28% , style="text-align:right;" , 92 , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
( ro, Alianța Liberalilor și Democraților - ALDE) , style="text-align:right;" , 9,892 , style="text-align:right;" , 1.49% , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 124,649 , style="text-align:right;" , 1.67% , style="text-align:right;" , 15 , style="text-align:right;" , 189,665 , style="text-align:right;" , 2.58% , style="text-align:right;" , 861 , style="text-align:right;" , 209,411 , style="text-align:right;" , 2.91% , style="text-align:right;" , 15 , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Other political parties, independent contenders, and local alliances , style="text-align:right;" , 39,034 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.91% , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,140,903 , style="text-align:right;" , 15.30% , style="text-align:right;" , 282 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,086,907 , style="text-align:right;" , 14.76% , style="text-align:right;" , 3,448 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,528,189 , style="text-align:right;" , 21.24% , style="text-align:right;" , 209 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan = 2 , Total: , style="text-align:right;" , 660,118 , style="text-align:right;" , 100 , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 7,457,093 , style="text-align:right;" , 100 , style="text-align:right;" , 3,176 , style="text-align:right;" , 7,361,818 , style="text-align:right;" , 100 , style="text-align:right;" , 39,900 , style="text-align:right;" , 7,193,985 , style="text-align:right;" , 100 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,340 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=20 , ''Notes'' , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=20 , Sources
Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority
, -

Judicial branch

, President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice , Cristina Tarcea , None , 2016 , - , President of the Superior Council of Magistrates , Lia Savonea , None , January 2019 The Romanian legal system, based on the Napoleonic Code, is

inquisitorial An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...

. The judiciary is independent, and judges appointed by the president are not removable. The president and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for six-year terms, and may serve consecutive terms. Proceedings are public, except in special circumstances provided for by law. Judicial power is vested in a hierarchical system of courts, culminating with the supreme court: Înalta Curte de Justiție și Casație (

), whose judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates. The Ministry of Justice represents the general interests of society and defends the

and citizens' rights and freedoms. The ministry exercises its power through independent, impartial public prosecutors.

Constitutional issues

, President of the Constitutional Court , Valer Dorneanu , None , June 2016 The (Constitutional Court) judges issues of constitutionality invoked in any court and judges the compliance of laws (or other state regulations) with the Romanian Constitution. The court, outside the judicial branch, follows the tradition of the French Constitutional Council with nine judges serving nine-year, non-renewable terms. Since the 2003 revision of the constitution, its decisions cannot be overturned by parliamentary majority.

Regional institutions

For territorial and administrative purposes, Romania is divided into 41

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

(''județe'', singular ''județ'') and the city of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

. Each county is governed by an elected council. Local councils and elected mayors are the public authorities in villages and towns. The county council coordinates the activities of village and town councils. The central government appoints a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

for each county and Bucharest, who represents the government at the local level and directs the ministries and other central agencies at the county level. A prefect may block the action of a local authority if he deems it unlawful or unconstitutional, with the matter then adjudicated by an administrative court. Under legislation enacted in January 1999, local councils control the spending of their allocations from the central government budget and have the authority to raise additional revenue locally. Although centrally-appointed prefects formerly had significant authority over the budget, this is now limited to a review of expenditures to determine their constitutionality.

Since 1989

Romania has made considerable progress in institutionalizing democratic principles,

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

, and respect for

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

since the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

in December 1989. Nevertheless, many present-day Romanian politicians are former members of the

(PCR) and have also had ties with the Romanian secret police (i.e. Securitatea). Since membership in the party was a requirement for advancement before 1989, many people joined to get ahead rather than because of ideological conviction; however, the communist past of some Romanian politicians remains highly controversial to the current day.

1990–1992

The Romanian Communist Party (PCR) had officially ceased to exist after the December 1989 Romanian Revolution. An

government had swiftly took office starting in late December 1989 which consisted of National Salvation Front (FSN) members and would eventually govern Romania well up until 1992. The FSN had initially not decided to run in the 1990 elections but subsequently retracted their initial position and opted to participate in the

1990 Romanian general election General elections were held in Romania on 20 May 1990 to elect the President and members of Parliament.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1591 They were the first elections held after the overthrow ...

