President of Romania

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The President of Romania (Romanian: Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. According to the Romanian constitution, the president represents the Romanian state and will be the guarantor of the national independence, unity and territorial integrity of the country. The President of Romania oversees respect for the Constitution and the proper functioning of public authorities. He is also the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

The current President of Romania is Klaus Iohannis since December 21, 2014.

History

Since 1862 there had been a hereditary head of state in Romania, first as a principality and later as a kingdom. This leadership was exercised by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family until 1947. With the end of World War II and the defeat of Romania, Soviet troops liberated the country and introduced it into the Soviet orbit.

Groza's leftist government won the general elections of March 19, 1946, which gave an overwhelming majority to the National Democratic Front, which included the PCR and other minority parties. After the elections, and before the denunciations of electoral fraud, the traditional monarchical parties were declared illegal (August 1947) and the General Assembly, constituted entirely by the communists, forced King Miguel I to abdicate, he was expelled from the country.

Romania was constituted as a socialist state in imitation of the Soviet Union, therefore, there was no head of state to use, but the Grand National Assembly, the supreme legislative body, elected a presidium (committee) to direct the government while the legislative body was not in session (it was convened twice a year). The leadership of this presidium was similar to the leadership of State in countries with a democratic regime. In 1961 this headquarters became that of the Council of State.

In 1974 an authentic presidency was established in the figure of the dictator Nicolae Caeucescu. With the fall of communism, Romania became a semi-presidential republic, maintaining the post of president elected by popular vote.

Choice

The president is directly elected by a two-round system, if he does not obtain a majority of votes in the first round. His election must be validated by the Constitutional Court of the country (article 82). During his term, the head of state enjoys immunity.

Command

The president will serve for five years, and may be re-elected for another term. However, in case of war or catastrophe, the president may see his mandate extended by organic law (article 83). During his term of office, the President of Romania may not be a member of any party and may not hold any other public office (Article 84)

Constitutional powers

Among the powers of the president is the appointment of the prime minister, after consulting the parties that make up the parliamentary arc and, once the candidate has obtained the vote of confidence of the Romanian parliament. However, the president cannot force the resignation of the prime minister (article 107), who is responsible only to the legislature, but he can appoint a new interim prime minister within the government in the cases listed in article 106 (in the case of resignation, by revocation, by the loss of electoral rights, by incompatibility, by death) until the formation of a new government.

In his relationship with the government, the president may consult the government on various issues, and also attend the deliberations of the Council of Ministers, presiding over said meetings (articles 86 and 87). In his relationship with parliament, the president, after consulting the presidents of both chambers, can dissolve them if the candidate for prime minister does not obtain parliamentary confidence; he can also dissolve it once during his term and will not be able to do so when there are six months left to finish his term (article 89).

Among its other powers are to call a referendum, conclude international treaties in agreement with the national government, appoint or revoke the Romanian diplomatic corps, accredit the foreign diplomatic corps, address messages to Parliament, declare a state of siege or state throughout the country or in certain municipalities and grant pardons and decorations (articles 88, 90, 91, 93 and 94)

In defense matters, the president, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, will hold the position of President of the Country's Supreme Defense Council, and may decree, with the prior authorization of parliament, the total or partial mobilization of the armed forces (article 92)

Vacancy and temporary employment

If the office of president becomes vacant due to resignation, dismissal, permanent impossibility or death, it will be replaced with the title of "interim president of Romania" (in Romanian: Președinte Interimar al României) by the President of the Senate or the President of the Chamber of Deputies in that hierarchical order (Article 98). An interim president will not be able to communicate messages to parliament or call referendums.

With the position vacant, the government will call presidential elections within thirty days from the moment it became vacant (article 97).

Suspension of the President of Romania

If the president seriously violates the Constitution, he can be suspended from office by Parliament in joint session. If the proposed suspension passes, a referendum will be called to decide the removal within no more than 30 days from the suspension (article 95). If the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, in joint session, accuse the acting president of high treason against Romania, he will be suspended from office by right. The accusations are judged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

The first suspended president in Romanian history was Traian Băsescu. Parliament dismissed him on April 19, 2007 after accusing him of 19 cases of constitutional abuse, such as ordering the listening of ministers' calls or trying to usurp control of the government from the prime minister, among other accusations. The Romanian Constitutional Court did not uphold his dismissal, finding no evidence to support the charges. Elections were held on 19 May to decide whether Băsescu should continue as president. The results allowed him to continue in office, with a popular support of 74.48%. During the period that he was removed from office, Nicolae Văcăroiu acted as interim president.

Parliament dismissed him for the second time on July 6, 2012, taking over as interim Crin Antonescu. The impeachment proposal was presented by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, of the center-left Social Liberal Union (USL) coalition, which has accused Basescu of abuse of power, violating the Constitution and usurping the role of prime minister and his powers, as well as despising his constitutional role as mediator between institutions. Once again, the Romanian Constitutional Court endorsed him as president, and rendered useless the referendum despite the result (87.53% in favor of dismissal). Băsescu returned to office on August 22, 2012.

Presidents of Romania (1974-)

Name		Home	Fin	Party	Elections
Socialist Republic of Romania (1965-1989)
	Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918-1989) Chairman	28 March 1974	22 December 1989	PCR	1974 1980 1985
Romania (1989-)
	Collective headquarters	22 December 1989	26 December 1989	FSN	-
	Ion Iliescu (1930-) Chairman	26 December 1989	29 November 1996	FSN	1990 1992
	Emil Constantinescu (1939-) Chairman	29 November 1996	20 December 2000	Independent (supported by PNTCD)	1996
	Ion Iliescu (1930-) Chairman	20 December 2000	20 December 2004	Independent (supported by PSD)	2000
	Traian Băsescu (1951-) Chairman	20 December 2004	20 April 2007	Independent (supported by PDL)	2004
	Nicolae Văcăroiu (1943-) Acting President	20 April 2007	23 May 2007	PSD	President of the Senate
	Traian Băsescu (1951-) Chairman	23 May 2007	10 July 2012	Independent (supported by PDL)	2009
	Crin Antonescu (1959-) Acting President	10 July 2012	27 August 2012	PNL	President of the Senate
	Traian Băsescu (1951-) Chairman	27 August 2012	21 December 2014	Independent (supported by PDL)	-
	Klaus Iohannis (1959-) Chairman	21 December 2014	Present	Independent (supported by PNL)	2014 2019