Crisis Phase (April 24, 1904-March 28, 1923): Some 5,000 peasants demonstrated against the government in Alesd on April 24, 1904, and peasants rioted in Bucharest on March 27, 1906. Government troops suppressed a peasant uprising in northern Moldavia between February and April 1907, resulting in the deaths of some 2,000 individuals. Prime Minister G. Cantacuzino resigned on March 25, 1907, and D. A. Sturdza of the Liberal Party (LP) formed a government as prime minister on March 26, 1907. The government approved land reforms in December 1907. King Carol I died on October 10, 1914, and Prince Ferdinand ascended to the throne on October 11, 1914. Romania declared war against Austria-Hungary on August 27, 1916. On December 3, 1916, King Ferdinand I fled to Moldavia after Central Powers troops attack and occupy much of the country. Prime Minister Ion Bratianu resigned on February 9, 1918, and King Ferdinand I appointed General Alexandru Averescu as prime minister on February 10, 1918. Prime Minister Averescu resigned on March 12, 1918, and Alexandru Marghiloman formed a government as prime minister on March 13, 1918. Prime Minister Marghiloman resigned on October 24, 1918, and King Ferdinand I appointed General Coanda as prime minister on November 8, 1918. King Ferdinand I dismissed Prime Minister Coanda on November 12, 1918. King Ferdinand I dissolved the parliament on November 25, 1918, and appointed Julius Maniu as prime minister on November 29, 1918. Prime Minister Maniu resigned on September 27, 1919, and Ion Bratianu, leader of the LP, formed a government as prime minister on December 14, 1918. Parliamentary elections were held on November 8, 1919, and the LP won 120 out of 247 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, a leader of the National Party (NP), formed a government as prime minister on December 2, 1919. King Ferdinand I dismissed Prime Minister Vaida-Voevod on March 13, 1920, and General Averescu formed a government as prime minister on March 14, 1920. Parliamentary elections were held on May 12, 1920, and the People’s Party (PP) won 209 out of 369 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The LP won 17 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Romania was admitted to the League of Nations (LON) on September 14, 1920. King Ferdinand I dismissed Prime Minister Averescu on December 17, 1921, and Take Ionescu, a leader of the Conservative Party (CP), was appointed prime minister on December 18, 1921. Ion Bratianu, a leader of the LP, was appointed as prime minister on January 18, 1922. Parliamentary elections were held in March 1922, the LP won 260 out of 369 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies approved a new constitution on March 28, 1923.
Post-Crisis Phase (March 29, 1923-January 17, 1938): The government banned the Communist Party of Romania (CPR) on December 18, 1924. Twenty-eight members of the CPR were arrested and imprisoned in Bucharest on September 1, 1925. Some 15,000 individuals demonstrated in Bucharest against the government of Prime Minister Bratianu on May 17, 1925. Crown Prince Carol renounced his right to the Romanian throne on December 28, 1925 (he went into exile with his mistress, Magda Lupescu). Prince Carol’s son, Michael, was named the new crown prince. Prime Minister Bratianu resigned on March 27, 1926, and General Averescu formed a government as prime minister on March 30, 1926. The parliament was dissolved on April 3, 1926. Parliamentary elections were held on May 25, 1926, and the PP won 292 out of 387 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The LP won 16 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Peasants’ Party (NPP) headed by Julius Maniu was established in October 1926. Prime Minister Averescu resigned on June 3, 1927, and Ion Bratianu of the LP formed a government as prime minister on June 22, 1927. Corneliu Zelea-Codreanu established the right-wing Iron Guard on June 24, 1927. Parliamentary elections were held on July 7, 1927, and the LP won 298 out of 387 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The NPP won 49 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. King Ferdinand I died on July 21, 1927, and Prince Michael assumed the throne on July 24, 1927. Prince Nicolae, uncle of King Michael, was appointed as regent until the five-year old King Michael attained adulthood. Prime Minister Bratianu died on November 24, 1927, and Vintila Bratianu formed a government as prime minister on November 28, 1927. Some 100,000 peasants demonstrated in Bucharest against the government of Prime Minister Bratianu on March 18, 1928. Prime Minister Bratianu resigned on November 3, 1928, and Julius Maniu formed a government as prime minister on November 9, 1928. Parliamentary elections were held on December 12-15, 1928, and the NPP won 324 out of 387 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. On July 8, 1929, forty members of the Iron Guard were arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. Prince Carol returned to Romania on June 6, 1930. Prime Minister Maniu resigned on June 7, 1930, and Gheorghe Mironescu formed a new government (Julius