History of Romania (1989–present) facts for kids
After Communism ended in Romania in December 1989, a new group called the National Salvation Front (FSN) took control. This happened after the former leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, was removed from power and executed during the Romanian Revolution. The FSN was led by Ion Iliescu.
The FSN quickly became a large political party. They won the elections in May 1990 by a lot. Ion Iliescu became the president. The first few months of 1990 were a bit chaotic. There were many protests and counter-protests. One notable event involved coal miners from the Jiu Valley. They were called by Iliescu and the FSN to stop peaceful protesters in University Square in Bucharest. These events are known as the Mineriads.
After this, the Romanian government started to change its economy. They moved towards a free market system. This meant allowing private businesses and less government control. They also began to sell state-owned companies to private owners. These changes happened slowly throughout the 1990s. The economy didn't grow much until the 2000s.
Romania also made political changes. A new democratic constitution was adopted in 1991. The FSN party split that year. This led to a time when different parties had to work together in coalition governments. This lasted until 2000. Then, Iliescu's party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), came back to power. Iliescu became President again. Adrian Năstase became the Prime Minister. This government lost power in the 2004 elections. There were concerns about corruption. After this, Romania had more unstable coalition governments.
In recent years, Romania has become closer to Western countries. It joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004. It also became a member of the European Union (EU) in 2007.
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The 1989 Revolution
The year 1989 was important for Eastern Europe. It marked the end of Communism in many countries. In Romania, protests began in Timișoara in mid-December. People were protesting against the removal of a Hungarian minister. These protests quickly grew across the country. They aimed to remove the leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, from power.
On December 21, Ceaușescu tried to gather people in Bucharest. He wanted to show support for his rule. He also wanted to speak against the protests in Timișoara. But the crowd became angry, and riots started. Over the next week, there was a lot of confusion and street fighting. Many people lost their lives. The exact number of deaths is still not known. Also, it is not clear who was responsible for all the violence. Ceaușescu was arrested in Târgoviște. After a quick trial, he and his wife were executed on December 25.
During the Romanian Revolution, the National Salvation Front (FSN) took power. This group included people who disagreed with the Communist Party. The FSN quickly worked to bring back order. They also took steps to make the country more democratic. The Communist Party was made illegal. Many of Ceaușescu's unpopular rules were also removed.
Romania in the Early 1990s (1990–1996)
After the revolution, several new political parties were formed. They said they were continuing the ideas of parties from before World War II. Some of the most successful were the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚ-CD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL).
The FSN announced it would also run in the elections as a political party. This caused many anti-government protests in Bucharest. Newspapers took sides, either supporting the government or the opposition. They often attacked each other. The FSN had a strong organization. They also controlled state-run newspapers. They used these to their advantage. The FSN also organized its own protests. They gathered support from factory workers in Bucharest.
As anti-government protesters moved towards the Palace of the Parliament, more workers came to Bucharest. They wanted to protect the new government. The most famous of these groups were the coal miners from the Jiu Valley. They were known for their strike against Ceaușescu in 1977. These workers attacked the offices of opposition parties. However, the government stepped in and brought back order. These events are known as the January 1990 Mineriad. It was the first of several Mineriads.
On February 28, another anti-government protest in Bucharest turned violent. Some people threw stones at the government building. Police and army forces stepped in. That same night, 4,000 miners came to Bucharest. This event is called the Mineriad of February 1990.
Elections for president and parliament were held on May 20, 1990. Ion Iliescu won almost 90% of the votes. He became Romania's first elected president. The FSN also won more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Petre Roman remained Prime Minister. The new government promised to make some free market changes.
During the election campaign in spring 1990, opposition parties held a large protest in Bucharest. This was known as the Golaniad. After the FSN won, most protesters left. But a small group stayed in the square. Police tried to remove them, and violence broke out. Some government buildings were attacked. President Iliescu then asked Romanians to come and defend the government. The coal miners from Jiu Valley responded again. This led to the June 1990 Mineriad. The miners and other groups confronted the protesters. They forcefully cleared University Square. After things calmed down, Iliescu publicly thanked the miners. He then asked them to return home.
In December 1991, a new constitution was written. People voted for it in a special election. In March 1992, the FSN split into two groups. One was the Democratic National Salvation Front (FDSN), led by Iliescu. The other was the Democratic Party (PD), led by Petre Roman. Iliescu won the presidential elections in September 1992. His FDSN party also won the general elections.
A new government was formed in November 1992. It was led by Prime Minister Nicolae Văcăroiu. This government had support from nationalist parties. It took some steps to open up the market. It also started a program to sell state companies. The government also worked to improve relations with the European Economic Community (EEC), which is now the EU, and NATO. The FDSN changed its name to the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) in July 1993. This happened after it joined with smaller left-wing parties. This group broke apart before the November 1996 elections. Around this time, a big financial scandal happened with a scheme called Caritas.
Political Changes (1996–2000)
Emil Constantinescu from the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) won the presidential elections in 1996. He won by a good amount and became the new president.
The PDSR party won the most seats in Parliament. But they could not form a strong government on their own. So, other parties joined together. These included the CDR, the Democratic Party (PD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ). They formed a government that held 60% of the seats in Parliament. This group often had trouble agreeing. Decisions were often delayed because of long talks between the parties. However, they were able to make some reforms.
