The History of Democracy in Romania By Mara Badea, Ioana Dobre, Mihaela Dulica, Ana Stan and Sara Cireap

ERASMUS+ EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Constitution of Romania The fundamental law of a country which establishes the state,s power, the relation between these, the rights and the duties of the citizens.

The History of Romania Monarchy in Romania In 1866, Carol I, a foreign prince came to Romania. He later became king, after Romania gained its independece in 1877. He died in 1914 and was followed by his nephew, King Ferdinand together with his wife Queen Maria. Carol I made one of the most modern constitutions in that time. It guaranteed private propriety, freedom of speech, total freedom of the press and established separation of powers.

WW1 The Romanian Kingdom entered the First World War in 1916, fighting against the Central Powers. The main goal was to free Transylvania. After immense losses of lives and two years of occupation, the union of Transylvania, Bucovina and Basarabia with Romania finally happened on december 1st, 1918.

The Interbelic period In the two decades that followed, the Romanian Kingdom implemented major social reforms promised during the First World War. The world crisis of 1929 also affected Romania, but overall the economy recovered after the war. During this period of time, the citizens of romania were allowed to vote for their leader.

WW2 During the first part of the war, Romania remained neutral until 1940 when big parts of its territory were occupied, after which it entered the war alongside Germany. Howwever, later on, Romania changed sides, fighting against Germany and the Axis, mobilizing over half a million soldiers to free Hungary. Still, Romania lost Basarabia.

The Communist Regime At the end of the Second World War, the country fell under the influence of the USSR and a harsh communist regime was installed. The most important communist leader was Nicolae Ceausescu (1965-1989), whose leadership made impossible any kind of reform, and the last decade of communism was one of strict ratios for food, electricity, heat and gas.

The Revolution of 1989 The people were sick of the communist regime, leading to the violent revolution of 1989, during which Nicolaae Ceausescu and his wife were executed. The death count was between 689-1290 romanian citizens.

The Democracy After the presidential and the parliamentary elections took place, Ion Iliescu became the president of Romania, a semipresidential republic Democracy is based on the representation principle. It represents the power of the people, leading through reprezentatives, allected by universal vote in presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The laws are clear, publicized, stable, just, protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights.

Romania Today In spring 2004, Romania joined NATO and signed an accession treaty to join the EU. On the 1st of january 2007, Romania became the 26th member of the EU. The gouverment also mentained good relations with the other countries.

Romania today Romania is opened to protect the human rights from which you benefit no matter what your skin color, sex, language origins or political beleifs are. Some of these rights are: The liberty of thinking, being conscious and having a religion The liberty of expressing yourself The liberty of associating yourself with whoever you want The liberty of movement

The divison of the powers of the sttate The Parliament The legislative power The President The Government The executive power Courts of law The judicary power

The president of Romania The president represents the Romanian state and garantees the national independence, the territorial unity and integrity of the country. The current president of Romania is Klaus Iohannis. Some of his duties are: To make sure the constitution is respected To mediate the public authorities, the parliament, the governmet and the justice. To sign international papers To approve or deny the laws suggested by the parliament

Voting in Romania Voting in Romania is universal and the minimum age to vote is 18 years. You can vote in local, parliamentary and presidential elections or during referendums.