TheNational Liberal Party (Romanian:Partidul Național Liberal, PNL) is aChristian democraticpolitical party in Romania. As of mid 2025, it is the country's third largest political party overall. Re-founded in mid January 1990, shortly after theRevolution of 1989 which culminated in the fall ofcommunism in Romania, it claims the legacy of the majorpolitical party of the same name, active between 1875 and 1947 in theKingdom of Romania.
Based on this historical legacy, it often presents itself as the first formally constitutedpolitical party in the country and the oldest of its kind from the family ofEuropean liberal parties as well.[19]
Until 2014, the PNL was a member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).[20] The party statutes adopted in June 2014 dropped any reference to international affiliation, consequently most of itsMEPs joined theEuropean People's Party Group (EPP) in theEuropean Parliament.
On 12 September 2014, it was admitted as a full member of theEuropean People's Party (EPP),[21] and subsequently merged with theDemocratic Liberal Party (PDL). The party was also a member of theLiberal International (LI)[22] before switching toCentrist Democrat International (CDI).[23] Currently, it is the third-largest party in theRomanian Parliament, with 49 seats in theChamber of Deputies and 22 in theSenate, behind theAlliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). Additionally, the party currently has the largest number of MEPs in the European Parliament on behalf of Romania (more specifically 10 out of 33).
At local political level, the PNL has been very closely associated with either theDemocratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR), more specifically in parts ofBanat andTransylvania, or, formerly, with theChristian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD), in southern Romania.[24]
After it won the2020 local elections, the PNL became the first political party in Transylvania, Banat, andBukovina, establishing new political alliances at national level with, most notably,USR PLUS shortly thereafter. Moreover, as of mid 2023, the PNL also holds the largest amount of incumbent county councillors and local councillors nationwide, making it, in these regards, the most influential political party in Romania at local level. Nonetheless, concerning the total amount of mayors, the PNL comes second behind the PSD.
During late 2021, the PNL broke the alliance with USR PLUS (now simply legally known asUSR) and continued under former party president Cîțu aminority government alongside theHungarian minority-orientedUDMR (with the support of PresidentKlaus Iohannis), consequently causing the three month-long2021 Romanian political crisis, until successfully negotiating with their historical nominal adversaries PSD in early November 2021 agrand coalition government between themselves and the UDMR (known as theNational Coalition for Romania or CNR for short), thereby leading to the formation of theCiucă cabinet led byPrime MinisterNicolae Ciucă.
In mid June 2023, Ciucă resigned as part of the coalition protocol previously agreed between the PNL and PSD and letMarcel Ciolacu (current PSD leader) become the incumbent Prime Minister of Romania. In the meantime, the UDMR was also taken out of government and thereby rejected from the composition of the currentCiolacu Cabinet in which PNL is still the second party. Furthermore, the share of governmental power between the PSD and PNL is even between the two constituent political parties of the incumbent Ciolacu Cabinet (or the second CNR cabinet).
The National Liberal Party of Romania (PNL) was re-founded in January 1990, a few days after the end of the violentRomanian Revolution. During the early 1990s, the party primarily revolved around the presidencies ofRadu Câmpeanu andMircea Ionescu-Quintus, both former members of thehistorical PNL and liberal youth leaders during theinterwar period as well as during and shortly afterWorld War II.
At the1990 general elections, the PNL became the third largest party in theParliament of Romania and its then re-founding leader, Radu Câmpeanu, finished second in the same year's presidential elections, with 10.6% of the cast votes, behindIon Iliescu. In December 1990, the Socialist Liberal Party (PSL) led byNiculae Cerveni established an alliance with the PNL and the latter became vice-president of the PNL led by Câmpeanu at that time.[25]
Shortly afterwards, at the main request and most notably alongside theChristian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD), but to a lesser extent also with other smaller center-right parties and NGOs, the PNL managed to form theRomanian Democratic Convention (CDR) in an effort to assemble a stronger collective opposition and alternative governing body to then rulingNational Salvation Front (FSN), which was, in many ways, the heir of theRomanian Communist Party (PCR). However, prior to the1992 general elections, Câmpeanu decided to withdraw the party from the CDR electoral alliance and instead compete as a stand-alone political force. One of the main reasons for doing so was Câmpeanu's reluctance for the PNL to run on common lists with theDemocratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).