The new government was led by Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea. It stayed in power until March 1998. Then, Radu Vasile became Prime Minister. This time was marked by many arguments within the government. Several major banks went bankrupt. The economy also got worse. Living conditions became harder for people. This led to another mineriad in 1999. After some clashes with police, Prime Minister Radu Vasile convinced the miners' leader, Miron Cozma, to send the miners home. Later, Mugur Isărescu, who was the head of the National Bank, became Prime Minister. He helped make the Romanian economy more stable.
Progress and Integration (2000–2004)
Iliescu's Social Democratic Party, now called the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), came back to power in the 2000 elections. Iliescu won a second term as president. Adrian Năstase became the Prime Minister.
The opposition often said the government was corrupt. They also claimed it tried to control the news. The government was also accused of letting local PSD leaders gain too much power. This power was supposedly used for their own benefit. However, the Romanian economy started to grow for the first time since 1989. The government also started projects for social housing. They restarted building a highway from Bucharest to Constanţa, Romania's main port. They also began building a highway across Transylvania. But these projects had limited success due to corruption.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Romania supported the US in its "war on terrorism." They allowed US planes to fly over their country during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Romania's military also took part in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2004, Romania finally became a full member of NATO. The Năstase government also worked towards joining the European Union. The government successfully finished talks with the European Union on most topics. The year 2007 was set as a possible date for Romania to join the EU.
Joining the European Union (2004–2007)
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on November 28, 2004. No single political party won enough votes to form a strong government. There was no clear winner in the first round of the presidential elections. In the end, Traian Băsescu, the candidate for the PNL-PD alliance, won the second round on December 12, 2004. He won with 51% of the votes. He became Romania's third president since the revolution.
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, the PNL leader, was given the difficult job of forming a government. This new government would not include the PSD. In December 2004, a new coalition government was sworn in. It included the PD, PNL, PUR, and UDMR parties. Tăriceanu became Prime Minister. Soon, arguments started between the parties in the government. Prime Minister Tăriceanu (PNL) and President Băsescu (PD) accused each other of supporting unfair business deals. The PUR party left the government after Băsescu said their involvement was "immoral." This left the government with less support in Parliament. The frequent arguments between the Prime Minister and the President also caused a part of the PNL to split off. They formed the Liberal Democratic Party (Romania).
Romania officially joined the European Union, along with Bulgaria, on January 1, 2007.
Recent Years (After 2007)
The arguments between the PNL Prime Minister and the President eventually led to the PD ministers being removed from the government. The PNL and UDMR then formed a minority government. They sometimes got support from the PSD in Parliament. The conflict between the president and the other parties continued. In May 2007, several parties voted to remove Băsescu from office. They said he had broken the constitution. Nicolae Văcăroiu, the head of the Senate, became temporary president. However, Băsescu was put back in office after a national vote rejected the idea of removing him. Relations between the president and most parliamentary parties remained tense for two more years. Joining the EU and having less government control helped foreign investments. The Romanian economy also improved.
In late 2008, the government lost the elections. The PSD and PDL parties won about the same number of seats. They formed a difficult government together. Emil Boc, from the PDL, became Prime Minister. Soon, scandals started. The PSD Interior minister changed several times due to corruption claims. The PDL youth minister had to resign. A parliamentary group accused her of using government money for the president's daughter's election campaign. Claims of money misuse were also made against the PDL tourism minister, Elena Udrea. She was close to the president.
In autumn 2008, during the election campaign, the PSD accused the PDL of planning to cheat in the presidential elections. Because of this, Emil Boc removed the PSD interior minister from the government. The PSD left the government in protest. Soon after, Parliament voted to remove the PDL government. Parliament also rejected two new governments proposed by President Băsescu. They wanted a government led by Klaus Iohannis. But Băsescu rejected this. Traian Băsescu managed to win the presidential election by a small margin. He won against the PSD candidate, Mircea Geoană. Emil Boc was made Prime Minister again. He led a PDL-UDMR government with help from smaller groups. In late 2009 and 2010, Romania was hit hard by the global economic crisis. This caused many large protests organized by worker groups. The opposition and news often accused the government of giving money unfairly to its members. They also claimed there was widespread corruption.
In 2009, President Traian Basescu was re-elected for a second five-year term.
In January 2014, Romania's highest court sentenced former Prime Minister Adrian Năstase to four years in prison for taking bribes. He was Prime Minister from 2000 to 2004. In 2014, Klaus Iohannis was elected as the President of Romania. He was re-elected by a large number of votes in 2019.
In December 2020, the Social Democrats (PSD) won the parliamentary election. The previous Prime Minister, Ludovic Orban, resigned. This was because his National Liberal Party (PNL) lost. However, Florin Cîțu, a member of the PNL, became the new Prime Minister. He formed a government with three parties: the PNL, the USR, and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ).
In early October 2021, the government led by Florin Cîțu was removed by Parliament. The USR party had left the government in early September. They left because of concerns about corruption. In late November, a large government group was formed. It included the PSD, PNL, and UDMR/RMDSZ. It was led by former army general Nicolae Ciucă, who became Prime Minister. This new government was a coalition between former rivals, the PNL and PSD. The PNL had eight ministers, the PSD had nine, and the UDMR had three. Since this government started, some people have noted a shift towards more government control and increased corruption in Romania. On June 15, 2023, Marcel Ciolacu (PSD) became the new Prime Minister. This change was part of an agreement made by the ruling parties.
See also
In Spanish: Historia de Rumania (1989-presente) para niños
- Romanian property bubble