, having the full support of state-owned media and an overwhelming majority of the voters during the electoral campaign, thereby eventually securing a landslide win. Prior to the 1990 Romanian general election, over 200 new political parties sprang up just after 1989, most of them gravitating towards their leaders rather than revolving around political programs or full-fledged

geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

agendas. Nevertheless, all major political parties espoused democracy and free market reforms in varying degrees or extents. The largest political party by far, the governing National Salvation Front (FSN), proposed slow, cautious economic reforms, and an artificial, weak

social safety net The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...

(mostly for the working class of the still operating factories of the heavy industries). In stark contrast, the main opposition parties, more specifically the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the

Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Creștin Democrat, officially abbreviated PNȚCD) is a Christian democratic and agrarian political party in Romania. It claims to be the rightful successor o ...

(PNŢCD), favoured rapid, sweeping economic reforms, immediate

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

(which would have caused a

shock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...

) as well as a drastic reduction and even total exclusion of former Communist Party (PCR) members from public Romanian political life. Apart from PCR members, the early demands of the Romanian historical democratic parties was also the reduction of the undercover members of the former

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...

(which could have been PCR members as well) from all areas of public life (thereby endorsing the

Proclamation of Timișoara The Proclamation of Timișoara was a thirteen-point written document, drafted on March 11, 1990, by the Timișoara participants in Romania's Romanian Revolution of 1989, 1989 Revolution, and partly issued in reaction to the January 1990 Mineriad, f ...

and the lustration law against the former Romanian secret police). In the 1990 presidential and legislative elections, the FSN and its presidential candidate,

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...

, won with a large majority of the votes (67.02 and 85.07 percent, respectively). The strongest opposition parties in the

were the Hungarian minority-oriented

(UDMR/RMDSZ) (with 7.20 percent) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) (with 7.06 percent), followed by the

(PNȚCD) with only 2.50 percent and the Romanian Ecologist Party (with only 1.38 percent) as well other minor centre-right parties (e.g. Liberal Union–Brătianu, National Reconstruction Party of Romania, and the

Democratic Group of the Centre The Democratic Group of the Centre ( ro, Grupul Democrat de Centru, GDC) was a political alliance in Romania. Its members were the Socialist-Liberal Party, the Cluj Democratic Party, and the Democratic Romanian Front 16-20.XII.1989 Timișoara. Th ...

) with less than one percent. After FSN Prime Minister Petre Roman's dismissal a few months before the 1992 general elections (following a late 1991 Mineriad), the FSN split in two. President Iliescu's supporters formed a new political party, namely the

Democratic National Salvation Front The Democratic National Salvation Front ( ro, Frontul Democrat al Salvării Naționale, FDSN) was a Romanian political party formed by former President Ion Iliescu and his supporters stemming from the National Salvation Front (FSN) on 7 April 1 ...

(FDSN) which will later turn into PDSR and then PSD, while Roman's supporters retained the FSN name (which will later turn into PD and then PDL respectively).

1992–1996

Political_parties_in_Romania_after_1989_(2018)

The 1992 local,

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, and presidential elections indicated a major political rift between the urban centres and the countryside. Rural voters, grateful for the restoration of most agricultural land to farmers but fearful of change, strongly favoured President Iliescu and the FDSN; the urban electorate favoured the CDR (a coalition of several parties – the strongest of which were the PNŢCD and the PNL – and several other civic organizations as well) and quicker reform. Iliescu easily won re-election from a field of five other candidates, and the FDSN won a plurality/relative majority of seats in both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. With the CDR, the second-largest parliamentary group, reluctant to participate in a national-unity coalition, the FDSN (now the PDSR) formed a government under Prime Minister and economist

Nicolae Văcăroiu Nicolae Văcăroiu (; born on 5 December 1943 in Cetatea Albă, now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in Ukraine) is a Romanian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who served as Prime Minister between 1992 and 1996. Before the 198 ...

with parliamentary support on behalf of the nationalists Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) and

Greater Romania Party The Greater Romania Party ( ro, Partidul România Mare, PRM) is a Romanian nationalist political party. Founded in May 1991 by Eugen Barbu and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, it was led by the latter from that point until his death in September 2015. The ...

