Political party in Romania
The
National Liberal Party
(
Romanian
:
Partidul Na?ional Liberal
, PNL) was the first organised
political party
in Romania, a major force in the country's politics from its foundation in 1875 to
World War II
. Established in order to represent the interests of the nascent local
bourgeoisie
, until
World War I
it contested power with the
Conservative Party
, supported primarily by
wealthy landowners
, effectively creating a
two-party system
in a political system which severely limited the representation of the peasant majority through
census suffrage
. Unlike its major opponent, the PNL managed to preserve its prominence after the implementation of
universal male suffrage
, playing an important role in shaping the institutional framework of
Greater Romania
during the 1920s.
History
[
edit
]
Dominated throughout its existence by the
Br?tianu family
, the party was periodically affected by strong factionalism. Among the many splits during the party's early history a notable one was that led by party founder
C. A. Rosetti
, whose followers, supporting rapid and more extensive social reforms, created the
Radical Party
in the late 1880s. In domestic matters, the National Liberal party supported the development of the local bourgeoisie, seeking to expand the
Romanian industry
through government subsidies and a
protectionist
trade policy. Party elites controlled major Romanian-owned enterprises and a significant part the local finance sector, including the
National Bank of Romania
. The PNL was also openly
antisemitic
, as it opposed the giving of the Romanian citizenship to the
Romanian Jews
.
[2]
Antisemitism was carried into the PNL's mainstream, and was officially enforced under the premierships of
Ion C. Br?tianu
. During his first years in office, Br?tianu reinforced and applied old discrimination laws, insisting that Jews were not allowed to settle in the countryside (and relocating those that had done so), while declaring many Jewish urban inhabitants to be vagrants and expelling them from the country. According to the 1905 Jewish Encyclopedia: "A number of such Jews who proved their Romanian birth were forced across the Danube, and when [the Ottoman Empire] refused to receive them, were thrown into the river and drowned. Almost every country in Europe was shocked at these barbarities. The Romanian government was warned by the powers; and Br?tianu was subsequently dismissed from office". Cabinets formed by the
Conservative Party
, although including
Junimea
's leaders, did not do much to improve the Romanian Jews' condition ? mainly due to PNL opposition. Antisemitism continued to be enacted under the leadership of
Dimitrie Sturdza
, who was resentful of "
aliens
"
(in line with the anti-
Jewish
policies of his party), and supported blocking non-Romanians from a large number of social positions. Sturdza was a notorious antisemite, supporting measures such as the expulsion of Romanian Jews, and he was known for his opposition towards the naturalization of the Jews in Romania. He and the PNL are responsible for the exile of Romanian Jewish intellectuals
Moses Gaster
and
Laz?r ??ineanu
.
[4]
At the beginning of the 20th century, PNL, joined by many former leaders of the
Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party
, advocated an extension of the electoral franchise and a limited
agrarian reform
, though this did not prevent a National Liberal government from violently repressing the
1907 Peasants' revolt
. Adopting a
nationalist
discourse, before World War I the party championed the cause of ethnic Romanians living outside the borders, primarily those in
Austro-Hungarian
-ruled
Transylvania
; its
irredentism
varied in degree, with a more pragmatic approach being preferred while in government. Traditionally
Francophile
, in foreign policy PNL supported cooperation with the
Triple Entente
, against
King Carol
's preference for the
Central Powers
. The party's stance had a major influence in Romania's decision to join the First World War on the side of the
Allies
, which ultimately led to Romanian rule over
Bessarabia
,
Bukovina
and Transylvania.
Ion I. C. Br?tianu
was, like his father, openly antisemitic and opposed the granting of Romanian citizenship to Jews.
[5]
[6]
After World War I, however, antisemitism disappeared from the Liberals' political program, even forming alliances with Jewish politicians. Despite this, seeing the post-War
Minority Treaties
as an encroachment on the country's sovereignty, between the World Wars PNL governments pursued a strong policy of
centralisation
, dismissing calls for autonomy coming from the newly attached provinces and seeking to limit the influence of the national minorities, as well as that of foreign capital. In foreign policy, it supported the
cordon sanitaire
against the
Soviet Union
, also cracking down on the local workers' movement.
