Romania's political framework is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic where the Prime Minister is the head of government while the President, according to the constitution, has a more symbolic role, is responsible for the foreign policy, signs certain decrees, approves laws promulgated by the parliament, and nominates the head of government. Romania has a democratic, multi-party system, with legislative power vested in the government and the two chambers of the Parliament, more specifically 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.
The president of Romania 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 individual may serve two terms. During their term in office, the president may not be a formal member of a political party. The president of Romania is the supreme commander of the Romanian Armed Forces.
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.
Cohabitation is a system of divided government that occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France, whenever the president is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier who will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. Thus, cohabitation occurs because of the duality of the executive: an independently elected president and a prime minister who must be acceptable both to the president and to the legislature.
This article gives an overview of liberalism and radicalism in Romania. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in this scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary for a party to have actually labeled itself as a liberal party.
Traian Băsescu is a Romanian conservative 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 National Salvation Front was the most important political organization formed during the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, which became the governing body of Romania in the first weeks after the collapse of the totalitarian communist regime. It subsequently became a political party, the largest post-communist party, and won the 1990 election with 66% of the national vote, under the leadership of then-President Ion Iliescu, who was elected with 85% of the vote.
Emil Boc 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 July 2004. Boc was also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), which proposed and supported him as Prime Minister in late 2008, from December 2004 until July 2012.
Ioan Mircea Pașcu is a Romanian politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Romania. He previously served Minister of Defense from 2000 to 2004. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party (PDSR/PSD), part of the Party of European Socialists.
Bogdan Niculescu-Duvăz was a Romanian politician and architect. A member and twice minister of the Democratic Party (PD), he joined the Social Democratic Party in 2003, and was again a minister in 2004. Niculescu-Duvăz was a member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1990 and 2016.
A presidential impeachment referendum was held in Romania on 19 May 2007 in order to determine whether president Traian Băsescu should be forced to step down.
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.
Viorel Hrebenciuc is a Romanian politician and statistician. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he was also a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania for Bacău County from 1996 to 2014.
The 2012 Romanian constitutional crisis was a major political and constitutional conflict between President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta of Romania. A dispute arose between the two regarding the representation of Romania to the European Council reunion of June 28, 2012. The dispute degenerated in civil disobedience and conflicting views between political parties. On 12 December 2012, Băsescu and Ponta signed an agreement on institutional cohabitation, effectively ending the crisis.
A referendum on impeaching President Traian Băsescu was held in Romania on 29 July 2012. The referendum was required after Parliament voted in favour of impeaching Băsescu on 6 July, and had to take place within a month. It was the second referendum on impeaching Băsescu, the first having been held in May 2007, in which 74% of voters chose to keep him in office. Băsescu was later narrowly re-elected in 2009.
An election was held in Romania for the presidency of the Provisional Council of National Unity (CPUN) on 13 February 1990. Ion Iliescu was elected by the as the body's president — hence as acting/ad interim President of Romania — in a meeting held on 13 February 1990. During that meeting, the CPUN also chose its Executive Office members. Nevertheless, the vote count was never published.
