Emil Constantinescu (born November 19, 1939 in Tighina, currently in the Republic of Moldova) was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000. November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tighina or Bender (Russian: Бендеры) is a city in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova. ... This is a list of Presidents of Romania: Note: The official function of President of Romania did not exist until March 1974. ...

He graduated from the law school of Bucharest University and subsequently started a career as a geologist. University of Bucharest is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former St. ...

After the Romanian revolution in 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president of the Civic Alliance, the most comprehensive organization of Romanian civic society. He was the acting chairman of the Romanian Anti-Totalitarian Forum, the first associative structure of the democratic opposition in Romania, which was transformed into a political and electoral alliance - the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR). This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Romanian Democratic Convention (Romanian: Convenţia Democrată Română, CDR) was an electoral alliance of several political parties of Romania, active from early 1992 until 2000. ...

In 1992 he was elected rector of Bucharest University and became CDR's candidate for president. He lost the election to the incumbent, Ion Iliescu, after a second round. Bucharest is situated on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River, which flows into the Argeş River, a tributary of the Danube. ... Ion Iliescu (born March 3, 1930) is a Romanian politician. ...

President of Romania

Political and economic issues

Against a background of economic recession, social malaise, stagnation, corruption, and political paralysis, the ruling PSDR-led coalition lost support and lost the 1996 elections to the CDR. Constantinescu was sworn in as president on 29 November and appointed Victor Ciorbea, the mayor of Bucharest, as Prime Minister of Romania. The government formed contained the coalition of the CDR, USD and UDMR parties. November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Victor Ciorbea (born on October 26, 1954, in Ponor, Alba county, Romania) was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 1996 to April 1998. ... Bucharest is situated on the banks of the DâmboviÅ£a River, which flows into the ArgeÅŸ River, a tributary of the Danube. ... Categories: Lists of office-holders | Romanian history | Romanian Prime Ministers ... CDR is also the acronym for the Cuban political organization, Comités de Defensa de la Revolución. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (Romanian: Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România, UDMR; Hungarian: Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSZ) is an ethnically based political party representing ethnic Hungarians in Romania. ...

Romania was the last former communist country in Eastern Europe (with the exception of Yugoslavia) in which democrats could eventually replace a regime that had strong links with the communists. The changeover, which was met with sympathy in the West, boosted Romania's chances to join the Euro-Atlantic structures, including NATO and the European Union. Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange) and other former communist regimes (light orange). ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ... The West can refer to : The U.S. West or the American West The Western world, or Western Civilization. ... The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4...

Initially, support for the new government was high, and a large segment of the population favored change. In February 1997, the Ciorbea government started its "shock therapy" programme, however the reform proved difficult: given the slow pace of privatisations and stagnation during the Iliescu era, the government's attempt to restructure the state industries was fitful, and the pace of privatisations was slowed. Blaimg the old bureaucratic structures, Ciorbea launched a drive to streamline the various departements, which were attacked as "political purges" by the leftists and nationalists. Ion Iliescu (born March 3, 1930) is a Romanian politician. ... Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...

The reason for the delaying reforms can be explained by the homogenity and consensus that characterized the coalition: it was made from three political alliances: the right-wing CDR, the socialist-leaning USD, and the Hungarian minority UDMR party. Widespread disagreement and tension surfaced within each of the three groupings, as well as between them, and nearly every political formation was plagued by infighting and rifts.

This perpetual friction slowed down the lawmaking process, and forced the Cabinet to resort to "urgent ordinances" to speed it up, which many Romanians felt was circumventing normal democratic procedures.

By August, the government had admitted that living standards were still falling, and announced the closing of 14 loss-making enterprises. A government reshuffle was attempted, but was only completed on 2 December, and it succeeded in only plunging the coalition into a severe crisis once two key PD ministers resigned from the cabinet. The crisis ended only when Ciorbea resigned on 30 March 1998. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... PD may stand for: Pd: The symbol for the chemical element Palladium. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

By this time, dissatisfaction with government policies was rising, and in October a wave of strikes by workers, students, and others peaked. However, the left-wing coalition was also divided, so it failed to harness the political capital.

A new government, headed by Prime Minister Radu Vasile took office on April 15, pledging to accelerate economic reforms, including privatization of major state firms, and sharply reduce state bureaucracy. However, the 1998 budget was delayed until 26 May, and this delay reduced foreign investors' credibility. The same year, revelations about government corruption surfaced in the form of a cigarette-smuggling scandal in April. Radu Vasile (born 10 October 1942, Sibiu) is a Romanian politician, historian and poet. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ...

By early June new government crises were looming. The UDMR threatened to leave the coalition if the education law was not changed to allow the operation of a state-run Hungarian-language university. Also in June, a new scandal forced several senior officials to resign because of alleged links with the former communist secret service.

Against growing hostility among the Romanian populace, the Hungarian language university issue was brought up again in September, with an UDMR ultimatum. A compromise was reached, allowing for a "multicultural solution" (Hungarian and German). The Hungarian language is a Finno-Ugric language spoken in Hungary and in the adjacent states of Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia (to all of which Hungary had to cede territories after World War I). ...

On 23 December, another cabinet restructuring took place, the number of ministries being cut from 24 to 17. Later that month, the government allowed the State Property Fund to initiate legal action to close 30 loss-making state companies, in an attempt to speed up restructuring. December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ...

