Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party Partidul Național Țărănesc Creștin Democrat

Leader	Aurelian Pavelescu
Founded	December 1989
Preceded by	National Peasants' Party
Headquarters	Bd. Carol I, nr. 24, sector 2, Bucharest
Ideology	Agrarianism Christian democracy National conservatism Monarchism Sovereignism Euroscepticism Historical: Pro-Europeanism< Atlanticism
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
European affiliation	European Christian Political Movement (2020–present) European People's Party (1987–2017)
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
European Parliament group	European Conservatives and Reformists (2020–present)
Colours	Green and blue
Senate	0 / 136
Chamber of Deputies	0 / 330
European Parliament (Romanian seats)	1 / 33
Mayors	1 / 3,176
County Councilors	0 / 1,340
Local Councilors	42 / 39,900

The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (often called PNȚCD) is a political party in Romania. It focuses on ideas like supporting farmers (agrarianism) and Christian values (Christian democracy). The party sees itself as the continuation of an older party, the National Peasants' Party, which existed before World War II.

In the 1990s, PNȚCD was a very important party in Romania. It was a big part of the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR), a group of parties working together. Leaders like Corneliu Coposu and Ion Diaconescu, who had been political prisoners during the time Romania was a communist country, led the party. However, after the year 2000, the party became less popular and smaller. In 2017, it was removed from the European People's Party (EPP), a large group of parties in Europe. Later, in 2020, it joined another European group called the European Christian Political Movement (ECPM).

Some members of the party were unhappy with the current leader, Aurelian Pavelescu. Because of this, a new group called the National Peasant Alliance (ANȚ) broke away in 2019. They felt the main PNȚCD party had moved away from its original ideas. This new group was led by Radu Ghidău.

History of the PNȚCD
Party Mottos
What the Party Believes In
Party Leaders
Important Members
Images for kids
See also

History of the PNȚCD

Early Years: 1989–1992

The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party was started again in December 1989. This happened right after the Romanian Revolution and the end of communism in Romania. It was one of the first political parties to be officially registered.

Important leaders like Corneliu Coposu, Ioan Alexandru, and Ion Rațiu helped to restart the party. In the 1990 elections, the party came in 4th place. Their candidate for president, Ion Rațiu, came in 3rd.

At this time, another party called the National Salvation Front (FSN) was very powerful. To stand against them, PNȚCD decided to form a strong alliance with other parties. In 1991, they joined with the National Liberal Party (PNL) and other groups to create the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR). PNȚCD became the most important party within this alliance. From 1990 to 1992, PNȚCD was one of the main parties that opposed the government.

Working with the CDR: 1992–1996

In the 1992 elections, PNȚCD ran as part of the CDR alliance. They supported Emil Constantinescu for president. The CDR alliance came in 2nd place in the elections. Emil Constantinescu also made it to the second round of the presidential election, where he finished second. During this time, from 1992 to 1996, the party was the main opposition group in the Parliament of Romania.

Governing Romania: 1996–2000

In the 1996 elections, the CDR alliance, with PNȚCD as a key member, won first place. They again supported Emil Constantinescu, who won the presidency this time. From 1996 to 2000, PNȚCD was the most important party in the government. They worked with other parties like the Democratic Party (PD) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ).

However, in the 2000 elections, PNȚCD ran as part of a new CDR 2000 alliance. They did not get enough votes to enter parliament. This was because the alliance had split into many smaller groups, and the previous government term had been difficult. From 2000 to 2004, PNȚCD was not in parliament.

Later Years: 2004–Present

In the 2004 elections, PNȚCD ran on its own. They still did not get enough votes to enter parliament. They supported Gheorghe Ciuhandu, the former mayor of Timișoara, for president. He came in 5th place.

In 2005, the party briefly changed its name to the Christian Democratic People's Party (PPCD). But it soon went back to its original name, PNȚCD. The party did not take part in the 2008 elections.

Around this time, the party faced some disagreements among its leaders. There were two main groups. One group supported Aurelian Pavelescu as president and wanted to work with the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL). The other group supported Victor Ciorbea, a former Prime Minister and mayor of Bucharest, and preferred an alliance with the National Liberal Party.

Party headquarters in Bucharest in December 2014

Victor Ciorbea was chosen as party president in June 2011. The split continued until Ciorbea left the party in 2012. After that, Aurelian Pavelescu was officially recognized as president, and the different groups within the party came back together.

For the 2012 elections, PNȚCD joined the Right Romania Alliance (ARD) with the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and the Civic Force (FC). The party won one seat in the Senate and one seat in the Chamber of Deputies. Aurelian Pavelescu was re-elected as party president in April 2013.

In the 2014 European Parliament election, the party received less than 1% of the votes. In the 2019 European Parliament election, the party did not run on its own. Instead, it made an agreement with the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Because of this, the PNȚCD has one member in the European Parliament, Cristian Terheș.

For the 2019 Romanian presidential election, the party supported the PSD candidate, Viorica Dăncilă. The party did not run in the 2020 Romanian legislative election. However, it did participate in the 2020 Romanian local elections, where it won one mayor position and 42 local councilor seats.

Party Mottos

In 2006, the party's motto was Fiecare contează, which means Each one counts. For the 2014 EU elections, their motto was Renaștem pentru România ta!, meaning Reborn for your Romania!.

What the Party Believes In

The PNȚCD is a party that believes in supporting farmers (agrarianism), Christian values (Christian democracy), and human rights based on Christian ideas (Christian humanism). They stand for "social justice, Christian morality and enlightened patriotism."

The party is strongly anti-communist. They want to remove any remaining influences from the Soviet era in Romania. They support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Romanian constitution. They also aim to protect the cultural and traditional rights of all Romanian people. The PNȚCD wants equal opportunities for everyone in Romania. They believe in the rule of law and protecting the right to own private property. They also call for changes to help the Romanian economy grow.

Internationally, the party is a member of Centrist Democrat International (CDI), which includes other Christian democratic and conservative groups. They used to be connected with the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament. Now, they are part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.

Party Leaders

Also served as Prime Minister Also served as Chamber President

No.	Name	Started Term	Ended Term	How Long
1	Corneliu Coposu (1914–1995)	1990	1995	About 5 years
2	Ion Diaconescu (1917–2011)	1995	2001	About 6 years
–	Constantin Dudu Ionescu (acting) (1954–	2001	2001	Less than 1 year
3	Andrei Marga (1946–	2002	2002	Less than 1 year
4	Victor Ciorbea (1954–	2002	2004	About 2 years
5	Gheorghe Ciuhandu (1947–	2004	2007	About 3 years
6	Marian Petre Miluț (1955–	2007	2011	About 4 years
7	Aurelian Pavelescu (1964–	2011	Current Leader	About 11 years