(PRM) as well as the extreme left-wing

Socialist Party of Labour The Socialist Party of Labour ( ro, Partidul Socialist al Muncii, PSM) was a left wing-nationalist political party in Romania. The party was labelled as neo- communist. It was founded on 16 November 1990. The chairman of the party was Ilie Verde ...

(PSM) led by former PCR Prime Minister

Ilie Verdeț Ilie Verdeț (10 May 1925 – 20 March 2001) was a Romanian communist politician who served as Romania’s Prime Minister from 1979 to 1982. Biography Born in Comănești, Bacău County, and a miner from age 12, he joined the Romanian Commun ...

. The future coalition would be labeled by the press as the "

Red Quadrilateral The Red Quadrilateral (in Romanian: Patrulaterul roșu) was a term used by the media to describe the political alliance that supported the Romanian government between the 1992 and 1996 legislative elections. The ' Quadrilateral', informal at first, ...

" (originally known in Romanian as ''Patrulaterul Roșu''). In January 1994, the governing coalition's stability became problematic when the PUNR threatened to withdraw its support unless it received cabinet portfolios. After intense negotiations, two PUNR members received cabinet portfolios in the Văcăroiu government in August of the same year. The following month, the incumbent Justice Minister also joined the PUNR. Nevertheless, subsequently, the PRM and the PSM left the coalition in October and December 1995, respectively.

1996–2000

The 1996 local elections indicated a major shift in the political orientation of the Romanian electorate, with opposition parties sweeping Bucharest and most of the larger cities in

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 A ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

, and

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

. The trend continued in that year's

and presidential elections, when the opposition dominated the cities and made strong inroads into rural areas previously dominated by President Iliescu and the PDSR (which lost many voters in their traditional stronghold constituencies outside Transylvania). The opposition campaign emphasized the need to squelch corruption and introduce economic reform favouring liberalization and the free market. This message resonated with voters, resulting in a historical victory for the CDR coalition and the election of

Emil Constantinescu Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...

as president (partly due to

Corneliu Coposu Corneliu (Cornel) Coposu () (20 May 1914 – 11 November 1995) was a Christian Democratic and liberal conservative Romanian politician, the founder of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Creșt ...

's death as well). To secure its electoral majority, the CDR invited Petre Roman's Democratic Party (the former FSN) and the UDMR/RMDSZ (representing the Hungarian minority) to join the government. Although over the next four years Romania had three prime ministers (and despite internal frictions), the governing parties preserved their coalition and initiated a series of much needed reforms.

2000–2004

Constantinescu stated in 2000 that he is no longer running for a second term, claiming that the system had defeated him. The CDR-led coalition with its new candidate

Mugur Isărescu Constantin Mugur Isărescu (; born 1 August 1949) is the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, a position he has been holding since September 1990, with the sole exception of a period of time of eleven months (16 November 1999 to 28 October 2 ...

lost the first round of presidential elections held in November 2000 as a result of popular dissatisfaction with infighting among the constituent parties during the preceding four years and the economic hardship brought about by structural reforms. In the second round, Ion Iliescu, running again as the

(PSD) candidate, won by a wide margin over extreme nationalist

(PRM) candidate

Corneliu Vadim Tudor Corneliu Vadim Tudor (; 28 November 1949 – 14 September 2015) also colloquially known as "Tribunul" was the leader of the Greater Romania Party ( ro, Partidul România Mare), poet, writer, journalist, and a Member of the European Parliament. H ...

. Iliescu subsequently appointed

Adrian Năstase Adrian Năstase (; born 22 June 1950) is a Romanian jurist, academic/professor, blogger, and former politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from October 2000 to December 2004. He competed in the 2004 presidential election as th ...

