National Salvation Front
Encyclopedia
The National Salvation Front was the governing body of Romania
in the first weeks after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
, subsequently turned into a political party. FSN is the common root of two of the three largest political parties in Romania today: the Social Democratic Party
(PSD) and the Democratic Liberal Party
(PD-L).
that criticised his abuses of power and his economic policies. The so-called "Letter of the Six
" was circulated in the Western media and read on Radio Free Europe
, where it was described as the manifesto of an underground organisation called the National Salvation Front (FSN).
The creation of the FSN was officially announced to the public by Ion Iliescu
in radio and TV addresses on December 22, 1989, after the overthrow of Ceauşescu
, and took the power from the Communist authorities
. Within four days, the FSN formed an interim government, Ion Iliescu being the president and Petre Roman
as the interim Prime Minister. The initial membership of FSN came from diverse backgrounds: intellectuals, students, army officers, but the leaders were mostly former communist officials (see List of members of the National Salvation Front Council).
(PNŢCD) and the National Liberal Party
(PNL), were registered.
At first, the FSN announced that it is not a party and it would not nominate candidates in the upcoming elections. Silviu Brucan
launched the concept of the big party and supported the transformation of FSN into a political party. Some members of FSN, like Dumitru Mazilu, Mircea Dinescu
, Ion Caramitru
, Andrei Pleşu
, Dan Hăulică, Gabriel Liiceanu
, Doina Cornea
resigned before FSN became a political party.
On February 6, 1990, the FSN, transformed itself into a political party, in order to be able to run in the upcoming elections. Except for a few newspapers, FSN had extensive control over the Romanian mass-media, particularly the state owned television company.
Anti-FSN demonstrations were mounted by the opposition parties PNŢCD and PNL
in late January and late February 1990, that degenerated into violence against state authorities. In turn, Iliescu called on the 'working class' to support the FSN against what he called "fascist forces, trying to destabilise the country". This has resulted in what were named the first and second Mineriad
s.
However FSN agreed to allow other parties to participate in the provisional government. The new governing body, the Provisional National Unity Council (Consiliul Provizoriu de Uniune Naţională, CPUN), still dominated by FSN, would run the country from early February 1990 until the elections.
Another, much larger, demonstration (the Golaniad
) against FSN's participation in the elections was organised in April 1990 and lasted 52 days, until June 13–15, when it was violently repressed by the third Mineriad.
Since the opposition had no access to the state-owned media, the FSN needed no specific program in order to win the elections, being a catch-all party.
FSN and its candidate Ion Iliescu comfortably won the legislative and presidential
elections on May 20, 1990, obtaining a majority in both the Chamber of Deputies
and the Senate
. Petre Roman remained Prime Minister, and its government started cautious economic reforms.
(Frontul Democrat al Salvării Nationale, FDSN), which eventually developed to the current Social Democratic Party
(Partidul Social Democrat, PSD).
Petre Roman remained leader of the FSN. On May 28, 1993, the party was renamed Democratic Party - National Salvation Front (Partidul Democrat - Frontul Salvării Naţionale, PD-FSN), before shortening its name to Democratic Party (PD).
. The parties that emerged from the National Salvation Front (the Social Democratic Party
and the Democratic Liberal Party
) governed or participated in government coalitions from 1990 until today.
Also the current Romania
n President Traian Băsescu
entered politics as an FSN member and served as Minister of Transportation in several FSN governments. It is worth quoting what Băsescu
(from the Democratic Party) remarked rhetorically in a live TV debate with Adrian Năstase
(from the Social Democratic Party
) before the 2004 run-off presidential election
:
"You know what Romania's greatest curse is right now? It's that Romanians have to choose between two former Communist Party
members."
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in the first weeks after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, subsequently turned into a political party. FSN is the common root of two of the three largest political parties in Romania today: the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(PSD) and the Democratic Liberal Party
Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)
The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...
(PD-L).
Creation and rise to power
In March 1989 six prominent members of the Communist Party wrote an open letter to Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
that criticised his abuses of power and his economic policies. The so-called "Letter of the Six
Letter of the Six
In March 1989, Silviu Brucan, together with five other Communist dignitaries , signed the open letter known as Scrisoarea celor şase - "The Letter of the Six"....
" was circulated in the Western media and read on Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
, where it was described as the manifesto of an underground organisation called the National Salvation Front (FSN).
The creation of the FSN was officially announced to the public by Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
in radio and TV addresses on December 22, 1989, after the overthrow of Ceauşescu
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, and took the power from the Communist authorities
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
. Within four days, the FSN formed an interim government, Ion Iliescu being the president and Petre Roman
Petre Roman
Petre Roman is a Romanian politician and a former Prime Minister of Romania. He served from 1989 to 1991, when his government was overthrown by the intervention of the miners led by Miron Cozma. Roman is a member of the Club of Madrid, grouping 66 democratic former heads of state and government...
as the interim Prime Minister. The initial membership of FSN came from diverse backgrounds: intellectuals, students, army officers, but the leaders were mostly former communist officials (see List of members of the National Salvation Front Council).
Interim government
On December 27, FSN decreed the abolishment of the one-party system and the convocation of elections. Shortly after, the two most important pre-Communist Romanian parties, the National Peasants' PartyNational Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party was a Romanian political party, formed in 1926 through the fusion of the Romanian National Party from Transylvania and the Peasants' Party . It was in power between 1928 and 1933, with brief interruptions...
(PNŢCD) and the National Liberal Party
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
(PNL), were registered.
