The Government and Politics of Romania

1. By: Benedict Gombocz

2. Government of Romania
 Government (Guvernul):
Unitary semi-presidential
republic and multi-party
democracy
 President (Preşedintele
României): Traian Băsescu
 Prime Minister (Prim-
ministru): Victor Ponta
 President of Senate
(Presedintele Senatului): Crin
Antonescu
 President of Chamber
(Presedintele Camera):
Valeriu Zgonea

3. Parliament represented parties
 Democratic Liberal Party (Partidul
Democrat-Liberal, PD-L)
 Democratic Union of Hungarians
in Romania (Romániai Magyar
Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSz;
Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din
România, UDMR)
 Social Democratic Party (Partidul
Social Democrat, PSD)
 National Liberal Party (Partidul
Naţional Liberal, PNL)
 Conservative Party (Partidul
Conservator, PC)

4. Years of Romanian presidential elections
and the winning party
 1990: National Salvation Front (Frontul Salvării Naţionale,
FSN)
 1992: Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat,
PSD)
 1996: Romanian Democratic Convention (Convenţia
Democrată Română, CDR)
 2000: Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat,
PSD)
 2004: Justice and Truth Alliance (Alianţa Dreptate şi Adevăr,
D.A. PNL-PD)
 2009: Democratic Liberal Party (Partidul Democrat-
Liberal, PD-L)

5. Non-parliament represented parties
with local representatives
 Greater Romania Party (Partidul România Mare, PRM)
 New Generation Party – Christian Democratic
(Partidul Noua Generaţie – Creştin Democrat, PNGCD)
 Christian-Democratic National Peasants’ Party
(Partidul Naţional Ţărănesc Creştin Democrat, PNŢ-CD)

6. Democratic Liberal Party
 Populist, centre-right party
 Currently the ruling party
 Founded on 15 December
2007 when the Democratic
Party merged with the Liberal
Democratic Party
 Part of then governing Justice
and Alliance from 2004 to
2007
 Won most seats in both the
Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate in 2008 and formed a
government coalition with
the Social Democratic Party

7. Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
 Main political organization
representing the Hungarian
minority of Romania
 Organized as a political
alliance, but nevertheless acts
as one of the five main parties
of Romania
 Member or supporter of every
government between 1996
and 2008
 Entered opposition after 2008
legislative elections, but
returned as a member of the
government coalition in late
2009

8. Social Democratic Party
 Formed in 1992 after post-
communist National Salivation
Front broke apart
 Adopted its present name after
merging with a minor social-
democratic party in 2001
 Governed Romania twice: From
1992 to 1996 and from 2000 to
2004
 Entered into a coalition with the
Democratic Liberal Party and
formed a government led by Emil
Boc
 Because of disagreements with
Boc, the Social Democrats
abandoned the coalition
government in 2009

9. National Liberal Party
 Centre-right liberal party
 Largest member of then governing
Justice and Truth alliance until
April 2007
 Entered opposition after 2008
legislative election and won
19.74% of seats in the Parliament;
new government coalition formed
by former ally Democratic Liberal
Party and the Social Democratic
Party had 69.85%
 Formed Social Liberal Union
political alliance along with Social
Democratic Party and
Conservative Party on 5 February
2011

10. Conservative Party
 Founded on 18 December
1991 under the name
Romanian Humanist Party
(Partidul Umanist
Român, PUR)
 Junior member of the then
ruling coalition from 2005
until 3 December 2006
 Took its current name on 7
May 2005
 States that it promotes
tradition, family, social
solidarity, European
integration, and nationalism
without chauvinism

11. Greater Romania Party
 Radical right-wing, ultra-
nationalist party
 Founded in June 1991
 Participated in government
briefly from 1993 to 1995
(in Nicolae Văcăroiu’s
cabinet)
 Attempted to align with
the European People’s
Party bloc in the European
Parliament, during which
it briefly changed its name
to Greater Romania
People’s Party