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This had ultimately proven to be an eventual major strategic error for the PNL, as the party did not manage to surpass the needed electoral threshold for parliamentary presence and as such was forced to enter extra-parliamentary opposition for the period 1992–1996. Furthermore, this political decision also resulted in several splinter factions leaving the main party, with some PNL deflecting groups opting to remain within the CDR while others still endorsing Câmpeanu's side in a new party which was calledPNL-C (Romanian:Partidul Național Liberal-Câmpeanu). Therefore, the factions which deflected from the main PNL and aligned themselves with the CDR were PNL-CD (led by Niculae Cerveni), PNL-AT, andPL '93. Other minor liberal political parties such as PAC and UFD (which later merged into the main PNL) were also part of the CDR throughout the late 1990s.
Nevertheless, after a change of leadership that saw Ionescu-Quintus as the new party leader elected in 1995, the PNL contested the1996 general election once again as part of the CDR.[26] The 1996 general elections represented the firstpeaceful transition of power in post-1989 Romania, with the PNL, PNȚCD,Democratic Party (PD), and the UDMR forming agrand coalition that pushed the PDSR (formerly the FSN andFDSN) in opposition for the period 1996–2000. Furthermore, the presidency was also won by the CDR's common candidate, more specificallyEmil Constantinescu, who received endorsement on behalf of all of the alliance's constituent parties (including the PNL political groups therein).
Between 1996 and 2000, because of the lack of political coherence within the parties of the governing CDR coalition and the multiple changes of cabinets that followed throughout this entire period of time, the PNL decided once more to withdraw from the alliance just before the2000 general election and, consequently, to compete alone instead. This time, the party managed to gain parliamentary presence but failed to form another centre-right government, finishing fourth in the legislative elections and third in the presidential election. However, a splinter group founded byDan Amedeo Lăzărescu and led byDecebal Traian Remeș which was called PNL-T (Romanian:PNL Tradițional) decided to remain within CDR 2000 and contest that year's general election by endorsingMugur Isărescu as presidential candidate.
Therefore, during the mid 2000s (more specifically starting in 2003), the PNL joined forces with the PD in order to form theJustice and Truth Alliance (DA)[26] so as to compete in the2004 general election as an alternative to the then ruling PSD (formerly PDSR) government. The alliance managed to finish second by popular vote in theParliament, subsequently form a centre-right cabinet, and also win the presidency during the same year.
Until April 2007, the PNL was the largest member of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), which enjoyed a parliamentary majority due to an alliance between the PNL, PD, theConservative Party (PC), and the UDMR/RMDSZ.[27] In April 2007, then PNLPrime MinisterCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu, who was also the party president, formed a minority government solely with the UDMR/RMDSZ and the remainder PD ministers were reshuffled. This caused internal opposition within the party and led to the scission of a splinter group which turned into a political party underTheodor Stolojan, more specifically theLiberal Democratic Party (PLD), eventually merging with the PD to form theDemocratic Liberal Party (PDL).
After the2008 legislative election, the party placed third and entered official opposition, winning 19.74% seats in the Parliament, while the new grand coalition, formed by their former enlarged ally, the Democrat Liberals (PDL) and theSocial Democratic Party (PSD), obtained roughly 70% together. At the2009 presidential election, the National Liberal Party's then newly elected leader,Crin Antonescu, finished third in the first round and the party would still find itself in parliamentary opposition for the three next years to come up until the accession of theSocial Liberal Union (USL) to governance in mid 2012.
