Ion Mihalache ( Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon mihaˈlake] ; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ).
112-738: Constantin Vișoianu (4 February 1897 – 3 January 1994) was a Romanian jurist , diplomat , and politician , who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs at the end of World War II . He later emigrated to the United States , where he served as President of the Romanian National Committee . Born in Urlați , Prahova County , he studied at the University of Bucharest and got a doctor's degree in Law at
224-480: A country of medium to small sized landowners. The Peasants' Party calculated leaving no landowner with more than on one square kilometre, which also included expropriating land for common pasture . At the same time, Vaida-Voevod's government created a conflict over its projects for constitutional reform, clashing with the PNL over the highly centralized government and support for the 1866 Constitution of Romania advocated by
336-550: A grouping with national appeal. The PȚ had much success in the elections of November 1919 , forming a coalition government with the Transylvanian Romanian National Party (PNR), under Alexandru Vaida-Voevod . As a politician, Mihalache made himself known for supporting a political option that mixed traditionalist reserve towards industrialization and calls for preserving the rural base of Romanian economy through voluntary cooperative farming (allowing for
448-522: A law forbidding candidatures of former Eastern Front volunteers. It is possible, however, that just before the elections, the PNȚ had attempted to resist and profit from a foreseen insurrection against the Petru Groza government, by forming Cercul Militar Professional (the "Professional Military Circle") — grouping generals and other officers, it was led by Mihalache himself. The Communist regime which
560-667: A leader of the opposition to Antonescu, entered into secret negotiations with British diplomats who made it clear that Romania had to seek reconciliation with the Soviet Union. To facilitate the coordination of their activities against Antonescu's regime, the National Liberal and National Peasants' parties established the National Democratic Bloc, which also included the Social Democratic and Communist parties. After
672-648: A nation of "Very High Human Development". Ion Mihalache A schoolteacher born into a peasant family of Topoloveni , Muscel County , he served as a lieutenant in the Romanian Army during World War I . Mihalache, who soon became popular among Orthodox priests and village teachers, served as president of the local teachers' association. He founded the PȚ in the Romanian Old Kingdom in 1918; under his leadership, it emerged from northern Muntenia and became
784-550: A new party program that adapted Poporanist ideals. After 1938, when, faced with the rise of the Iron Guard, Carol imposed his authoritarian regime, the PNȚ party refused collaboration and merger into the National Renaissance Front . According to the leading party member Ioan Hudiță , Mihalache, together with Virgil Madgearu and Mihai Popovici , continued to display support for the king and even considered joining
896-495: A new state under Ottoman suzerainty, the Principality of Transylvania . Reformation spread and four denominations— Calvinism , Lutheranism , Unitarianism , and Roman Catholicism—were officially acknowledged in 1568. The Romanians' Orthodox faith remained only tolerated, although they made up more than one-third of the population, according to 17th-century estimations. The princes of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia joined
1008-437: A peasant-based industry) with a vision of left-wing Corporatism . In 1929, he wrote: "Many have thought that [economic success] was only possible for the large-scale agricultural entrepreneur. And this is why they have supported that only on the basis of large-scale property can there be carried out a wise and lucrative agriculture, and that dividing the land leads to a decrease in production. Perhaps it would be this way, if
1120-510: A policy of total reimbursement of the foreign debt by imposing austerity steps that impoverished the population and exhausted the economy. The process succeeded in repaying all of Romania's foreign government debt in 1989. At the same time, Ceaușescu greatly extended the authority of the Securitate secret police and imposed a severe cult of personality , which led to a dramatic decrease in the dictator's popularity and culminated in his overthrow in
1232-546: A political crisis in 2012. Near the end of 2013, The Economist reported Romania again enjoying "booming" economic growth at 4.1% that year, with wages rising fast and a lower unemployment than in Britain. Economic growth accelerated in the midst of government liberalisation in opening up new sectors to competition and investment—most notably, energy and telecoms. In 2016, the Human Development Index ranked Romania as
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#17330847496451344-607: A principle was enacted, but women could not vote or be candidates. Calypso Botez established the National Council of Romanian Women to promote feminist ideas. Romania was a multiethnic country, with ethnic minorities making up about 30% of the population, but the new constitution declared it a unitary national state in 1923. Although minorities could establish their own schools, Romanian language, history and geography could only be taught in Romanian. Agriculture remained
1456-719: A regular tribute to the Ottoman sultans from 1417 and 1456, respectively. A military commander of Romanian origin, John Hunyadi , organised the defence of the Kingdom of Hungary until his death in 1456. Increasing taxes outraged the Transylvanian peasants, and they rose up in an open rebellion in 1437, but the Hungarian nobles and the heads of the Saxon and Székely communities jointly suppressed their revolt. The formal alliance of
1568-594: A result of Hungarian oppression in the region. In April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of that year's legislative elections and accusing the FSN, including Iliescu, of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate grew rapidly to become what was called the Golaniad . Peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence, prompting the intervention of coal miners summoned by Iliescu. This episode has been documented widely by both local and foreign media, and