Though initially opposed to the restoration of deposed
King Carol II
, it became increasingly supportive of his authoritarian policies, with PNL governments paving the way to a
royal dictatorship
in the 1938. Another major split was caused in 1930 by opposing attitudes towards the restoration of Carol II:
Gheorghe I. Br?tianu
contested
Vintil? Br?tianu
's decision to oppose the King and created parallel organisations, claiming the party's name and legacy. After Vintil?'s death, his faction came under the control of
Ion Gh. Duca
and
Gheorghe T?t?rescu
, realigned with Carol and led several governments, while Gheorghe's continued as a
separate party
, in opposition to the former's government. The two however reunited shortly before the dissolution of all parties in 1938. Formally disbanded along all political parties in 1938, party structures were preserved unofficially, with many party members also enlisting in Carol's
National Renaissance Front
. The growing power of
Nazi Germany
in the 1930s led some factions, primarily the one controlled by
Gheorghe I. Br?tianu
, to seek a rapprochement with the former war enemy from 1936 onward; during World War II, PNL leaders supported Romania's participation in the
Axis
-led
invasion of the Soviet Union
, while maintaining contacts with the Western
Allies
, ultimately backing the
realignment with the latter
in August 1944. Tolerated by the totalitarian government of
Ion Antonescu
, it eventually joined
King Michael I
and the
Communist
,
National Peasants'
and
Social Democratic
parties in overthrowing the dictator in the closing phase of
World War II
, enabling the reorganisation of the party in 1944. Part of the first post-war
grand coalition
governments, it lost its importance as the new Communist-led coalition government used the
denazification
process in order to remove PNL supporters from government posts.
The last major split was motivated by the attitude towards the Communist-dominated left-wing alliance in the aftermath of World War II: while
Dinu Br?tianu
, the party's president, opposed the increasing Communist influence, T?t?rescu, the general secretary, favoured an alliance with it, hoping to preserve some influence in the Soviet-dominated political context. Both factions claimed the name and legacy of the original party, and, after a period of ambiguity, went on to create parallel organisations. Faced with a severe restriction of its activity by the Communist-dominated government, the first faction dissolved itself in late 1947. The second faction continued to be part of the governing coalitions until November 1947; nevertheless, T?t?rescu's opposition to the policy of
extensive economic planning
pursued by the government led to his replacement as party leader with
Petre Bejan
. Forced into submission, the faction did not have any political activity after 1950. Deprived of their economic base, members of both factions also suffered political persecution after 1948. With the Communist-dominated government gaining the upper hand in local politics and starting to crack down on opposition, the party decided to cease political activity in the late 1947, effectively disbanding itself. After the
overthrow of the Communist party rule
in 1989, a
new party
was founded under the same name and assumed the National Liberal legacy.After the war, the Dinu Br?tianu faction supported
Anglo
-
American
interests, while T?t?rescu's sought a more pragmatic approach towards the
Big Three
and friendly relation with the Soviets.
Scissions and mergers
[
edit
]
Parties seceded from PNL
[
edit
]
Parties absorbed by PNL
[
edit
]
Party leaders
[
edit
]
Nº
|
Name
Born - Died
|
Portrait
|
Term start
|
Term end
|
Duration
|
1
|
Ion C. Br?tianu
(1821?1891)
|
|
24 May 1875
|
4 May 1891
|
15 years, 345 days
|
2
|
Dimitrie Br?tianu
(1818?1892)
|
|
21 May 1891
|
8 June 1892
|
1 year, 18 days
|
3
|
Dimitrie Sturdza
(1833?1914)
|
|
20 November 1892
|
10 January 1909
|
16 years, 51 days
|
4
|
Ion I. C. Br?tianu
(1864?1927)
|
|
11 January 1909
|
24 November 1927
|
18 years, 317 days
|
5
|
Vintil? Br?tianu
(1867?1930)
|
|
24 November 1927
|
21 December 1930
|
3 years, 27 days
|
6
|
Ion G. Duca
(1879?1933)
|
|
28 December 1930
|
29 December 1933
|
3 years, 1 day
|
7
|
Dinu Br?tianu
(1866?1950)
|
|
4 January 1934
|
November 1947
|
13 years, 301 days
|
Electoral history
[
edit
]
Legislative elections
[
edit
]
Election
|
Votes
|
%
|
Assembly
|
Senate
|
Position
|
Aftermath
[a]
|
1876
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1876?1879)
|
1879
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1879?1883)
|
1883
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1883?1884)
|
1884
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1884?1888)
|
1888
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1888?1891)
|
1891
|
?