At the same time, Klaus Iohannis, at that time solely FDGR/DFDR president, was nominated twice by the PNL (along with their most sturdy and powerful allies, the PSD and the PC) in 2009, but was rejected by then state presidentTraian Băsescu.[28][29]
On 5 February 2011, the PNL formed theSocial Liberal Union (USL) political alliance with the PSD, theNational Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR), and theConservative Party (PC).[30][31] The PNL subsequently exited the USL on 25 February 2014, disbanding the alliance and returning to opposition.[32] On 26 May 2014, following the2014 European elections, then PNL party presidentCrin Antonescu announced he was seeking membership within theEuropean People's Party (EPP).[33][34] At the beginning of the8th European Parliament, 5 of the PNLMEPs sat with theEPP Group, and 1 with theALDE Group,[35] who later became an independent MEP within ALDE. In late May 2014, the party agreed to a future merger with the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), with the two parties main short-time goal being to submit a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.[36] The PNL-PDL presidential candidate was agreed to run under anelectoral banner called theChristian Liberal Alliance (ACL).[37][38]
On 27 June 2014, former PNL chairmanCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu announced his intention to found a separate liberal party to run for president, stating opposition to the upcoming merger with the PDL.[39] The breakaway party, called theLiberal Reformist Party (PLR), was founded by Popescu-Tăriceanu on 3 July 2014.[40] On 17 July 2014, it was announced that the future merger of the PNL and PDL would retain the National Liberal Party name, while being situated in the PDL's existing headquarters in Bucharest, and would be legally registered by the end of 2014.[41] On 26 July 2014, a joint party congress of the PNL and PDL approved the merger.[42]
In the first round of the2014 presidential election on 2 November 2014, ACL presidential candidateKlaus Iohannis, PNL party president and Mayor ofSibiu was the runner-up.[43] Iohannis won the runoff election held on 16 November 2014 with 54.5% of the total number of votes.[44][45] At the 2016local elections andlegislative elections, the PNL managed to finish second, behind the PSD, and consequently in continuous opposition until 2019 when it regained executive power.
Regarding the2019 presidential election, the party previously announced its formal endorsement for a second term of incumbent state presidentKlaus Iohannis in March 2018 along with an official designation ofLudovic Orban, former party president, for the position ofPrime Minister should the PNL win the2020 legislative elections.[46][47] In June 2018, at an open air press conference in his native Sibiu, Iohannis publicly announced his intention to run for a second presidential term.[48]
The year 2019 saw two minor parties adhering to the PNL, namely thePND (led byDaniel Fenechiu) and PACT (led bySebastian Burduja), thereby increasing its total number of members. In late 2019, the National Liberal Party acceded to governance under a minority stand-alone government led by Orban which was voted twice by the Parliament (under, most notably, a confidence and supply agreement withUSR andPMP as well as mostethnic minority parties, including most importantly theFDGR/DFDR). At national level, the greatest two challenges that the Orban cabinet tried to monitor, control, and solve were theCOVID-19 pandemic as well as itsaffiliated recession.
The PNL ran in several electoral alliances with the2020 USR-PLUS Alliance for the2020 Romanian local elections, winning the mayor of Bucharest (along with several of the capital's sectors) as well as many other municipalities throughout the countryside. Shortly thereafter, the PNL decided to form local alliances with, most notably, USR PLUS, PMP, and FDGR/DFDR (as well as with two local branches of the PNȚCD and UDMR inHunedoara County). After the2020 Romanian legislative election, the party agreed to form a coalition government alongside USR PLUS and UDMR in order to reportedly provide a stable governance for the next 4 years in Romania.
