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 promulgated by parliament and nominations as head of state. Romania has a multi-party system, with legislative power vested in the government and the two chambers of Parliament: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. From 1948 until 1989, the Communist rule political structure took place in the framework of a one-party socialist republic governed by the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) as its only legal party.
After the Communist rulership ended and the former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was executed in the midst of the bloody Romanian Revolution of December 1989, the National Salvation Front (FSN) seized power, led by Ion Iliescu. The FSN transformed itself into a massive political party in short time and overwhelmingly won the general election of May 1990, with Iliescu as president. These first months of 1990 were marked by violent protests and counter-protests, involving most notably the tremendously violent and brutal coal miners of the Jiu Valley which were called by Iliescu himself and the FSN to crush peaceful protesters in the University Square in Bucharest.
The Social Democratic Party is the largest social democratic political party in Romania and also the largest overall political party in the country, except for European Parliament level, where it is the second largest by total number of MEPs, after the National Liberal Party (PNL). It was founded by Ion Iliescu, Romania's first democratically elected president at the 1990 Romanian general election.
The National Liberal Party is the largest centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservative political party in Romania. Re-founded in mid January 1990, shortly after the Revolution of 1989 which culminated in the fall of communism in Romania, it claims the legacy of the major political party of the same name, active between 1875 and 1947 in the Kingdom of Romania. Based on this legacy, it often presents itself as the first formally constituted political party in the country and the oldest party from the family of European liberal parties.
Traian Băsescu 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 and 2000, and as Mayor of Bucharest from 2000 to 2004. Additionally, he was elected as leader of the Democratic Party (PD) in 2001.
The Justice and Truth Alliance was a political alliance comprising two political parties in Romania, namely the centre-right liberal National Liberal Party (PNL) and the initially left-wing Democratic Party (PD), which later switched to center-right ideology.
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 330 total seats to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote using party-list proportional representation to serve four-year terms. Additionally, the organisation of each national ethnic minority is entitled to a seat in the Chamber.
The Democratic Party was a social democratic and, later on, centre-right political party in Romania. In January 2008, it merged with the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), a splinter group of the National Liberal Party (PNL), to form the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL).
Klaus Werner Iohannis is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. Ideologically a conservative, he became leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 2014, after serving as leader of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR) between 2002 and 2013. Prior entering politics, Iohannis was a physics teacher.
Vasile Blaga is a Romanian politician who was Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, from 2011 to 2012. He also served as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice as Minister of Administration and Internal Affairs.
Legislative elections were held in Romania on 30 November 2008. The Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) won three more seats than PSD in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although the alliance headed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) won more votes and a fractionally higher vote share. The two parties subsequently formed a governing coalition with Emil Boc of the PDL as Prime Minister.
Presidential elections were held in Romania in 2009. The first round took place on 22 November, with a run-off round between the top two candidates Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls suggested a win for Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33% of the votes. To date, it is the closest election in Romanian history.
The Liberal Democratic Party was a political party in Romania, formed in December 2006 as a breakaway/splinter group from the National Liberal Party (PNL). The Liberal Democratic Party was headed by Theodor Stolojan, a former PNL leader, and included a series of prominent former National Liberals, such as Gheorghe Flutur, Mona Muscă, and Valeriu Stoica, who were opposed to the leadership of the PNL, then headed by former Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu.
The Democratic Liberal Party was a liberal-conservative political party in Romania. The party was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party (PD) merged with the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD). On 17 November 2014 the PDL officially merged into the National Liberal Party (PNL), ceasing to exist. The PDL was associated with Traian Băsescu, who was previously leader of the PD and President of Romania from 2004 to 2014.
Ludovic Orban 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 him shortly after he lost a bid for another term as its leader. He also served as Minister of Transport from April 2007 to December 2008 in the second Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet.
Raluca Turcan is a Romanian politician. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), she has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Sibiu County since 2004.
Lucian Croitoru is a Romanian economist. On October 15, 2009, following the defeat of Emil Boc's government through a motion of no confidence, President Traian Băsescu nominated Croitoru to be Prime Minister of Romania. The nomination was opposed by a majority of Parliament, which adopted a declaration asking for his withdrawal, and vowing support for the candidature of Klaus Iohannis. Croitoru assembled a proposed cabinet, but this was voted down by Parliament on November 4.