1680-522: A significant improvement in living standards as the country successfully reduced domestic poverty and established a functional democratic state. However, Romania's development suffered a major setback during the late 2000s' recession leading to a large gross domestic product contraction and a budget deficit in 2009. This led to Romania borrowing from the International Monetary Fund. Worsening economic conditions led to unrest and triggered
1792-466: A successful Soviet offensive, the young King Michael I ordered Antonescu's arrest and appointed politicians from the National Democratic Bloc to form a new government on 23 August 1944. Romania switched sides during the war, and nearly 250,000 Romanian troops joined the Red Army's military campaign against Hungary and Germany, but Joseph Stalin regarded the country as an occupied territory within
1904-692: Is first attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania , Moldavia , and Wallachia . The oldest known surviving document written in Romanian that can be precisely dated, a 1521 letter known as the " Letter of Neacșu from Câmpulung ", is notable for including the first documented occurrence of Romanian in a country name: Wallachia is mentioned as Țara Rumânească . Human remains found in Peștera cu Oase ("Cave with Bones"), radiocarbon date from circa 40,000 years ago, and represent
2016-698: Is remembered as the June 1990 Mineriad . The subsequent disintegration of the Front produced several political parties, including most notably the Social Democratic Party (PDSR then PSD) and the Democratic Party (PD and subsequently PDL). The former governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments, with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then, there have been several other democratic changes of government: in 1996 Emil Constantinescu
2128-602: Is well documented from the end of the 11th century. Scholars who reject the Daco-Roman continuity theory say that the first Vlach groups left their Balkan homeland for the mountain pastures of the eastern and southern Carpathians in the 11th century, establishing the Romanians' presence in the lands to the north of the Lower Danube. Exposed to nomadic incursions, Transylvania developed into an important border province of
2240-703: The 2008 summit in Bucharest. The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the European Union and became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a full member on 1 January 2007. During the 2000s, Romania had one of the highest economic growth rates in Europe and has been referred at times as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe". This has been accompanied by
2352-600: The Anglo-Americans , and were reluctant to meet with the Soviets directly, whereas the Allies insisted on Russian priority. As recounted by Vișoianu in a 1990 interview, the proposal was turned down by the Allies on June 1. After the Romanian coup d'état of 23 August 1944, when King Michael I of Romania removed the government of Antonescu and Romania switched sides from the Axis to
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#17330847496452464-781: The Arab countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel– Egypt and Israel–PLO peace talks. As Romania's foreign debt increased sharply between 1977 and 1981 (from US$ 3 billion to $ 10 billion), the influence of international financial organisations—such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank —grew, gradually conflicting with Ceaușescu's autocratic rule. He eventually initiated
2576-538: The Danube , empties into the Danube Delta in the southeast of the country. The Carpathian Mountains cross Romania from the north to the southwest and include Moldoveanu Peak , at an altitude of 2,544 m (8,346 ft). Romania's capital and largest city is Bucharest . Other major urban centers include Cluj-Napoca , Timișoara , Iași , Constanța and Brașov . Settlement in the territory of modern Romania began in
2688-753: The Danubian Principalities ) in 1774. Taking advantage of the Greek War of Independence , a Wallachian lesser nobleman, Tudor Vladimirescu, stirred up a revolt against the Ottomans in January ;1821, but he was murdered in June by Phanariot Greeks. After a new Russo-Turkish War , the Treaty of Adrianople strengthened the autonomy of the Danubian Principalities in 1829, although it also acknowledged
2800-667: The Holy League against the Ottoman Empire in 1594. The Wallachian prince, Michael the Brave , united the three principalities under his rule in May ;1600. The neighboring powers forced him to abdicate in September, but he became a symbol of the unification of the Romanian lands in the 19th century. Although the rulers of the three principalities continued to pay tribute to the Ottomans,
2912-572: The Kingdom of Hungary . The Székelys—a community of free warriors—settled in central Transylvania around 1100 and moved to the easternmost regions around 1200. Colonists from the Holy Roman Empire —the Transylvanian Saxons ' ancestors—came to the province in the 1150s. A high-ranking royal official, styled voivode , ruled the Transylvanian counties from the 1170s, but
3024-574: The Lower Paleolithic , later becoming the kingdom of Dacia before Roman conquest and Romanisation . The modern Romanian state emerged in 1859 through the union of Moldavia and Wallachia and gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. During World War I , Romania joined the Allies , and after the war, territories including Transylvania and Bukovina were integrated into Romania. In World War II , Romania initially aligned with
3136-620: The Paris Peace Conference , and another part was used to support, for a while, the activities of Romanian exiles in the United States. In 1950 Vișoianu was appointed by former King Michael I to be the president of the Romanian National Committee , which had been founded in 1948 in New York to express opposition to Communist rule in Romania. In that role (which he held until the committee