Maniu resumed the position of prime minister on June 11, 1930). King Michael was overthrown on June 8, 1930, and his father, Prince Carol, was proclaimed King Carol (Charles) II on June 9, 1930. Prime Minister Maniu resigned on October 6, 1930, and Gheorghe Mironescu formed a government as prime minister on October 10, 1930. Prime Minister Mironescu resigned on April 4, 1931, and King Carol II appointed Nicolae Iorga as prime minister of a government of national unity on April 18, 1931. Prime Minister Iorga resigned on May 31, 1932, and Alexander Vaida-Voevod formed a government on June 6, 1932. Parliamentary elections were held on June 1, 1932, and the National Union (NU) won 289 out of 387 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The NPP won 30 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Prime Minister Vaida-Voevod resigned on October 16, 1932, and Iuliu Maniu formed a government on October 20, 1932. Prime Minister Maniu resigned on January 12, 1933, and Alexandrer Vaida-Voevod formed a government on January 14, 1933. Prime Minister Vaida-Voevod resigned on November 12, 1933, and Ion Duca of the LP formed a government on November 14, 1933. The government dissolved the Iron Guard on December 9, 1933. The LP won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections held on December 20, 1933. Prime Minister Duca was assassinated by a member of the Iron Guard on December 29, 1933. King Carol II appointed Gheorghe Tatarescu of the LP as prime minister on January 3, 1934. The CPR, NPP, Democratic Union (DU), and Union of Hungarian Workers (UHW) established a political coalition on December 6, 1937. Parliamentary elections were held on December 20, 1937, and the LP won 36 percent of the vote. The NPP won 16 percent of the vote, and the National Christian Party (NCP) won nine percent of the vote. Prime Minister Tatarescu resigned on December 26, 1937, and King Carol II appointed Octavian Goga, leader of the NCP, as prime minister on December 28, 1937.
Crisis Phase (January 18, 1938-December 8, 1944): King Carol II dissolved the parliament on January 18, 1938, and Prime Minister Goga was forced to resigned on February 10, 1938. A new constitution that confirmed King Carol II’s assumption of dictatorial powers was approved in a national referendum on February 24, 1938. Corneliu Zelea-Codreanu and several members of the Iron Guard were arrested on April 16, 1938, and Corneliu Zelea-Codreanu and 13 members of the Iron Guard were killed by supporters of King Carol II on November 30, 1938. On December 15, 1938, King Carol II established the Front of National Renaissance (FNR) on December 15, 1938. Armand Calinescu was appointed as prime minister on March 6, 1939, but he was assassinated by members of the Iron Guard on September 21, 1939. King Carol II ordered the killing of some 400 members of the Iron Guard and their families after the assassination of Prime Minister Calinescu. King Carol II appointed General George Argeseanu as interim prime minister on September 22, 1939, and appointed Constantine Argetoianu as prime minister on September 28, 1939. King Carol II dismissed Prime Minister Argetoianu on November 23, 1939, and appointed Gheorghe Tatarescu as prime minister on November 24, 1939. Ion Gigurtu formed a government as prime minister on July 4, 1940. Prime Minister Gigurtu resigned as prime minister on September 4, 1940, and General Ion Antonescu formed a government as prime minister of September 6, 1940. King Carol II abdicated in favor of his nineteen year-old son, Prince Michael, on September 6, 1940. Horia Sima, leader of the Iron Guard, was appointed as deputy prime minister on September 14, 1940, and the Iron Guard was declared as the only legal political party in the country. Prime Minister Antonescu allowed some 500,000 German troops to enter the country beginning on October 10, 1940. Some 64 individuals, including former government and political leaders, were killed by members of the Iron Guard in Jilava prison on November 27-28, 1940. Twenty members of the Iron Guard were sentenced to death for killings. Members of the Iron Guard killed some 1,000 Jews on January 21, 1941. Government troops suppressed an attempted rebellion by members of the Iron Guard against the government on January 21-23, 1941, resulting in the deaths of some 21 government soldiers and 375 members of the Iron Guard and civilians. Romania declared war against the US on December 12, 1941. Some 300,000 out of 600,000 Romanian Jews were killed during the Second World War. Prime Minister Antonescu was overthrown by King Michael’s royal guard on August 23, 1944, and King Michael appointed General Constantin Sanatescu as prime minister on August 24, 1944. Romania ceased military operations against the Soviet Union on August 25, 1944, and Soviet troops occupied Bucharest on August 31, 1944. Prime Minister Sanatescu resigned on December 6, 1944, and General Nicolae Radescu formed a government with the communist-controlled National Democratic Front (NDF), which was a political alliance of the LP, CPR, NPP,and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on December 7, 1944.
