Liberalism and radicalism in Romania

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.

Background

Liberalism has always during democratic periods been of the major forces in Romania, mainly organized in the National Liberal Party. Often there were spin-offs of this party. At the moment the National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional Liberal, member LI, ELDR) is a right-wing liberal party.

History

Precursors

• 1822: Ionică Tăutu, representing a group of low-ranking boyars in Moldavia, proposed a constitutional project with republican and liberal principles
• 1834: Ion Câmpineanu leads the liberal opposition to Russian influence in Wallachia's National Assembly
• 1840: Mitică Filipescu led a radical, carbonari-inspired conspiracy in Wallachia
• 1840: Mihail Kogălniceanu published the short-lived Dacia Literară, a Romantic nationalist and liberal magazine, engendering a literary society
• 1843: Nicolae Bălcescu and others led the Frăţia radical conspiracy in Wallachia
• 1845: Radical students from both Wallachia and Moldavia founded Societatea Studenţilor Români (the "Society of Romanian Students") in Paris
• 1848: The unsuccessful Moldavian revolution, during which Moldavian liberals issued a Petition-Proclamation
• 1848: The liberal-minded Blaj Assemblies in Transylvania, in the context of revolutions inside the Austrian Empire
• 1848: The Wallachian revolution - liberals formed a Provisional Government in Bucharest, and were divided over the issue of land reform, with a radical current forming around Bălcescu
• 1856: The liberal current formed the majority in Partida Naţională, a loose group supporting the union of the Danubian Principalities
• 1859: After the union, liberals formed a distinct faction in the Parliament of Romania
• 1864: Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza established a personal regime, in order to pass liberal legislation against mounting opposition
• 1866: Mainstream liberals supported Cuza's removal from the throne; a faction of the liberal current opposed to the new constitution formed the Moldavian-based Fracţiunea liberă şi independentă, influenced by Simion Bărnuțiu and led by Nicolae Ionescu

National Liberal Party

• 1875: The liberal current organised itself in the National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional-Liberal), led by Ion Brătianu
• 1884: A faction formed the Radical Party, led by C.A. Rosetti and George Panu
• 1899: The National Liberal Party absorbs the right-wing of the Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party
• 1918: The Peasants' Party absorbs a left-wing tendency in the National Liberal Party formed around Constantin Stere
• 1929: A faction formed the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Brătianu
• 1931: A faction formed the Liberal Democratic Party, which remained unsuccessful. The same year a majority of the Brătianu party returned in the National Liberal Party
• 1938: The rest of the Brătianu party returned in the National Liberal Party
• 1938: The party is banned by King Carol II
• 1944: The party resumed its activities
• 1944: A faction formed the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Tătărescu
• 1947: The party is banned by the communist regime
• 1990: The party is refounded by Radu Câmpeanu
• 1990: A youth faction of the National Liberal Party formed the ⇒ Liberal Party Youth Wing
• 1991: A faction formed the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention
• 1995: The ⇒ Liberal party 1993 merged into the National Liberal Party, the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Câmpeanu seceded from the party
• 1998: The party absorbed the ⇒ Civic Alliance Party
• 2002: The Alliance for Romania (Alianţa pentru România) merged into the National Liberal Party
• 2003: The Union of Right-Wing Forces (Uniunea Forţelor de Dreapta) and the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Câmpeanu merged into the party

National Liberal Party-Brătianu

• 1929: A faction of the ⇒ National Liberal Party formed the National Liberal Party-Brătianu (Partidul Naţional-Liberal-Brătianu)
• 1931: Most of the party returned to the National Liberal Party
• 1938: The party reunited with the National Liberal Party

National Liberal Party-Tătărescu

• 1944: A faction of the ⇒ National Liberal Party formed the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu (Partidul Naţional-Liberal (Tătărescu))
• 1945: The party ran in elections with the Romanian Communist Party
• 1947: The party is banned by the communist regime

From National Liberal Party Youth Wing to Liberal Party 1993

• 1990: A youth faction of the ⇒ National Liberal Party formed the National Liberal Party Youth Wing (Partidul Naţional-Liberal Aripa Tînără)
• 1992: The party was renamed Liberal Party (Partidul Liberal), led by Horia Rusu
• 1993: The Liberal Party merged with the ⇒ National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention and the Group for Moral and Political Reforms into the Liberal Party 1993 (Partidul Liberal 1993), joined by a faction of the ⇒ Civic Alliance Party
• 1995: The party merged into the ⇒ National Liberal Party

Civic Alliance Party

• 1991: A section of the Civic Alliance non-governmental organization established the Civic Alliance Party (Partidul Alianţa Civică), led by Nicolae Manolescu
• 1993: A faction joined the ⇒ Liberal Party 1993
• 1998: The party merged into the ⇒ National Liberal Party

National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention

• 1991: A faction of the ⇒ National Liberal Party formed the National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention (Partidul Naţional-Liberal-Convenţia Democrată)
• 1993: The party merged into the ⇒ Liberal Party 1993

National Liberal Party-Câmpeanu

• 1995: A faction of the ⇒ National Liberal Party formed the National Liberal Party-Câmpeanu (Partidul Naţional-Liberal-Câmpeanu)
• 2003: The party merged into the ⇒ National Liberal Party

PNL leaders

No.	Name	Term start	Term end
1	Ion Brătianu	1875	1891
2	Dumitru Brătianu	1891	1892
3	Dimitrie Sturdza	1892	1908
4	Ion I. C. Brătianu	1908	24 November 1927
5	Vintilă Brătianu	November/December 1927	1930
6	Ion Duca	1930	30 December 1933
7	Dinu Brătianu	December 1933	1948
	none (party abolished by the new communist government)	1948	1990
8	Radu Câmpeanu	1990	1993
9	Mircea Ionescu Quintus	1993	2001
10	Valeriu Stoica	2001	2002
11	Theodor Stolojan	2002	October 2004
12	Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu	October 2004	March 2009
13	Crin Antonescu	March 2009	June 2014
14	Klaus Iohannis	June 2014	December 2014
15	Alina Gorghiu	December 2014

See also

• History of Romania
• Politics of Romania
• List of political parties in Romania

External links

• (Romanian) Ioan Scurtu, Theodora Stănescu-Stanciu, Georgiana Margareta Scurtu, Istoria românilor între anii 1918-1940: IV. Partidele politice în primul deceniu interbelic (political programs of major parties in interwar Romania)