3248-637: The Republic of Genoa started establishing colonies on the Black Sea, including Calafat , and Constanța . The Mongols destroyed large territories during their invasion of Eastern and Central Europe in 1241 and 1242. The Mongols' Golden Horde emerged as the dominant power of Eastern Europe, but Béla IV of Hungary's land grant to the Knights Hospitallers in Oltenia and Muntenia shows that
3360-461: The Romanian Army (June 1941) — he served for only a few days, and was discharged on orders from Antonescu himself. He eventually joined a semi-clandestine opposition, and then supported the PNȚ's entry into the underground liberation movement, as well as King Michael 's pro- Allied August 1944 coup . The appearance of the Iron Curtain and Joseph Stalin 's plans for Romania singled out
3472-824: The Sorbonne in Paris . Upon returning to Romania, Vișoianu practiced as a lawyer at the Olt County Bar (starting in 1926), then at the Bucharest Bar (from 1937). Vișoianu was technical advisor at the League of Nations . From 1931 to 1933 he was member of the Romanian permanent delegation to the Conference on Disarmament . He was thereafter appointed minister plenipotentiary to The Hague (1 July 1933–1 October 1935) and Warsaw (1 October 1935–25 October 1936). During World War II , Vișoianu
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3584-595: The Tripartite Pact of Germany, Italy and Japan on 23 November. The Iron Guard staged a coup against Antonescu, but he crushed the riot with German support and introduced a military dictatorship in early 1941. Romania entered World War II soon after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The country regained Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and the Germans placed Transnistria (the territory between
3696-583: The first constitution of Romania in the same year. The Great Powers acknowledged Romania's full independence at the Congress of Berlin and Carol I was crowned king in 1881. The Congress also granted the Danube Delta and Dobruja to Romania. Although Romanian scholars strove for the unification of all Romanians into a Greater Romania , the government did not openly support their irredentist projects. The Transylvanian Romanians and Saxons wanted to maintain
3808-571: The national flag . In Transylvania, most Romanians supported the imperial government against the Hungarian revolutionaries after the Diet passed a law concerning the union of Transylvania and Hungary. Bishop Andrei Șaguna proposed the unification of the Romanians of the Habsburg Monarchy in a separate duchy, but the central government refused to change the internal borders. The Treaty of Paris put
3920-401: The 1930s. The democratic parties were squeezed between conflicts with the fascist and anti-Semitic Iron Guard and the authoritarian tendencies of King Carol II . The King promulgated a new constitution and dissolved the political parties in 1938, replacing the parliamentary system with a royal dictatorship. The 1938 Munich Agreement convinced King Carol II that France and
4032-418: The Allies, Vișoianu was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania , at the recommendation of Iuliu Maniu . He served in that capacity from 4 November 1944 to 28 February 1945 in the Sănătescu and Rădescu governments. At the beginning of 1945, Vișoianu transferred to his associate Alexandru Cretzianu [ ro ] 6 million Swiss francs from an account previously constituted in Switzerland by
4144-460: The Antonescu government. He was smuggled out of Romania in 1946 by United States agents when the Romanian Communist Party rose to power; he reportedly left on a plane, together with Grigore Niculescu-Buzești . At the November 1947 trial of National Peasants' Party leading figures such as Maniu and Ion Mihalache , Vișoianu was sentenced in absentia by the Military Tribunal of the Second Region of Bucharest to 15 years of forced labor . Using
4256-502: The Axis but switched to the Allies in 1944. After the war, Romania became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact , transitioning to democracy and a market economy after the 1989 Revolution . Romania is a developing country with a high-income economy , recognized as a middle power in international affairs . It hosts several UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is a growing tourist attraction, receiving 13 million foreign visitors in 2023 . Its economy ranks among
4368-415: The Bulgar elite had already begun in the 9th century. Following the conquest of southern Transylvania around 830, people from the Bulgar Empire mined salt at the local salt mines. The Council of Preslav declared Old Church Slavonic the language of liturgy in the country in 893. The Vlachs also adopted Old Church Slavonic as their liturgical language. The Magyars (or Hungarians) took control of
4480-452: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture built the largest settlements in Neolithic Europe , some of which contained as many as three thousand structures and were possibly inhabited by 20,000 to 46,000 people. The first fortified settlements appeared around 1800 BC, showing the militant character of Bronze Age societies. Greek colonies established on the Black Sea coast in the 7th century BC became important centres of commerce with
4592-399: The Danubian Principalities under the collective guardianship of the Great Powers in 1856. After special assemblies convoked in Moldavia and Wallachia urged the unification of the two principalities , the Great Powers did not prevent the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their collective domnitor (or ruling prince) in January 1859. The united principalities officially adopted
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4704-401: The European Pontic steppe , occupied the Lower Danube region in 680. After the Avar Khaganate collapsed in the 790s, the First Bulgarian Empire became the dominant power of the region, occupying lands as far as the river Tisa . The First Bulgarian Empire had a mixed population consisting of the Bulgar conquerors, Slavs , and Vlachs (or Romanians) but the Slavicisation of
