Since what year has the institution of the presidency been operating in Romania? Who is Nicolae Ceausescu? And who is the President of Romania today? You will find answers to all these questions in our article.
State structure of modern Romania
Romania is the largest state on the Balkan Peninsula. Its total area is 238 thousand square meters. km. It is an industrial country with a dynamically developing economy. The name comes from the Latin word romanus - "Roman".
As a state, Romania arose in the middle of the 19th century as a result of the unification of two principalities - Wallachian and Moldavian. In 1878, its independence was recognized by the European and world community. Until 1947, Romania remained a monarchical state. During this time, five kings have succeeded each other here. Carol I ruled the country for the longest time - from 1881 to 1914
Modern Romania is a presidential unitary republic. The President of Romania is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of four years and has a fairly wide list of powers. The country's parliament consists of two chambers and has (in total)588 deputies.
The President of Romania and his powers
Officially, this position in Romania was established only in 1974. According to the Romanian constitution, the president is the guarantor of the national independence and territorial integrity of his country. He is also vested with the following powers:
- Appoints the government (based on a vote of confidence from parliament).
- Proposes Prime Minister.
- Takes direct participation in government meetings.
- Calls and conducts referendums.
- Concludes contracts with international partners.
- He heads the country's armed forces.
- Provides pardons (individually).
- Has the right to dissolve parliament, declare martial law or state of emergency.
The following is a complete list of all Romanian Presidents in chronological order:
- Nicolae Ceausescu - from 1974 to 1989
- Ion Iliescu - 1989 to 1996
- Emil Constantinescu - 1996 to 2000
- Ion Iliescu (second term) - 2000 to 2004
- Traian Basescu (twice the parliament impeached him, but each time the president returned to his duties) - from 2004 to 2014
- Klaus Johannes - since 2014.
Who is Ceausescu?
Nicolae Ceausescu is the first President of Romania, one of the brightest and most controversial personalities of this country. He was at the helm of the socialist republic for more than twenty years.
In the early years of his reign, Ceausescu pursued a policyopenness towards the countries of Western Europe and maintained a certain neutrality in relations with the Soviet Union. He set himself a clear goal - to turn Romania from an agrarian into an industrialized and self-sufficient country. The oil refining and chemical industries, the automotive industry began to actively develop in the republic.
In 1971, N. Ceausescu visits a number of Asian countries, in particular, China, Vietnam and the DPRK, is fond of the Juche ideas and admires the cult of personality of Comrade Kim Il Sung. After this trip, the relatively liberal domestic politics in Romania are gradually turning towards hard censorship and dictatorship.
The authoritarian regime of Ceausescu was overthrown in 1989. The so-called Romanian Revolution started on December 16 in the city of Timisoara with the unrest of the Hungarians. Soon, large-scale rallies and protests engulfed the capital of the republic. The Romanian army went over to the side of the revolutionaries, which, together with the people, fought against the Ceausescu "Securitate" units. Ultimately, the President of Romania, Ceausescu, was captured and shot on December 25, according to the verdict of a military tribunal (along with his wife). The result of the revolution was the disappearance of the Socialist Republic of Romania and the course towards the democratization of the country.
The current President of Romania is Klaus Johannes
In December 2014, Klaus Werner Johannes took the presidency in the country. What is known about him?
Here is a list of the most interesting facts frombiographies of the current President of Romania:
- Klaus Johannes is an ethnic German.
- His age is 58.
- 14 consecutive years, Klaus served as mayor of Sibiu. It was thanks to his efforts that a small Transylvanian city turned into a major tourist center in Europe.
- The current president of the country is fluent in three languages - Romanian, English and German.
- Klaus is a physicist by training and worked as a school teacher for a long time.
- Protestant by religion.
- Married but no children.
Presidential Election Klaus Johannes won in the second round with 54.5% of the vote. In his election campaign, he focused on fighting corruption and improving the judicial system.