Prime Minister. In the Parliament, the PSD government (like its predecessor) relied on the support of the UDMR/RMDSZ, which did not join the cabinet but negotiated annual packages of legislation and other measures favoring Romania's ethnic Hungarians (essentially through a confidence and supply agreement). Năstase, in his four years as Prime Minister, continued the previous government's pro-Western foreign policy. The period was characterized by a political stability unprecedented in post-communist Romania and consistent economic growth. Romania joined

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

during the spring of 2004 and signed an accession treaty to join the EU in 2007. However, the PSD government was plagued by allegations of corruption which would be significant factors in its eventual defeat in local and national elections in 2004. In September 2003, the Democratic Party (PD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) formed an electoral alliance, more specifically the Justice and Truth (DA) Alliance, as a mainstream opposition bloc to the ruling PSD. The DA Alliance agreed, among other measures, to vote as a bloc in the parliament and local councils and run common candidates in national and local elections. In October 2003, the country held a referendum on several constitutional amendments deemed necessary for EU accession. The amendments included provisions to allow foreigners to own land in Romania and to change the president's term from four to five years.

2004–2008

In 2004,

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...

, the then leader of the Democratic Party (PD), won the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

by a narrow margin. Băsescu subsequently appointed former national liberal leader

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-pr ...

as Prime Minister. Popescu-Tăriceanu headed a government composed of the PNL, PD, UDMR/RMDSZ, and PC (formerly known as the Romanian Humanist Party or PUR). In order to secure a parliamentary majority, the coalition government relied on the support of 18 parliamentary seats reserved for ethnic-minority representatives. The government's narrow majority in the Parliament led to calls for early elections. In July 2005, Prime Minister Popescu-Tăriceanu voiced plans to resign, prompting new elections; he then backtracked, noting his and the cabinet's need to focus on relief efforts for summer floods. During its first year, the government was also tested by a successfully-resolved hostage crisis involving three Romanian journalists kidnapped in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

avian influenza Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.

in several parts of the country, transmitted by wild birds migrating from Asia. The government's overriding objective was the

accession of Romania to the European Union On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Negotiations Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Comm ...

(EU), and on 1 January 2007 Romania became the 26th member of the EU. The government also maintained good relations with the United States, signing an agreement in December 2005 which would allow American troops to train and serve at several Romanian military facilities. Băsescu and Popescu-Tăriceanu pledged to combat high-level corruption and implement broader reforms to modernize sectors such as the judicial system and healthcare. On 19 April 2007, the Romanian Parliament suspended President Băsescu on charges of unconstitutional conduct. The suspension, passed by a 322–108 vote, opened the way for a national referendum on impeachment which failed by a large popular vote and as such Băsescu was reinstated as President.

2008–2012

The November 2008 parliamentary elections were close, with the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

(PSD) winning 33.9 percent of the vote, President Traian Băsescu's centre-right Liberal Democrats (PDL) taking 32.34 percent, and the ruling National Liberals (PNL) receiving 18.6 percent. The Liberal Democrats and Social Democrats formed a coalition after the election. Former prime minister Theodor Stolojan withdrew his candidacy for the premiership and President Băsescu nominated

Emil Boc Emil Boc (; born 6 September 1966) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 22 December 2008 until 6 February 2012 and is the current Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city of Transylvania, where he was first elected in Ju ...

, president of the Liberal Democrats, as prime minister. With the onset of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, the Romanian political scene saw tensions between the president and the prime minister on the one hand as well as between the general population and both on the other hand. Tensions escalated with a 2012 political crisis and another attempt to impeach President Băsescu. In the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

, more than 7.4 million people (nearly 90 percent) supported Băsescu's removal from office. However, the Constitutional Court invalidated the referendum because the majority of the population did not vote (the voter turnout was 46%); Băsescu had called the referendum a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'', and asked the public to boycott it. All these events have been heavily criticized by international political figures, most notably by German chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

2012–2016

The legislative elections of 9 December 2012 were seen by the public as an opportunity for change and to oust Băsescu. The

Social Liberal Union The Social Liberal Union ( ro, Uniunea Social Liberală, USL) was a grand coalition of several political parties in Romania. The alliance contained two major centre-left and centre-right parties, more specifically the Social Democratic Party (PSD ...