4816-405: The Front. During World War II , he opposed the National Legionary State created by the Iron Guard, and complained to the Guard's rival partner, Conducător Ion Antonescu , that Horia Sima and his grouping had assumed control of his cooperative organization in Muscel County . Antonescu refused to mediate; Sima replied to Mihalache that the measure had been partly taken as compensation for
4928-401: The Guard during the Legionary Rebellion of 1941, Mihalache forwarded a congratulatory message to the former. In time, he also objected to Antonescu's Nazi Germany -allied dictatorship (although pressured by the latter to join a War Cabinet ). He did, however, support the recovery of Bessarabia from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa , and offered his services as a volunteer in
5040-495: The Guard, to run in the 1931 elections on a new platform (the Corneliu Codreanu Grouping ). During the period, he also became a noted opponent of Carol II : as heir apparent , the latter had been denied the right of ascension after the war, and returned to the throne with Maniu's backing in 1930. The relations between the PNȚ and the monarch soured, however, especially after Vaida-Voevod's second cabinet fell in 1932, due to disagreement over several policies — as Minister of
5152-414: The Hungarian, Saxon, and Székely leaders, known as the Union of the Three Nations , became an important element of the self-government of Transylvania. The Orthodox Romanian knezes ("chiefs") were excluded from the Union. The Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, and the Ottomans occupied parts of Banat and Crișana in 1541. Transylvania and Maramureș , along with the rest of Banat and Crișana developed into
5264-483: The Interior, Mihalache was directly involved in the dispute, as the scandal erupted when Gavrilă Marinescu , the prefect of police in Bucharest, refused to hand in his resignation, and instead called for the king's verdict. In 1935, Mihalache briefly took charge of the party upon Maniu's resignation, and steered it to the Left, charging Mihai Ralea and the PNȚ's Study Circle ( Constantin Rădulescu-Motru , Mihail Ghelmegeanu , Ernest Ene , and Petre Andrei ) with drafting
5376-414: The Legionaries' "suffering at the hands of Mihalache [in 1930-1931]", but offered to allow some of the Muscel cooperative's former administrators structure to regain their positions. Attacks and threats towards Mihalache in the Guard's press became widespread, and Mille Lefter singled him out as a former persecutor of the movement in a conference aired on Romanian Radio . Following Antonescu's defeat of
5488-404: The Orthodox Romanian prelates to accept the union with the Roman Catholic Church in 1699. The Church Union strengthened the Romanian intellectuals' devotion to their Roman heritage. The Orthodox Church was restored in Transylvania only after Orthodox monks stirred up revolts in 1744 and 1759. The organisation of the Transylvanian Military Frontier caused further disturbances, especially among
5600-489: The PNȚ, the main supporter of cooperation with the Western Allies , as an adversary of growing Soviet influence over the country ( see Soviet occupation of Romania ). Consequently, he and Maniu were branded "fascists" by the Romanian Communist Party press, and Mihalache was especially attacked for his supposedly good relations with Antonescu; the 1941 episode was used against him during the rigged 1946 elections , when Communists prevented him from running for office based on
5712-483: The Romanian army on behalf of the Entente Powers a day before Germany capitulated on 11 November 1918. Austria-Hungary quickly disintegrated after the war. The General Congress of Bukovina proclaimed the union of the province with Romania on 28 November 1918, and the Grand National Assembly proclaimed the union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș with the kingdom on 1 December. Peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary delineated
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#17330847496455824-403: The Romanians as the fourth privileged nation was forced into exile. Uniate and Orthodox clerics and laymen jointly signed a plea for the Transylvanian Romanians' emancipation in 1791, but the monarch and the local authorities refused to grant their requests. The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca authorised the Russian ambassador in Istanbul to defend the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia (known as
5936-407: The September 1943 Allied armistice with Italy , Romania became the second Axis power in Europe in 1943–1944. After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, about 132,000 Jews – mainly Hungarian-speaking – were deported to extermination camps from Northern Transylvania with the Hungarian authorities' support. After the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, Iuliu Maniu ,
6048-399: The Soviet Union on 26 June 1940, Northern Transylvania to Hungary on 30 August, and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria in September. After the territorial losses, the King was forced to abdicate in favour of his minor son, Michael I , on 6 September, and Romania was transformed into a national-legionary state under the leadership of General Ion Antonescu . Antonescu signed
6160-409: The Soviet sphere of influence. Stalin's deputy instructed the King to make the Communists' candidate, Petru Groza , the prime minister in March 1945. The Romanian administration in Northern Transylvania was soon restored, and Groza's government carried out an agrarian reform. In February 1947, the Paris Peace Treaties confirmed the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania, but they also legalised
6272-415: The Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia . Ceaușescu even publicly condemned the action as "a big mistake, [and] a serious danger to peace in Europe and to the fate of Communism in the world". It was the only Communist state to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel after 1967's Six-Day War and established diplomatic relations with West Germany the same year. At the same time, close ties with
