Constitution: 8 December 1991
Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the Constitution of France's Fifth Republic
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Emil CONSTANTINESCU (since 29 November 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Radu VASILE (since 17 April 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 3 November 1996, with runoff between the top two candidates held 17 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote-Emil CONSTANTINESCU 54.4%, Ion ILIESCU 45.6%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (143 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (343 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate-last held 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); Chamber of Deputies-last held 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2000) election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-CDR 30.7%, PDSR 23.1%, USD 13.2%, UDMR 6.8%, PRM 4.5%, PUNR 4.2%, others 17.5%; seats by party-CDR 53, PDSR 41, USD 23, UDMR 11, PRM 8, PUNR 7; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by party-CDR 30.2%, PDSR 21.5%, USD 12.9%, UDMR 6.6% PRM 4.5%, PUNR 4.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party-CDR 122, PDSR 91, USD 53, UDMR 25, PRM 19, PUNR 18, ethnic minorities 15
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice, judges are appointed by the president on recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or PD [Petre ROMAN];
Romanian Social Democratic Party or PSDR [Sergiu CUNESCU]; Party of
Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR [Ion ILIESCU]; Democratic Union of
Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or
PNL [Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS]; National Peasants' Christian and
Democratic Party or PNTCD [Ion DIACONESCU]; Romanian National Unity
Party or PUNR [Valeriu TABARA]; Socialist Labor Party or PSM [Ilie
VERDET]; Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania or PDAR [Victor SURDU];
The Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU]; Romania Mare Party
(Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Civic Alliance
Party or PAC [Nicolae MANOLESCU, chairman]; Liberal Party '93 or PL-93
[Dinu PATRICIU]; National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention or
PNL-CD [Nicolae CERVENI]; Socialist Party or PS [Tudor MOHORA]
note: to increase their voting strength several of the above-mentioned
parties united under umbrella organizations: PNTCD, PNL, and PNL-CD
form the bulk of the Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU]; PD
and PSDR form the Union of Social Democrats or USD [Petre ROMAN]; and
PAC and PL-93 form the National Liberal Alliance or ANL [Nicolae
MANOLESCU]; PSM, PS, ANL, and numerous other small parties failed to
gain representation in the most recent election
Political pressure groups and leaders: various human rights and professional associations
International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mircea Dan GEOANA chancery : 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York