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Country : Romania Official name: Romania Head of State: President Traian Basescu (PD) (elected 12 Dec 2004) Head of government: (Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu from 13 Dec 2004; resigned 7 Jul 2005) Ruling party: Coalition government Area: 237,500 square km Population: 21.48 million (2004) Capital: Bucharest Official language: Romanian Currency: New leu (plural lei) (NLeu) Currency details: The new leu was introduced 1 Jul 2005; four zeroes were removed from the old leu; Nleu1 = 10,000 old lei; euro1 = Nleu3.6. Exchange rate: Nleu2.99 per US$ (Jul 2005) GDP per capita: US$2,660 (2003) GDP real growth: 4.50% (2003) Labour force: 9.90 million (2003) Unemployment: 8.90% (2003) Inflation: 15.00% (2003) Oil production: 123,000 bpd (2003) Balance of trade: -US$6.37 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$13.70 billion (2003)

Historical profile
1881 After surviving numerous invasions and regional upheavals, Romania became an independent country headed by a monarchy.

1918 Romania supported the Allies during the First World War and gained territory close to its borders.

1919 Hungary attacked Romania in retaliation for lost territory. The Romanians quickly defeated Hungary and briefly occupied parts of the country.

1920 Romania gained further parts of Hungarian territory through the Treaty of Trianon.

1929--34 Romania's agricultural sector was severely affected by a collapse in international grain prices. With the country in recession, the fascist and German-funded Iron Guard movement increased in popularity. In 1933, the organisation assassinated the prime minister, Ion Duca.

1938 King Carol, the head of state, declared Romania a royalist dictatorship and appointed a right-wing government. Carol ordered the arrest and execution of members of the Iron Guard.

1940 Military officers, helped by the Iron Guard, seized power. General Ion Antonescu forced Carol to abdicate. Carol's son, Michel V, replaced him as King. German troops were deployed in Romania and the country joined the Axis powers.

1941 The Iron Guard attempted to rebel against the Romanian government after they were ordered to disarm. A joint Romanian and German operation crushed the Iron Guard's rebellion.

1943 The Soviet Union invaded Romania.

1944 Antonescu's government was overthrown and replaced by a Communist coalition government.

1947--48 The monarchy was deposed and the Communist government declared the Romanian People's Republic.

1965 Nicolae Ceausescu took the position of first secretary of the Partidul Comunist Roman (RCP) (Romanian Communist Party).

1974 Ceausescu became president.

1989 Riots in the city of Timisoara ignited a nationwide revolt. Parts of the army joined the revolutionaries, forming the Frontul Salvarii Nationale (FSN) (National Salvation Front). Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were summarily executed by a military tribunal and nearly 45 years of Communist dictatorship came to an abrupt and bloody end.

1990 Ion Iliescu was elected president, winning 85 per cent of the vote as the FSN candidate. Petre Roman formed a new government.

1991 Roman resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Teodro Stolojan after his reform programme led to civil unrest. Stolojan successfully guided Romania's new constitution through a referendum and a parliamentary vote.

1992 Presidential elections were again won by Iliescu, who had formed his own political party, the Frontul Democrat al Salvarii Nationale (FDSN) (Democratic National Salvation Front), following a split within the FSN.

1996 Iliescu stood again for the presidency and was defeated by Emil Constantinescu of the Conventia Democrata Romana (CDR) (Romanian Democratic Convention) coalition. The FSN re-named itself the Partidul Democratiei Sociale din Romania (PDSR) (Democratic Social Party of Romania).

1998 After becoming prime minister in 1996, Victor Ciorbea (of the ruling CDR coalition) resigned and was replaced by Radu Vasile.

1999 After relations with his cabinet collapsed, Vasile was replaced as prime minister by Mugur Isarescu.

2000 Cyanide leaked from a mine in northern Romania and polluted rivers in Hungary and Yugoslavia. Ion Iliescu won the presidency in the second round of voting. After parliamentary elections Adrian Nastase became prime minister, heading a coalition government, comprising the PDSR, Partidul Social Democrat Roman (PSDR) (Romanian Social Democratic Party) and the Partidul Umanist din Romania (PUR) (Humanist Party of Romania).

2001 Iliescu's PDSR merged with the PSDR to become the Partidul Social Democrat (PSD) (Social Democratic Party).

2002 Nato invited Romania to join the alliance.

2003 A 5 per cent reduction in payroll taxes was implemented in January to cut labour costs, improve the business environment and reduce the rate of unemployment. In an October referendum, 90 per cent of voters approved constitutional amendments to bring Romania closer to EU law.

2004 Romania joined NATO on 2 April. Bucharest mayor, Traian Basescu, of the opposition won the run-off presidential elections in December, ending the long reign of Ion Iliescu. On 13 December, Calin Popescu Tariceanu was asked by President Traian Basescu to form a government.

2005 Romania introduced the new leu on 1 July; four zeroes had been removed from the old leu. On 7 July, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu and his cabinet resigned.

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