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Politics

Communist background

Romania’s communist era lasted from 1947 until the end of 1989. Nicholae Ceausescu became the country’s leader in 1965, and during the 1970s a program of rapid industrialisation was implemented, in spite of the damage this caused to other areas of the economy, such as farming. Romania had acquired a large national debt by 1981, partly a result of the extent of investment into the petrochemical industry. This led to a program of austerity, during which the Romanian people suffered shortages of food, electricity and other goods. In 1989, an anti-government uprising occurred, the army joined forces with the insurgents and Ceausescu was deposed and executed on Christmas Day.

Recovery from communism

For Romania, the next decade was spent in reviving the country’s economy and becoming a market-based economy. Problems the country faced during this time included price increases, food shortages and the consequent uprisings among the people. As the Romanian people had little experience of a market economy, the process of privatising government-owned companies was slow, and corruption was rife. From 1990 to 1996, when a centrist party was elected, the political arena was led by former communists under President Ion Iliescu. In 2000 Iliescu returned to power for his third four-year term, when he was succeeded by Traian Basescu.

President Basescu

Basescu was praised around the world for his work on combating corruption, and in 2005 he instigated the process of looking into files of the Securitate – the secret police force that existed during the years of communism. He was accused in some quarters of collaborating with the Securitate, but researchers have rejected these claims.

Impeachment denied

Tensions between Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu’s government regarding reforms came to a head when the parliament suspended and attempted to impeach Basescu, accusing him of exceeding his authority, but in May 2007 the electorate voted in a referendum not to impeach him. Basescu is popular with the Romanian public in general, many of whom back his work against corruption.

EU membership

Important steps were taken by the government in relatively recent years, including the necessary constitutional changes – voted for by Romanian citizens - to make the country eligible for EU membership. In 2004, Romania joined NATO. In 2005, it signed an accession treaty with the EU, and in January 2007 it became an EU member - the effects of membership on the country’s economy are already becoming apparent. Though there is still work to do, Romania today has reached a point of political stability greater than it has previously achieved.

Related items

Documents and Reports

	Romania property investment report (368Kb)
Documents and Reports

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