6384-405: The Székely and Saxon seats (or districts) were not subject to the voivodes' authority. Royal charters wrote of the " Vlachs ' land" in southern Transylvania in the early 13th century, indicating the existence of autonomous Romanian communities . Papal correspondence mentions the activities of Orthodox prelates among the Romanians in Muntenia in the 1230s. Also in the 13th century,
6496-472: The Székelys in 1764 . Princes Dimitrie Cantemir of Moldavia and Constantin Brâncoveanu of Wallachia concluded alliances with the Habsburg Monarchy and Russia against the Ottomans, but they were dethroned in 1711 and 1714, respectively. The sultans lost confidence in the native princes and appointed Orthodox merchants from the Phanar district of Istanbul to rule Moldova and Wallachia. The Phanariot princes pursued oppressive fiscal policies and dissolved
6608-409: The United Kingdom could not defend Romanian interests. German preparations for a new war required the regular supply of Romanian oil and agricultural products. The two countries concluded a treaty concerning the coordination of their economic policies in 1939, but the King could not persuade Adolf Hitler to guarantee Romania's frontiers. Romania was forced to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to
6720-418: The abolition of parasite classes such as that of untrained politicians . [...]'Bolshevism', cry the parasite politicians, accustomed to govern together with the highest power and their cries also alert the gentle folk, whose political judgment is chained in 'harmony'-related prejudice. — 'Truth is not anarchy ' — we reply." The land reform that was ultimately carried out did however reflect
6832-548: The army. The neighboring powers took advantage of the situation: the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northwestern part of Moldavia, or Bukovina , in 1775, and the Russian Empire seized the eastern half of Moldavia, or Bessarabia , in 1812. A census revealed that the Romanians were more numerous than any other ethnic group in Transylvania in 1733, but legislation continued to use contemptuous adjectives (such as "tolerated" and "admitted") when referring to them. The Uniate bishop , Inocențiu Micu-Klein who demanded recognition of
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#17330847496456944-442: The country and proclaimed Romania a people's republic . Romania remained under the direct military occupation and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's vast natural resources were drained continuously by mixed Soviet-Romanian companies ( SovRoms ) set up for unilateral exploitative purposes. In 1948, the state began to nationalise private firms and to collectivise agriculture. Until
7056-541: The early 1960s, the government severely curtailed political liberties and vigorously suppressed any dissent with the help of the Securitate —the Romanian secret police. During this period the regime launched several campaigns of purges during which numerous " enemies of the state " and "parasite elements" were targeted for different forms of punishment including: deportation, internal exile, internment in forced labour camps and prisons—sometimes for life—as well as extrajudicial killing . Nevertheless, anti-communist resistance
7168-456: The early 7th century. The Goths were expanding towards the Lower Danube from the 230s, forcing the native peoples to flee to the Roman Empire or to accept their suzerainty . The Goths' rule ended abruptly when the Huns invaded their territory in 376, causing new waves of migrations. The Huns forced the remnants of the local population into submission, but their empire collapsed in 454. The Gepids took possession of
7280-414: The evacuation of the province Dacia Trajana in the 270s. Scholars supporting the continuity theory are convinced that most Latin-speaking commoners stayed behind when the army and civil administration were withdrawn. The Romans did not abandon their fortresses along the northern banks of the Lower Danube for decades, and Dobruja (known as Scythia Minor ) remained an integral part of the Roman Empire until
7392-401: The expectation that the land reform project was to be endorsed by parliamentary initiative. It was advanced later in the same day by the PȚ's Grigore Iunian . King Ferdinand I intervened in favor of the National Liberals, installing Averescu, who had reached an agreement with Brătianu, as Prime Minister . A major factor in this move was pressure from the landowners to remove a threat to
7504-413: The fact that most of the former industrial and economic enterprises which were built and operated during the communist period were closed, mainly as a result of the policies of privatisation of the post–1989 regimes. Corruption has been a major issue in contemporary Romanian politics. In November 2015, massive anti-corruption protests which developed in the wake of the Colectiv nightclub fire led to
7616-540: The fastest growing in the European Union, primarily driven by the service sector . Romania is a net exporter of cars and electric energy worldwide, and its citizens benefit from some of the fastest internet speeds globally . Romania is a member of several international organizations , including the European Union , NATO , and the BSEC . "Romania" derives from the local name for Romanian ( Romanian : român ), which in turn derives from Latin romanus , meaning " Roman " or "of Rome ". This ethnonym for Romanians
7728-479: The federalisation of Austria-Hungary and the Romanian intellectuals established a cultural association to promote the use of Romanian. Fearing Russian expansionism, Romania secretly joined the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in 1883, but public opinion remained hostile to Austria-Hungary. Romania seized Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War in 1913. German and Austrian-Hungarian diplomacy supported Bulgaria during
7840-416: The former Dacia province. Place names that are of Slavic origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population lived in the territory. The first Slavic groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th century, in Transylvania around 600. The nomadic Avars defeated the Gepids and established a powerful empire around 570. The Bulgars , who also came from