(USL) received a large majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (60.07 and 58.61 percent of the vote, respectively) and a record 395 seats. The new prime minister,

Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member of ...

, quickly formed a government but the failure to adopt reforms quickly triggered a wave of

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

against a government seen as not fulfilling the promises of the 2012 electoral campaign. Two other projects of national interest (shale drilling and the Roșia Montană mining project) unleashed more protests. The demonstrations, initially ecological in focus, became anti-government protests. In early 2014, the PNL broke away from the USL and entered opposition. Along with the PDL, the PNL formed the Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL) in order to support the candidature of

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...

and later agreed on a future merger that would retain the name of the National Liberal Party (PNL). Iohannis won a surprise victory in front of then incumbent PM Victor Ponta in the second round of the 2014 presidential elections, by a margin of 54.43%. At that time, many voters abroad were rightfully angry because they were not all given the right to cast their ballots, which represented one of the key reasons for Ponta's defeat. In late 2015, another series of nationwide protests ultimately prompted Prime Minister Victor Ponta's resignation. Shortly afterwards, President Iohannis appointed then

- technocrat Dacian Cioloș as

, who led a likewise independent-technocratic government between late 2015 and early 2017.

2016–2020

Protest against corruption - Bucharest 2017 - Piata Universitatii - 5

The legislative elections of 11 December 2016 saw a predictable comeback of the PSD as the major party in the Romanian Parliament, as most opinion polls gave them an electoral score of at least 40%. Alongside ALDE (a mainly splinter group from the PNL), the PSD initially formed a governing coalition under Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. In early 2017, a series of massive nationwide protests (the greatest in Romania's history) requested Grindeanu's resignation and early elections because of the government's secret procedure of giving an ordinance modifying the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code on the night of 31 January. The PM along with the entire government refused to step down but, nonetheless, decided to withdraw the decrees that started the protests on 5 February at the protests' peak. Approximately four months later, tensions arose between PM Sorin Grindeanu and PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, which ultimately resulted in the loss of political support for the government on behalf of the PSD-ALDE coalition. The PM refused to resign but was eventually dismissed by a motion of no confidence passed by the Parliament with 241 votes (233 minimum needed). Quickly afterwards,

Mihai Tudose Mihai Tudose (born 6 March 1967, in Brăila, Brăila County, Socialist Republic of Romania) is a Romanian politician, deputy in the Parliament of Romania, a former Minister of Economy in 2017 and a former Prime Minister of Romania in 2018. On ...

was proposed by the socialists for the position of Prime Minister and was subsequently accepted by president Iohannis. However, just after 6 months of governance, he resigned from this dignity. Consequently, the ruling coalition nominated a new Prime Minister candidate in the person of Viorica Dăncilă, a former socialist MEP in the 2014–19 who was also accepted by the state president. She was also the first female Prime Minister of Romania. Subsequently, on 4 November 2019, after a motion of no confidence, the PSD minority government was replaced by a minority cabinet led by the National Liberal Party under

Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...

. Furthermore, in November 2019, President Klaus Iohannis was re-elected by a landslide (with FDGR/DFDR,

USR PLUS USR PLUS was a Romanian progressive, liberal, and centrist political alliance active between 2019 and 2021. Established on 2 February 2019 solely as an electoral alliance between the political parties Save Romania Union (USR) and the Freedom ...

, and PMP support in the second round). All throughout this period of time (i.e. the two years spanning between 2017 and 2019) which was marked by governmental mayhem produced by the previous PSD-ALDE ruling coalition regarding their change of PMs as well as their intentions of changing both the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Code, the Romanian society took to the streets of Bucharest and many other major cities of the country in huge numbers for more than 500 consecutive days in order to oppose the modification of these law packages, prompt early elections, as well as a referendum on the topic of justice.