Post-Crisis Phase (December 8, 1944-December 14, 1989): Rioting broke out in Bucharest on February 24, 1945, and the Soviet Union sent Deputy Foreign Minister Vyshinsky to Bucharest on February 27, 1945. The government of Prime Minister Radescu collapsed on February 28, 1945. On March 1, 1945, Petru Groza formed a communist-dominated government following a Soviet ultimatum to King Michael. Britain and the US provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the government of Prime Minister Groza on February 5, 1946. General Ion Antonescu was convicted and sentenced to death on May 17, 1946. Parliamentary elections were held on November 19, 1946, and the NDF won 348 out of 414 seats in the National Assembly. Opposition political parties, which won a total of 66 seats in the National Assembly, claimed election fraud on November 22, 1946. Julius Maniu announced that the NPP would boycott the parliament. Secretary-of-State Dean Acheson of the US refused to recognize the validity of the elections on November 22, 1946. Petru Groza of the NDF formed a government as prime minister on November 30, 1946. Romania and the Allied powers signed a peace treaty in Paris on February 10, 1947. Julius Maniu, leader of the NPP, was arrested on July 15, 1947, and the NPP was disbanded on July 28, 1947. King Michael abdicated under communist pressure on December 30, 1947, and he departed to Switzerland on January 3, 1948. Parliamentary elections were held on March 28, 1948, and the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) won 91 percent of the vote. A new constitution was approved, and the People’s Republic of Romania was proclaimed on April 13, 1948. A new constitution was approved, and the People’s Republic of Romania was proclaimed on April 13, 1948. In June 1948, the National Assembly approved legislation providing for the nationalization of much of the private sector. Beginning in 1949, some 30,000 Romanian peasants were put on trial for being “class enemies” of the state. Prime Minister Petru Groza was elected president of the National Assembly, and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was appointed as prime minister on June 2, 1952. The National Assembly approved a new constitution on September 23, 1952. Parliamentary elections were held on November 30, 1952, and the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) won 98 percent of the vote. Local elections were held on December 20, 1953. Chivu Stoica was appointed as prime minister on October 3, 1955. President Groza died on January 7, 1958, and Ion Gheorghe Mauer was elected president of the National Assembly on January 11, 1958. Soviet troops completed their withdrawal from Romania on July 26, 1958. Ion Gheorghe Mauer was appointed as prime minister, and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was elected president of the 17-member State Council on March 21, 1961. President Gheorghiu-Dej died on March 19, 1965, and Chivu Stoica was elected president of the State Council on March 24, 1965. Nicolae Ceausescu was elected president of the State Council on December 7, 1967. China agreed to provide economic assistance to the government on March 22, 1971. Nicolae Ceausescu was elected as president of the Socialist Republic of Romania by the National Assembly on March 28, 1974. The National Salvation Front (NSF) called for the removal of Nicolae Ceausescu as general-secretary of the Communist Party of Romania (CPR) in September 1989. Nicolae Ceausescu was re-elected as general-secretary of the CPR on November 24, 1989.
Crisis Phase (December 15, 1989-December 8, 1991): Some 100 individuals were killed during anti-government protests by ethnic Hungarians in Timisoara on December 15-17, 1989. Government troops and supporters of the NSF clashed in Bucharest and other cities from December 21-29, 1989. The NSF deposed the government on December 22, 1989. Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed on December 25, 1989. Some 1,035 individuals were killed in political violence on December 15-25, 1989. Ion Iliescu was chosen president by the NSF, and Petre Roman was appointed as prime minister on December 26, 1989. The Provisional Council for National Unity headed by President Iliescu was established on February 1, 1990. Parliamentary elections were held on May 20, 1990, and the NSF won 67 percent of the vote. President Iliescu was re-elected with 85 percent of the vote on May 20, 1990. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) sent 73 election observers to jointly monitor the presidential and parliamentary elections. The Council of Europe (COE) Parliamentary Assembly sent observers to monitor the elections, and reported that the elections were “generally free, reasonably secret, and relatively fair.” The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) sent observers to monitor the elections. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) sent observers to monitor the elections. The government suppressed political demonstrations on June 13-16, 1990. The US imposed economic sanctions (suspension of economic assistance) against the government on June 15, 1990, and the European Community (EC) imposed economic sanctions (suspension of economic assistance) against the government on June 18, 1990. Four individuals were killed in political violence on September 23-26, 1991. Prime Minister Roman resigned on September 26, 1991, and Theodor Stolojan formed a government as prime minister on October 1, 1991. A new constitution was approved in a referendum on December 8, 1991. Some 1,200 individuals were killed during the crisis.