7952-418: The funds he and Cretzianu had appropriated in 1945, the two managed to wrest political control over the Romanian exiles from former prime-minister Nicolae Rădescu . According to a report later written by Vișoianu, half the funds were collected by Cretzianu, and the rest were deposited in a secret fund with the Bank of Switzerland. Of this money, a small part was used to support the work of a group of Romanians at
8064-597: The influence of some ideas supported by Mihalache, and was itself favorable to small holdings. Mihalache became vice-president of the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ) in 1926, when the PNR and PȚ groups decided to unite in order to combat the effective monopoly the PNL had ensured after the voting of the 1923 Constitution . The new political group moderated many of its demands, and was not as adverse to industrialization as it had previously been. However, in 1928, Mihalache's voiced
8176-471: The issue of land redistribution: promised by Ion I. C. Brătianu 's National Liberal (PNL) government during World War I , and partly carried out in December 1918, the move viewed as incomplete - expropriations had not led to a redefinition of peasant property, and land had remained with provisional cooperatives instead of being allocated to members. Mihalache supported the fragmentation of all land property in
8288-578: The latter. Mihalache is also known to have traveled incognito to various locations, as a means to observe first-hand abuse by government officials. After a deadlock over these issues in Parliament , Averescu's group and the National Liberals began negotiation a new parliamentary majority; advised by Nicolae Iorga , who was president of the Chamber , Mihalache handed in his resignation (March 12, 1920), with
8400-457: The local Vlach rulers were subject to the king's authority in 1247. Basarab I of Wallachia united the Romanian polities between the southern Carpathians and the Lower Danube in the 1310s. He defeated the Hungarian royal army in the Battle of Posada and secured the independence of Wallachia in 1330. The second Romanian principality, Moldavia , achieved full autonomy during
8512-680: The local chieftains and established Roman Catholic bishoprics (office of a bishop) in Transylvania and Banat in the early 11th century. Significant Pecheneg groups fled to the Byzantine Empire in the 1040s; the Oghuz Turks followed them, and the nomadic Cumans became the dominant power of the steppes in the 1060s. Cooperation between the Cumans and the Vlachs against the Byzantine Empire
8624-669: The local tribes. Among the native peoples, Herodotus listed the Getae of the Lower Danube region, the Agathyrsi of Transylvania and the Syginnae of the plains along the river Tisza at the beginning of the 5th century BC. Centuries later, Strabo associated the Getae with the Dacians who dominated the lands along the southern Carpathian Mountains in the 1st century BC. Burebista
8736-559: The most talented princes— Gabriel Bethlen of Transylvania, Matei Basarab of Wallachia, and Vasile Lupu of Moldavia—strengthened their autonomy. The united armies of the Holy League expelled the Ottoman troops from Central Europe between 1684 and 1699, and the Principality of Transylvania was integrated into the Habsburg monarchy . The Habsburgs supported the Catholic clergy and persuaded
8848-516: The name Romania on 21 February 1862. Cuza's government carried out a series of reforms, including the secularisation of the property of monasteries and agrarian reform, but a coalition of conservative and radical politicians forced him to abdicate in February ;1866. Cuza's successor, a German prince, Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (or Carol I), was elected in May. The parliament adopted
8960-519: The new borders in 1919 and 1920, but the Soviet Union did not acknowledge the loss of Bessarabia. Romania achieved its greatest territorial extent, expanding from the pre-war 137,000 to 295,000 km (53,000 to 114,000 sq mi). A new electoral system granted voting rights to all adult male citizens, and a series of radical agrarian reforms transformed the country into a "nation of small landowners" between 1918 and 1921. Gender equality as
9072-492: The north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a mainly continental climate , and an area of 238,397 km (92,046 sq mi) with a population of 19 million people. Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union . Europe's second-longest river,
9184-778: The oldest known Homo sapiens in Europe. Neolithic agriculture spread after the arrival of a mixed group of people from Thessaly in the 6th millennium BC. Excavations near a salt spring at Lunca yielded the earliest evidence for salt exploitation in Europe; here salt production began between the 5th and 4th millennium BC. The first permanent settlements developed into "proto-cities", which were larger than 320 hectares (800 acres). The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture —the best known archaeological culture of Old Europe —flourished in Muntenia , southeastern Transylvania and northeastern Moldavia between c. 5500 to 2750 BC. During its middle phase (c. 4000 to 3500 BC), populations belonging to
9296-405: The opinion polls. This surprise victory was attributed by many analysts to the implication of the Romanian diaspora in the voting process, with almost 50% casting their votes for Klaus Iohannis in the first round, compared to only 16% for Ponta. In 2019, Iohannis was re-elected president in a landslide victory over former Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă . The post–1989 period is characterised by
9408-592: The party's call for a march on Bucharest, meant to topple Vintilă Brătianu 's PNL cabinet: in May, large crowds gathered in Alba Iulia — despite the initial success in rallying all forces opposed to the National Liberals, the PNȚ did not capitalize on the gains, and continued instead to block activity in parliament. He served as Minister of Agriculture in the Iuliu Maniu 's government of 1928–1930 (being seconded by Armand Călinescu ), then, between 1930 and 1933, he
9520-460: The peasant tradition of his native Muscel County . Mihalache became Vaida-Voevod's Minister of Agriculture on December 16, 1919, in a cabinet replacing that of General Artur Văitoianu . Despite having led a populist movement, the People's Party , Averescu continuously opposed Mihalache's push for widespread land reform . The new minister found himself at odds with the political establishment over