Furthermore, incumbent party president Ludovic Orban decided to step down as prime minister in early December 2020, lettingNicolae Ciucă acting until the new coalition received the confidence vote in the Parliament after the 2020 legislative elections concluded with concrete, positive results on behalf of a future center-right government. Subsequently, the newly proposed prime minister on behalf of the PNL wasFlorin Cîțu, who previously served as the Minister of Public Finance in both Orban cabinets between 2019 and 2020. Therefore, Cîțu took office on 23 December 2020, after an overwhelming confidence vote in the Parliament (260 for in counterpart to 186 against).[49]
In the meantime, it has been announced that a new party congress will take place on 25 September 2021 with 5,000 delegates.[50] At the forthcoming congress, incumbent party president Ludovic Orban will face incumbent Prime Minister Florin Cîțu for the leadership of the party during the upcoming years (although it has been rumoured thatDan Motreanu, former Minister for Agriculture in theFirst Tăriceanu Cabinet between 2006 and 2007, would also announce his candidacy at a later point during 2021 but the latter eventually declined it).[51] Furthermore, this new congress will also determine the leadership of PNL at each and every level within the party nationwide. Nonetheless, up until the date of the congress, Orban will still remain party president. At the same time, the struggle for power within the PNL between Cîțu and Orban (each one along with their respective teams of supporters) considerably bogged down the pace of reforms applied by the government.
During early September 2021, several weeks prior to the new congress of the party, USR-PLUS decided to exit theCîțu Cabinet in protest toCîțu's dismissal of the Minister of Justice; the initial coalition consisting of three centre-right parties was thereby disbanded and reduced to two, with the USR-PLUS officially entering opposition and even publicly declaring that they will endorse any motion of no confidence against Cîțu in the future, deeming him responsible for creating amajor governmental crisis in the process.
Moreover, according to USR PLUS, Cîțu is also responsible for legalizing massive theft from public procurement money with the approval of PNDL 3 (overtaking, in this regard, even convicted former PSD leaderLiviu Dragnea) in the prospect of bribing PNL mayors (referred to as "local barons" in a press report by USR PLUS) to side with him for the then upcoming party congress which was held on 25 September 2021.[52][53]
In response, Cîțu stated: "only this [three-party] coalition is feasible for Romania. It's that political setup that can handleEuropean Union's recovery plan, our local development, and make use of EU money", after an emergency meeting of the party. He also stated that "this is my message for the coalition talks later today, we have all promised Romania's investments".[54]
Additionally, in response to sacking the Justice Minister, Cîțu mentioned in a late night news briefing the following: "I will not accept ministers in the Romanian government who oppose the modernisation of Romania. Blocking the activity of the government only because you do not agree to develop the communities, means violating the mandate given to you by the parliament through the governing programme", referring to a 50 billionlei ($12 billion) allegedly local development financing scheme aimed at modernizing decrepit infrastructure in the countryside and the plan which needed the justice ministry's seal of approval.[55]
Eventually, the PNL was helped to maintain a minority cabinet along with the UDMR after they boycotted the no confidence motion initiated by the USR PLUS and AUR, with the help of both PSD and UDMR parliamentary groups. In the meantime, Cîțu posted a video portraying himself asSuperman onInstagram.[56] In response, the Romanian internet community made a video in which he was portrayed as thepsychopathicsupervillainJoker.[57] Moreover,Ludovic Orban hinted a psychiatric consultation for Cîțu, in reaction to the Instagram videoclip.[58]
In addition, it was also in 2021 that, at local political level, the PNL lost other former allies, more specifically the PMP, who veered towards PSD and PRO Romania, establishing new political alliances in some counties (most notablyCaraș-Severin) with the two centre-left political parties.[59] In the meantime, former deputy prime ministerDan Barna said that "if USR PLUS will remain in opposition, it will win the electorate of the right [in 2024]".[60] Additionally,Marcel Ciolacu, the incumbent president of theSocial Democratic Party (PSD) and thereby the leader of the then largest opposition party, stated on 20 September 2021 that PSD will vote for the no confidence motion initiated by the USR PLUS and AUR. In the meantime, PNL president Ludovic Orban clearly stated that "Cîțu could only remain Prime Minister with PSD's endorsement which would be a catastrophe for both Romania and the PNL". In stark contrast to Orban's statement, Iohannis declared that he still endorses Cîțu and that he has no reasons whatsoever for resigning or for being ousted. Nonetheless, in late September 2021, DNA officially started the criminal investigation in Florin Cîțu's case on the grounds of abuse of office and incitement to abuse of office as prime minister.[61]
Several noteworthy Romanian journalists such as Cristian Tudor Popescu, Lucian Mîndruță, and Ramona Ursu have also criticized Cîțu and his actions as prime minister and have described themselves totally revolted with respect to why would he still be left to serve as prime minister.[62][63]
All throughout this period of time, the political crisis had severe results in the economy of the country, with theeuro rising consistently above theleu, as reported by theNational Bank of Romania (BNR) in the beginning of the autumn of 2021.[64] Furthermore, during late September 2021, theUSD had also risen consistently above the RON, as the political crisis kept on lingering. In addition, the finance department ofBloomberg also noted the record inflation levels which rose to the highest charting positions in the last three years in Romania in early September 2021.[65]
As of 12 September 2021, most of the initial PNL-USR PLUS local alliances established after the 2020 local elections have been disbanded, with the USR PLUS entering official opposition at all local levels towards the PNL. The PNL also has a local governing alliance with the PSD inIalomița.