Post-Crisis Phase (December 9, 1991-present): Parliamentary elections were held on September 27, 1992, and the DNSF won 117 out of 341 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. President Iliescu of the Democratic National Salvation Front (DNSF) was re-elected with 61 percent of the vote on October 11, 1992. The International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) sent seven observers from France and Romania to monitor the elections. The COE Parliamentary Assembly sent observers to monitor the elections, and reported that there were a large number of election irregularities and accusations of serious fraud. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) established an election observation mission to monitor the elections. The NHC sent observers to monitor the elections. Nicolae Vacaroiu formed a new government as prime minister on November 13, 1992. The DNSF joined with two other parties to formed the Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat-PSD) in July 1993 (Prime Minister Vacaroiu later joined this new coalition). The COE Parliamentary Assembly began monitoring human rights conditions in the country in October 1993. Parliamentary elections were held on November 3, 1996, and the CDR won 122 out of 328 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Emil Constantinescu of the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR) was elected president with some 54 percent of the vote on November 17, 1996. The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of 51 short-term observers from 19 countries headed by Peter Hatch of Britain to monitor the elections from October 6 to November 24, 1996. The COE Parliamentary Assembly sent four observers to monitor the elections from November 1-4, 1996. The NHC sent two observers to monitor the elections, and issued a report on November 18, 1996. Emil Constantinescu was inaugurated as president on November 29, 1996. Victor Ciorbea of the center-right National Peasants Party (NPP) formed a coalition government as prime minister on December 12, 1996. The COE Parliamentary Assembly ended its monitoring of human rights conditions in the country on April 24, 1997. Members of the CNSLR-Fratia Union demonstrated against government policies in Bucharest on May 15, 1997. Some 5,000 individuals demonstrated against government policies in Bucharest in October 22, 1997. Prime Minister Ciorbea resigned on March 30, 1998, and President Constantinescu appointed Gavril Dejeu of the Christian Democrat Party (CDP) as interim prime minister. President Constantinescu appointed Radu Vasile of the NPP-CDP as prime minister on April 2, 1998, and Radu Vasile was confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies as prime minister on April 15, 1998. Government police and miners clashed in Caracal on February 17, 1999, resulting in the death of one individual. President Constantinescu dismissed Prime Minister Vasile on December 13, 1999, and appointed Alexandru Athanasiu as interim prime minister on December 14, 1999. Ion Iliescu, leader of the PSD, condemned the dismissal of Prime Minister Vasile and called for parliamentary elections. President Constantinescu appointed Mugur Isarescu as prime minister on December 17, 1999. Parliamentary elections were held on November 26 and December 10, 2000. Ion Iliescu of the SDPR was elected president with some 67 percent of the vote on December 10, 2000, and he was inaugurated as president on December 20, 2000. The OSCE/ODIHR sent eleven long-term observers and 42 short-term observers headed by Linda Edgeworth of the US to monitor the elections from November 1 to December 11, 2000. Adrian Nastase of the PSD formed a government as prime minister on December 28, 2000. Parliamentary elections were held on November 28, 2004, and the National Union (Uniunea Nationala-UN), which included the PSD, won 132 out of 314 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Traian Basescu of the National Liberal Party (Partidul National Liberal-PNL)/Democratic Party (Partidul Democrat-PD) was elected president with 51 percent of the vote in the second round of presidential elections on December 13, 2004. The OSCE/ODIHR sent 18 observers from 13 countries headed by Stephen Nash of Britain to monitor the parliamentary and presidential elections from November 20 to December 15, 2004. President Basescu nominated Calin Tariceanu as prime minister on December 22, 2004. Romania was admitted into the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007.
[Sources: Arnold et al., 1991, 279-282; Associated Press (AP), December 14, 1999, December 16, 1999; Banks and Muller, 1998, 756-764; Beigbeder, 1994, 251-253, 281, 290; Brecher and Wilkenfeld, 1997, 600-601; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), November 29, 2004, December 13, 2004, December 22, 2004; Clodfelter, 1992, 612, 811, 989; Council of Europe (COE) press release, October 31, 1996; Ference, 1994, 301-336; Hitchins 1994; Jessup, 1998, 629-631; Keesing’s Record of World Events, July 19-26, 1947, January 3-10, 1948, May 1990, September 1991, September 1992, December 1996, April 1998, December 1999; Langer, 1972, 1026-1028, 1213-1214; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) newsletter, November 1996; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly (PA)/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) press release, November 6, 1996; OSCE/ODIHR statement, November 27, 2000; Otetea 1985; Reuters, December 14, 1999; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), November 4, 1996, November 19, 1996, November 29, 1996, April 24, 1997, May 15, 1997, October 23, 1997, March 31, 1998, April 2, 1998, February 17, 1999, December 14, 1999, November 27, 2000, December 11, 2000, December 20, 2000; Roucek 1971; Survey of International Affairs (SIA), 1932, 608, 1933, 598, 1937 (vol. 1), 624; Watts 1993.]