Worse news was to come in 1999, when early in January the miners attempted to unseat the government, angry at the reduction of government subsidies. The situation ended once Miron Cozma, the leader of the miners, was arrested on 14 February. The Mineriad (Mineriada in Romanian) is a parody term following the names of classic events like the Olympics (Olimpiada in Romanian) or the Crusades (Cruciada in Romanian) representing a gathering of people with a usually honourable goal. ... Miron Cozma (born August 25, 1954 in Derna, Bihor) is a Romanian miner union leader. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

This crisis revealed that a heterogeneous four-party coalition, broadly in agreement about aligning the country with the West but divided over personal rivalries and policy details, lacked control over key parts of a bureaucracy unreformed since communist times. The fact that crowds greeted the miners on their march showed that the government's austerity measures were deeply resented, mostly in localities dependent on heavy industries earmarked for closure. International agencies had made economic assistance conditional on the closure of loss-making plants. Also, the economic upturn supposed to follow after decades of privations still eluding the country, the years' local elections showed rising support for the PSDR. At the year's end, Radu Vasile resigned, and was replaced as Prime Minister by Mugur Isarescu, governor of the central bank since 1990. He had only a few months to draw up an economic strategy for the period 2000–06 in order to prepare Romania for accession to the European Union (EU). Isarescu won praise for persuading the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PDSR), the main opposition party, to endorse a policy committing Romania to a steady shift toward a market economy. Enjoying a runaway lead in the opinion polls, the PDSR was committed to aneconomic strategy drawn up in conjunction with officials from the EU, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at variance with its own left-wing instincts. The West can refer to : The U.S. West or the American West The Western world, or Western Civilization. ... Radu Vasile (born 10 October 1942, Sibiu) is a Romanian politician, historian and poet. ... Mugur Isărescu (born August 1, 1949) is a Romanian economist that was the Prime Minister in 1999-2000. ...

A modest recovery at the beginning of 2000 suffered a setback by the most severe drought experienced in 50 years, and a subsequent bad harvest, requiring costly imports of grain and foodstuffs.

Foreign policy

The government's foreign policy was seen as a strong point. It adopted a pro-Western stance, and early in its mandate launched a diplomatic offensive to improve the image of Romania abroad. President Constantinescu received senior foreign officials, including French Pres. Jacques Chirac (February 1997) and U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton (July 1997). Joining NATO and the European Union were proclaimed Romania's top foreign policy priorities. With these objectives in mind, Romania sought to improve relations with its neighbours and signed a basic treaty with Ukraine in June. The country was nonetheless passed over in the first wave of expansion by both NATO and the EU. â–¶(?), (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician who is currently President of the French Republic. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe, III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

In March 1998 Constantinescu attended the London conference of European Union member states and candidates, and in July he took advantage of a nine-day visit in the U.S. to argue before a joint session of Congress that his country played a key role in Balkan stability and should therefore be admitted to NATO. In October Romania agreed to allow limited access to its air space in the event of NATO military intervention in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

On 7 May-9 May 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Romania. May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the second-longest pontificate. ...

After the presidency

Given the catastrophic results of the CDR government (with up to 40% of the population suffering from absolute poverty, extreme disillusionment and a very bad image of politicians among Romanians) Constantinescu lost popular support and did not run for a second term as President, temporarily withdrawing from political life at the end of his term in November 2000. He had failed to fulfill his reformist agenda because of obstruction from the courts, the bureaucracy, and many of his nominal supporters.

However, he returned to the political scene in 2002 as head of the Acţiunea populară (People's Action) party. Acţiunea Populară (Peoples Action) is a Romanian right-wing political party, founded and led by former President Emil Constantinescu. ...

On the international level, he is committed to the integration of Romania into the European Union and NATO structures; to the strengthening of bilateral links with other countries as well as to the implementation of trilateral political and economic agreements among states. The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4...

edit	Presidents of Romania
Romanian People's Republic (1947 - 1965)	Constantin Parhon | Petru Groza | Ion Gheorghe Maurer | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Socialist Republic Romania (1965 - 1989)	Nicolae Ceauşescu
Romania (since 1989)	Ion Iliescu | Emil Constantinescu | Ion Iliescu | Traian Băsescu

This is a list of Presidents of Romania: Note: The official function of President of Romania did not exist until March 1974. ... Coat of arms of Romania This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ... Constantin Ion Parhon (October 15, 1874 - August 9, 1969) was a Romanian scientist, politician and head of state from 1947 to 1952. ... Categories: Romania-related stubs | 1884 births | 1958 deaths | Romanian Prime Ministers ... Ion Gheorghe Maurer (September 23, 1902 - February 8, 2000) was a Romanian politician and lawyer. ... Gheorghiu-Dej (center) and Ceauşescu (left) Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (November 8, 1901, Bârlad - March 19, 1965, Bucharest) was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965. ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ... Nicolae Ceauşescu (IPA ) (January 26, 1918 - December 25, 1989) was the leader of Communist Romania from 1965 until shortly before his execution on December 25, 1989. ... Ion Iliescu (born March 3, 1930) is a Romanian politician. ... Ion Iliescu (born March 3, 1930) is a Romanian politician. ... Traian Băsescu (born November 4, 1951) is a Romanian politician. ...