At first, the FSN announced that it is not a party and it would not nominate candidates in the upcoming elections. Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan was a Romanian communist politician. Though he disagreed with Nicolae Ceauşescu's policies, he never gave up his communist beliefs and did not oppose communist ideology...
launched the concept of the big party and supported the transformation of FSN into a political party. Some members of FSN, like Dumitru Mazilu, Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu is a Romanian poet, journalist and editor.He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan Dinescu, a metalworker and Aurelia . Dinescu studied at the Faculty of Journalism of the Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy, and was considered a gifted young poet during his youth, with several poetry...
, Ion Caramitru
Ion Caramitru
Ion Caramitru is a Romanian stage and film actor, stage director, as well as a political figure. He was Minister of Culture between 1996 and 2000, in the Romanian Democratic Convention cabinets of Victor Ciorbea, Gavril Dejeu, Radu Vasile, Alexandru Athanasiu, and Mugur Isărescu.-Early life and...
, Andrei Pleşu
Andrei Plesu
Andrei Gabriel Pleşu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic, and politician.- Biography :Born in Bucharest, the son of Radu Pleşu, a surgeon and Zoe Pleşu , he spent much of his early youth in the country side...
, Dan Hăulică, Gabriel Liiceanu
Gabriel Liiceanu
Gabriel Liiceanu is a Romanian philosopher.He graduated from University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy in 1965, and from Faculty of Classical Languages in 1973. He earned a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Bucharest in 1976....
, Doina Cornea
Doina Cornea
Doina Cornea is a Romanian human rights activist and French professor. She was notable as a dissident during the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu.-Dissidence under communism:...
resigned before FSN became a political party.
On February 6, 1990, the FSN, transformed itself into a political party, in order to be able to run in the upcoming elections. Except for a few newspapers, FSN had extensive control over the Romanian mass-media, particularly the state owned television company.
Anti-FSN demonstrations were mounted by the opposition parties PNŢCD and PNL
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
in late January and late February 1990, that degenerated into violence against state authorities. In turn, Iliescu called on the 'working class' to support the FSN against what he called "fascist forces, trying to destabilise the country". This has resulted in what were named the first and second Mineriad
Mineriad
See also The 1990s: the rise and decline of miners' unionsA Mineriad is the term used to name any of the successive violent interventions of miners in Bucharest. These interventions were generally seen as aimed at wrestling policy changes or simply material advantages from the current political...
s.
However FSN agreed to allow other parties to participate in the provisional government. The new governing body, the Provisional National Unity Council (Consiliul Provizoriu de Uniune Naţională, CPUN), still dominated by FSN, would run the country from early February 1990 until the elections.
Another, much larger, demonstration (the Golaniad
Golaniad
The Golaniad was a protest in Romania in the University Square, Bucharest. It was initiated by students and professors at the University of Bucharest....
) against FSN's participation in the elections was organised in April 1990 and lasted 52 days, until June 13–15, when it was violently repressed by the third Mineriad.
First elected government
According to Steven Roper, the FSN had strong support among the peasants and the urban industrial workers, while the PNL and PNŢCD had strong support among the intellectuals.Since the opposition had no access to the state-owned media, the FSN needed no specific program in order to win the elections, being a catch-all party.
FSN and its candidate Ion Iliescu comfortably won the legislative and presidential
Romanian presidential election, 1990
These are the results of the Romanian presidential election of May 20, 1990:-Results:...
elections on May 20, 1990, obtaining a majority in both the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
and the Senate
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
. Petre Roman remained Prime Minister, and its government started cautious economic reforms.
Breakup
After growing tensions between Iliescu and Roman, on April 7, 1992, Iliescu and many other members left the FSN and created the Democratic National Salvation FrontSocial Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(Frontul Democrat al Salvării Nationale, FDSN), which eventually developed to the current Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(Partidul Social Democrat, PSD).
Petre Roman remained leader of the FSN. On May 28, 1993, the party was renamed Democratic Party - National Salvation Front (Partidul Democrat - Frontul Salvării Naţionale, PD-FSN), before shortening its name to Democratic Party (PD).
Legacy
In one way or another, the National Salvation Front had and still has a major impact on the post-1989 Romanian politicsPolitics of Romania
Politics of Romania take place in a framework of a semi-presidential parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Romania is the head of government and the President of Romania exercises the functions of head of state. Romania has a multi-party system. Executive...
. The parties that emerged from the National Salvation Front (the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
and the Democratic Liberal Party
Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)
The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...
) governed or participated in government coalitions from 1990 until today.
Also the current Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n President Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
entered politics as an FSN member and served as Minister of Transportation in several FSN governments. It is worth quoting what Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
(from the Democratic Party) remarked rhetorically in a live TV debate with Adrian Năstase
Adrian Nastase
Adrian Năstase is a Romanian politician who was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.He competed as the Social Democratic Party candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by centre-right Justice and Truth Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu.He was...
(from the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
) before the 2004 run-off presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 2004
A presidential election was held in Romania on November 28, 2004. 12 candidates competed for the office. As no candidate won more than 50% of the votes, a run-off was held on December 12, 2004, between the two leading candidates: prime minister Adrian Năstase of the ruling Social Democratic Party...
:
"You know what Romania's greatest curse is right now? It's that Romanians have to choose between two former Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
members."
Chamber of deputies
| Year | Votes | Percentage | Seats | Percentage of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9,089,659 | 66.31% | 263 | 66.41% |
| 1992 | 1,108,500 | 10.19% | 43 | 13.11% |
Senate
| Year | Votes | Percentage | Seats | Percentage of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9,353,006 | 67.02% | 91 | 76.47% |
| 1992 | 1,139,033 | 10.38% | 18 | 12.58% |