|
?
|
|
?
|
?
|
Supporting
PC
government (1891?1892)
|
1892
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
2nd
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1892?1895)
|
1895
|
?
|
?
|
|
?
|
1st
|
PNL government (1895?1899)
|
1899
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1899?1901)
|
1901
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1901?1905)
|
1905
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PNL government (1905?1906)
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1906?1907)
|
1907
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
1st
|
PNL government (1907?1910)
|
1911
|
81,139
[b]
|
37.8
|
|
|
2nd
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1910?1912)
|
1912
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
3rd
|
Opposition to
PC
government (1912?1914)
|
1914
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
1st
|
PNL government (1914?1918)
|
1918
|
did not compete
|
|
|
?
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
PC
government (1918)
|
PNL government (1918?1919)
|
1919
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
2nd
|
Opposition to
PNR
government (1919?1920)
|
1920
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
3rd
|
Opposition to
PP
government (1920?1921)
|
1922
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
1st
|
PNL government (1922?1926)
|
1926
|
192,399
|
7.5
|
|
|
3rd
|
Opposition to
PP
government (1926?1927)
|
1927
|
1,704,435
|
62.7
|
|
|
1st
|
PNL government (1927?1928)
|
1928
|
185,939
|
6.7
|
|
|
2nd
|
Opposition to
PN?
government (1928?1931)
|
Supporting
PND
minority government (1931)
|
1931
|
1,389,901
[c]
|
48.9
|
|
|
1st
|
Supporting
PND
minority government (1931?1932)
|
Opposition to
PN?
government (1932)
|
1932
|
407,023
|
14
|
|
|
2nd
|
Opposition to
PN?
government (1932?1933)
|
1933
|
1,518,864
|
52
|
|
|
1st
|
PNL government (1933?1937)
|
1937
|
1,103,353
|
36.5
|
|
|
1st
|
Opposition to
PNC
minority government (1937?1938)
|
Parliament suspended
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
Miron Cristea
's
monarchist
government (1938?1939)
|
1939
|
party banned
|
|
|
?
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
FRN
monarchist
government (1939?1940)
|
Parliament suspended
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
LAM
government (1940?1941)
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
Ion Antonescu
's
military
government (1941?1944)
|
FND
-PNL-
PN?
government (1944?1945)
|
Extra-parliamentary opposition to
FND
government (1945?1946)
|
1946
|
259,068
|
3.8
|
|
Senate abolished
|
4th
|
Opposition to
BPD
government (1946?1947)
|
Notes
:
- a
Almost always the government was named before parliamentary elections and confirmed afterwards;
- b
Votes received in alliance with
PCD
;
- c
Votes received by National Union coalition. Coalition members: PNL,
PGR
,
LA
, and
PND
.
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Gaster, Moses
(1911). "
Sturdza s.v. Demetrius [Dimitrie] Sturdza
". In
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
|
---|
Parliamentary
| |
---|
Extraparliamentary
| |
---|
Defunct
|
---|
Nationalist
| |
---|
Liberal
| |
---|
Conservative
| |
---|
Left-wing
| |
---|
Agrarian
| |
---|
Far-right
| |
---|
Ethnic minority
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
Alliances
| |
---|
|
|