9632-405: The peasant's needs identified with the national interest : "Thus — after so many years of 'harmony', we arrive today as the 'agitators of social order' and clearly state: Enough with the lie about social harmony. There is a conflict between social classes . We do not deny it, but rather bring it to light. We wish to take part in the fight in the name of an underprivileged working class ,
9744-509: The peasantry. We wish to rally it in a class party. We shall not ask anybody for power, we shall fight to have the fair number of representatives of the peasant class in Parliament. May each class fight for this [that is, for their respective seats] and parliament will give itself the government it sees fit. As for "social harmony" — as this has been up to now — we demand a particular balance between producing classes and wish for
9856-592: The presence of units of the Red Army in the country. During the Soviet occupation of Romania , the communist-dominated government called for new elections in 1946, which they fraudulently won , with a fabricated 70% majority of the vote. Thus, they rapidly established themselves as the dominant political force. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , a communist party leader imprisoned in 1933, escaped in 1944 to become Romania's first communist leader. In February 1947, he and others forced King Michael I to abdicate and leave
9968-648: The principal sector of economy, but several branches of industry—especially the production of coal, oil, metals, synthetic rubber, explosives and cosmetics—developed during the interwar period . With oil production of 5.8 million tons in 1930, Romania ranked sixth in the world. Two parties, the National Liberal Party and the National Peasants' Party , dominated political life, but the Great Depression in Romania brought about significant changes in
10080-618: The provincials enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity in the 2nd century. Scholars accepting the Daco-Roman continuity theory—one of the main theories about the origin of the Romanians —say that the cohabitation of the native Dacians and the Roman colonists in Roman Dacia was the first phase of the Romanians' ethnogenesis . The Carpians , Goths , and other neighbouring tribes made regular raids against Dacia from the 210s. The Romans could not resist, and Emperor Aurelian ordered
10192-467: The reign of Bogdan I around 1360. A local dynasty ruled the Despotate of Dobruja in the second half of the 14th century, but the Ottoman Empire took possession of the territory after 1388. Princes Mircea I and Vlad III of Wallachia , and Stephen III of Moldavia defended their countries' independence against the Ottomans. Most Wallachian and Moldavian princes paid
10304-403: The resignation of Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta. During 2017–2018, in response to measures which were perceived to weaken the fight against corruption, some of the biggest protests since 1989 took place in Romania, with over 500,000 people protesting across the country. Nevertheless, there have been significant reforms aimed at tackling corruption. A National Anticorruption Directorate
10416-558: The respect of human rights and freedoms by the Communist government in Bucharest. In 1994 he died of cancer at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland , at age 96. Romania – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central , Eastern and Southeast Europe . It borders Ukraine to
10528-459: The rivers Dniester and Dnieper) under Romanian administration. Romanian and German troops massacred at least 160,000 local Jews in these territories; more than 105,000 Jews and about 11,000 Gypsies died during their deportation from Bessarabia to Transnistria. Most of the Jewish population of Moldavia, Wallachia, Banat and Southern Transylvania survived, but their fundamental rights were limited. After
10640-734: The same regions. The reliability of the Gesta is debated. Some scholars regard it as a basically accurate account, others describe it as a literary work filled with invented details. The Pechenegs seized the lowlands abandoned by the Hungarians to the east of the Carpathians. Byzantine missionaries proselytised in the lands east of the Tisa from the 940s and Byzantine troops occupied Dobruja in the 970s. The first king of Hungary , Stephen I , who supported Western European missionaries, defeated
10752-546: The separate status of Transylvania in the Habsburg Monarchy, but the Austro-Hungarian Compromise brought about the union of the province with Hungary in 1867. Ethnic Romanian politicians sharply opposed the Hungarian government's attempts to transform Hungary into a national state, especially the laws prescribing the obligatory teaching of Hungarian. Leaders of the Romanian National Party proposed
10864-460: The small-scale agricultural entrepreneur will not 'organize' himself and will not enlighten himself. But the cure was found: the association of peasants into agricultural cooperatives, which bring: money, as well as utensils, as well as regulated sales , as well as industrialization ." He notably took the initiative in calling for peaceful marches of peasants and members of the rural intelligentsia , and would almost always dress in accordance with
10976-749: The steppes north of the Lower Danube in the 830s, but the Bulgarians and the Pechenegs jointly forced them to abandon this region for the lowlands along the Middle Danube around 894. Centuries later, the Gesta Hungarorum wrote of the invading Magyars' wars against three dukes— Glad , Menumorut and the Vlach Gelou —for Banat, Crișana and Transylvania. The Gesta also listed many peoples—Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs, Khazars , and Székelys —inhabiting
11088-458: The sultan's right to confirm the election of the princes. Mihail Kogălniceanu , Nicolae Bălcescu and other leaders of the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia demanded the emancipation of the peasants and the union of the two principalities, but Russian and Ottoman troops crushed their revolt. The Wallachian revolutionists were the first to adopt the blue, yellow and red tricolour as
