The
National Salvation Front (
RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
:
Frontul Salvării Naţionale, FSN; perhaps better translated
National Rescue Front) was the governing body of
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
in the first weeks after the
Romanian Revolution of 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, 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 PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
(PSD) and the Democratic Party (PD).
In March 1989 six prominent members of the Communist Party wrote an open letter to Romanian Communist dictator
Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae Andruţă Ceauşescu was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967, and President of Romania from 1974 to 1989...
that criticised his abuses of power and his economic policies.
The
National Salvation Front (
RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
:
Frontul Salvării Naţionale, FSN; perhaps better translated
National Rescue Front) was the governing body of
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
in the first weeks after the
Romanian Revolution of 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, 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 PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
(PSD) and the Democratic Party (PD).
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 Andruţă Ceauşescu was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967, and President of Romania from 1974 to 1989...
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 EuropeRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an international broadcast organization that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe and Middle Asia. RFE/RL is supervised by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, with the US Secretary of State among its members. It is funded by the...
, 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 IliescuIon 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.He joined the Communist Party in 1953 and became a...
in radio and TV addresses on December 22, 1989, after the
overthrow of CeauşescuThe Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, and took the power from the
Communist authoritiesCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the leading 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 RomanPetre 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' PartyThe 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 PartyThe Partidul Naţional Liberal is a liberal party in Romania, the third largest party in parliament, being outrun by the Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic 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 BrucanSilviu 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 DinescuMircea Dinescu is a Romanian poet, editor and dissident. Nicknamed "The Jester-Poet", he is said to be the only one to have been once the doorman of the Writers' House in Bucharest and only some years later the Chairman of the Writers' Union that owns it.He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan...
,
Ion CaramitruIon 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 PleşuAndrei Gabriel Pleşu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic, and politician.- Biography :...
, Dan Hăulică,
Gabriel LiiceanuGabriel 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...
,
Doina CorneaDoina Cornea is a Romanian human rights activist and professor of the French language. 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
PNLThe Partidul Naţional Liberal is a liberal party in Romania, the third largest party in parliament, being outrun by the Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party...
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
MineriadSee 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
GolaniadThe 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
elections on May 20, 1990, obtaining a majority in both the
Chamber of DeputiesThe 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
SenateThe Senate of Romania is the upper house in Romania's bicameral parliament. 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.After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Senate...
. 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 FrontThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
(
Frontul Democrat al Salvării Nationale, FDSN), which eventually developed to the current
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
(
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 take place in a framework of a semi-presidential 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, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised...
. The parties that emerged from the National Salvation Front (the
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
and the Democratic Party) governed or participated in government coalitions from 1990 until today.
Also the current
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
n President
Traian BăsescuTraian Băsescu is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being 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
BăsescuTraian Băsescu is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
(from the Democratic Party) remarked rhetorically in a live TV debate with
Adrian NăstaseAdrian 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 PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
) before the 2004 run-off
presidential electionA 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 PartyThe 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% |