12. New Generation Party
 Nationalist, Christian
democratic political party
 Founded in 2000
 Taken over by businessman
Gigi Becali, who became its
leader, in January 2004
 Won 2.2% of the popular vote
but no seats in the Chamber
of Deputies and Senate in
2004 legislative elections
 Has been described as the
United States Department of
State as an “extreme
nationalist party”

13. Christian-Democratic National
Peasants’ Party
 Christian-Democratic party
 Successor of the National
Peasants’ Party (which, in turn,
was the successor of the
Romanian National Party from
Transylvania)
 Founded in December 1989
under the name Partidul
Naţional Ţărănesc Creştin şi
Democrat (PNŢCD or PNŢcd,
Christian-Democratic National
Peasants' Party)
 First officially registered party
after end of communism

14. Emil Boc
 President of Democratic Liberal
Party and PM of Romania from
22 December 2008 until
resignation on 6 February 2012
 Born on 6 September 1966 in
Răchiţele (now Mărgău)
 Previously served as Mayor of
Cluj-Napoca from 2004 to 2009
 Acted as the head of an interim
cabinet until a new Prime
Minister and cabinet were
confirmed by Parliament

15. Hunor Kelemen
 President of Democratic Union
of Hungarians in Romania and a
member of the Romanian
Chamber of Deputies since 2000
 Born on 18 October 1967 in
Cârţa
 Was nominated as his party’s
candidate in the 2009
presidential elections and
received 3.8% of the valid votes
 Romania’s Minister of Culture in
Emil Boc’s government since
December 2009

16. Victor Ponta
 Leader of Social Democratic Party
and member of the Romanian
Chamber of Deputies for Gorj
County
 Current PM of Romania
 Born on 20 September 1972 in
Bucharest
 Was Minister-Delegate for
Relations with Parliament from
2008 to 2009 in the Emil Boc
cabinet
 Received a master’s degree in
International Criminal Law from
the University of Catania in 2000

17. Crin Antonescu
 President of National Liberal
Party and President of the
Senate
 Born on 21 September 1959 in
Tulcea
 Was a candidate in the 2009
presidential election
 Was elected as a member of
the Senate in the 2008
legislative election
 Member of the Chamber of
Deputies between 1996 and
2008; acted as party delegates
leader between 2007 and
2008

18. Daniel Constantin
 President of the
Conservative Party
 Born on 26 June 1978 in
Bucharest
 Previously served as
President of APIA (Agenția
de Plăți și Intervenție pentru
Agricultură, Payments and
Intervention Agency for
Agriculture) for six
months- April to October
2009

19. Corneliu Vadim Tudor
 Leader of Greater Romania
Party
 Born on 28 November 1949 in
Bucharest
 Served as a senator from 1992
to 2008
 Known for his nationalist and
patriotic views
 Founded the Nationalist
Weekly România Mare
(Greater Romania), a
magazine favorable to
government policies, in June
1990

20. George Becali
 Leader of New
Generation Party
 Born on 25 June 1958 in
Zagna, Vădeni, Brăila
 Best known for his
participation in the
Steaua București football
club
 Member of the European
Parliament since 2009

21. Marian Milut
 President of Christian-
Democratic National
Peasants’ Party
 Born on 29 December 1955
in Craiova, Dolj County
 Was also president of the
Romanian Small and
Medium Entrepreneurs
Union and assisted the
Union’s co-operation with
the European Popular
Party

22. Results of 2009 presidential elections – First
round

23. Results of 2009 presidential elections –
Second round

24. Summary of 22 November and 6 December
2009 presidential elections results
 Democratic Liberal Party: 32.44%
 Social Democratic Party + Conservative Party: 31.15%
 National Liberal Party: 20.02%
 Greater Romania Party: 5.56%
 Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania: 3.83%
 Independent: 3.18%
 New Generation Party – Christian Democratic: 1.91%
 Green Party: 0.62%
 Socialist Alliance Party: 0.45%
 Independent: 0.35%
 Ecologist Party of Romania: 0.23%
 Independent: 0.21%

25. Sfârşit (The End)