11200-559: The system (notably, Constantin Garoflid filed a complaint with the king, while Mihalache caused scandal when he publicly assured peasants that the monarch's opposition was ultimately irrelevant. At the same time, the PȚ's politics had given way to fears that it was a Romanian equivalent of Aleksandar Stamboliyski 's Agrarian Union of Bulgaria , or even a parallel to Bolshevism . To the latter accusation, Mihalache once replied indicating, as other leaders of his party had done, his belief that
11312-711: The violent Romanian Revolution of December 1989 in which thousands were killed or injured. After a trial, Ceaușescu and his wife were executed by firing squad at a military base outside Bucharest on 25 December 1989. The charges for which they were executed were, among others, genocide by starvation. After the 1989 revolution, the National Salvation Front (FSN), led by Ion Iliescu , took partial and superficial multi-party democratic and free market measures after seizing power as an ad interim governing body. In March 1990, violent outbreaks went on in Târgu Mureș as
11424-632: The war against the Central Powers in 1916. The German and Austrian-Hungarian troops defeated the Romanian army and occupied three-quarters of the country by early 1917. After the October Revolution turned Russia from an ally into an enemy, Romania was forced to sign a harsh peace treaty with the Central Powers in May 1918, but the collapse of Russia also enabled the union of Bessarabia with Romania . King Ferdinand again mobilised
11536-611: The war, bringing about a rapprochement between Romania and the Triple Entente of France, Russia and the United Kingdom. The country remained neutral when World War I broke out in 1914, but Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu started negotiations with the Entente Powers. After they promised Austrian-Hungarian territories with a majority of ethnic Romanian population to Romania in the Treaty of Bucharest , Romania entered
11648-481: Was again united under Decebalus around 85 AD. He resisted the Romans for decades, but the Roman army defeated his troops in 106 AD. Emperor Trajan transformed Banat , Oltenia , and the greater part of Transylvania into a new province called Roman Dacia , but Dacian and Sarmatian tribes continued to dominate the lands along the Roman frontiers. The Romans pursued an organised colonisation policy, and
11760-692: Was an unofficial advisor to the opposition to the dictatorial regime of Ion Antonescu . In April 1944 he went on a secret mission to Cairo , where he helped negotiate the terms of Romania's armistice with the Allies and its subsequent participation in the war against Nazi Germany . On 25 May 1944, he presented an amended proposal for armistice terms, drawn by a committee consisting of Ghiță Popp [ ro ] and Ioan Hudiță ( PNȚ ), Bebe Brătianu and C. Zamfirescu ( PNL ), Ștefan Voitec and Iosif Jumanca ( PSD ), Petre Constantinescu-Iași and Vasile Bâgu ( PCR ). The Romanians hoped to conclude terms only with
11872-579: Was dissolved in 1975), Vișoianu would send messages to the Romanians in the country, read on the BBC World Service , Voice of America , and Radio Free Europe . He also held meetings with U.S. officials, such as John Foster Dulles , Dean Acheson , and John C. Campbell, and wrote memoirs to the U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and the President of France , Charles de Gaulle , in which he called on senior Western officials to intervene for
11984-507: Was elected president, in 2000 Iliescu returned to power, while Traian Băsescu was elected in 2004 and narrowly re-elected in 2009. In 2009, the country was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund as an aftershock of the Great Recession in Europe . In November 2014, Sibiu former FDGR/DFDR mayor Klaus Iohannis was elected president, unexpectedly defeating former Prime Minister Victor Ponta , who had been previously leading in
12096-639: Was formed in the country in 2002, inspired by similar institutions in Belgium , Norway and Spain . Since 2014, Romania launched an anti-corruption effort that led to the prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative offenses by the National Anticorruption Directorate . After the end of the Cold War , Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe and the United States, eventually joining NATO in 2004, and hosting
12208-499: Was installed in late 1947 outlawed the PNȚ altogether, alleging that Mihalache and Maniu had been trying to flee the country from the airfield in Tămădău , and had planned to give Romania a capitalist government-in-exile . Their capture on July 14, 1947 ( see Tămădău Affair ) and trial by a kangaroo court led to sentencing on November 11 to life imprisonment with requirements of penal labour . Mihalache, after having been detained in
12320-464: Was one of the most long-lasting and strongest in the Eastern Bloc. A 2006 commission estimated the number of direct victims of the Communist repression at two million people. In 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power and started to conduct the country's foreign policy more independently from the Soviet Union. Thus, communist Romania was the only Warsaw Pact country which refused to participate in
12432-529: Was the Minister of Internal Affairs (he also held the office of Foreign Minister between late 1930 and early 1931). In this latter capacity, Mihalache outlawed the fascist Iron Guard in January 1931 (under the premiership of Gheorghe Mironescu ), following a period of violence and agitation by the movement. The measure was to prove inefficient in time, as the new cabinet allowed Corneliu Zelea Codreanu , leader of
12544-553: Was the first Dacian ruler to unite the local tribes. He also conquered the Greek colonies in Dobruja and the neighbouring peoples as far as the Middle Danube and the Balkan Mountains between around 55 and 44 BC. After Burebista was murdered in 44 BC, his kingdom collapsed. The Romans reached Dacia during Burebista's reign and conquered Dobruja in 46 AD. Dacia
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