2020–present

The

2020 Romanian local elections Local elections were held in Romania on 27 September 2020. Initially planned for June 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Government of Romania to postpone the elections to a date no later than 31 December 2020, and extending all ...

which were held on 27 September were won by the PNL. Nonetheless, on 6 December, the PNL finished second at the

2020 Romanian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Romania on 6 December 2020 to elect the 136 members of the Senate and the 330 constituent members of the Chamber of Deputies. While the Social Democratic Party (PSD) remained the largest political party in th ...

. The election was won by the oppositional

(PSD) who came in first. Shortly after the official results came out, Orban resigned from his position as PM and was replaced by

as acting/ad interim PM. In the meantime, the national liberals proceeded to negotiating the formation of a coalition government alongside USR PLUS and UDMR for a reportedly stable center-right governance for the next four years in Romania. The newly designated PM was therefore Florin Cîțu, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), who took office on 23 December 2020, after forming a three party, center-right coalition consisting of the PNL, the

, and the

(UDMR/RMDSZ). Subsequently, in early September 2021, USR PLUS decided to exit the

Cîțu Cabinet The Cîțu Cabinet was the 131st government of Romania, led by the national liberal (PNL) Prime Minister Florin Cîțu. It was removed from office after a motion of no confidence passed by the Parliament with a record of 281 votes, the largest n ...

and so the three centre-right party alliance was officially disbanded. Furthermore, PNL, Iohannis, and Cîțu triggered the major 2021 Romanian political crisis which lasted for nearly three months and consequently plunged the country in tremendous social and economic turmoil, until

was invested PM along with the CNR cabinet in late November 2021. Even after Ciucă's investment, the catastrophic and heavily corrupted PNL-PSD-UDMR/RMDSZ governance has been keeping the country in tremendous social and economic turmoil, lacking solutions and not being able to display a vision for a proper governing on both a short and medium-term basis.

Foreign relations

On 1 January 2007,

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 ...

became a member of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of

EU enlargement The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria ( ...

.Enlargement, 3 years after
,

Europa (web portal) Europa is the official web portal of the European Union (EU), providing information on how the EU works, related news, events, publications and links to websites of institutions, agencies and other bodies. ''.europa.eu'' is also used as a commo ...

During the 2000s, Romania implemented a number of reforms to prepare for EU accession, including the consolidation of its democratic systems, the institution of the

, the acknowledgement of respect for

, the commitment to personal

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

, and the implementation of a functioning

free-market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers are ...

. Romania joined the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) on March 29, 2004, following the decision taken at the Prague Summit, in November 2002. Romania was a partner to the allied forces during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, particularly during its service as president of the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. Romania has been active in peacekeeping operations in UNAVEM in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, IFOR/

SFOR The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

, in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

, in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and sent 860 troops in

after the invasion led by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Romania has developed strong relations with Hungary, with the latter playing a key role in supporting Romania's bid to join the EU. Romania's ethnic Hungarian party also participated in all the government coalitions between 1996 and 2008 and from 2009. In 1996, Romania signed and ratified a basic bilateral treaty with Hungary that settled outstanding disagreements, laying the foundation for closer, more cooperative relations. Bulgarian relations with Romania feature regular official visits by the two presidents. In the first half of the 20th century, Romania and Bulgaria had a serious conflict over the

region. This dispute, while now largely forgotten, escalated into all out war in 1913. The territorial dispute between the two countries ended with the

Treaty of Craiova The Treaty of Craiova ( bg, Крайовска спогодба, Krayovska spogodba; ro, Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its te ...

References

External links

List of Romanian Embassies
including a comprehensive list of princes, monarchs, prime ministers, etc.
Erik Herron's Guide to Politics of East Central Europe and Eurasia

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Classification of political parties

Latest elections

Presidential election

European Parliament election

Legislative election

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

Local election

Judicial branch

Constitutional issues

Regional institutions

Since 1989

1990–1992

1992–1996

1996–2000

2000–2004

2004–2008

2008–2012

2012–2016

2016–2020

2020–present

Foreign relations

See also

References

External links

Further reading