On 25 September 2021, at the PNL congress held atRomexpo in Bucharest, Florin Cîțu was elected the 10th post-1989 president of the PNL with 2,878 votes out of 4,848 total delegates, being congratulated, most notably, by congress organiserTheodor Stolojan, amidst significant heavy fraud allegations claimed, most importantly, by previous PNL president Ludovic Orban and subsequently by Adrian Veștea.[66] Nonetheless, Orban congratulated Cîțu but also said that he no longer has a partnership with Iohannis. Furthermore, he also stated that he resigns from the office of thePresident of the Chamber of Deputies. The Romanian press had also cited Cîțu's triumph as aPyrrhic victory given the fact that, on the one hand, PSD announced that they will vote the no confidence motion initiated by USR PLUS and AUR and, on the other hand, USR PLUS also stated that they will no longer want to govern under Cîțu.[67]
On 26 September 2021, the party's new leadership team under Cîțu was voted, validated, and consequently established as well.[68] Shortly after the congress, on 27 September, former president Ludovic Orban stated that Cîțu becamepersona non grata for a huge number of Romanian citizens and that he doesn't understand he will no longer be PM for too long, only with the mercy of PSD.[69] In the meantime, the PNRR (part of theNext Generation EU package and short forRomanian:Planul Național de Redresare și Reziliență) was signed and adopted in Bucharest on the occasion ofUrsula von der Leyen's visit, mandated by theEuropean Commission.[70] The Romanian PNRR is the 5th Next Generation EU plan adopted by volume of funds and most of the work and successful negotiations on it were carried out byUSR PLUS ministers, in particularCristian Ghinea. Most opinion polls conducted throughout 2021 registered a significant drop of trust both in Cîțu as PM and in the PNL in the perspective of thenext Romanian legislative elections which are most likely going to take place in 2024. In the meantime, PSD initiated its own motion of no confidence which is scheduled to be debated on 30 September and voted on 5 October.[71] In addition, former party presidentValeriu Stoica accused the recent political behaviour of PNL in the following manner: "PNL acts like PSD", further stating that the party is operating on acatch all ideology and consistentparty switching as well as currently defying and breaching the constitution.[72]
On 5 October 2021, the Cîțu cabinet was ousted by an overwhelming vote on behalf of the PSD, AUR, and USR parliamentary groups at the no confidence motion debated and voted during that day. The no confidence motion was voted by 281 MPs, the largest number of votes to dismiss a government in Romania's post-1989 history.[73] Nevertheless, Cîțu still served asacting/ad interim prime minister until a new government will be validated by vote in the Parliament and then subsequently sworn in (i.e. for at least one week from October 5 until still incumbent President Klaus Iohannis will call for party consultations).[74] In the meantime, former PNL president Valeriu Stoica heavily criticized Iohannis for allowing "mediocre people at the leadership of the party" since 2014 onwards.[75] He previously also stated that the PNL would demonstrate gross political immaturity if they will still propose Cîțu as prime minister at subsequent party consultations scheduled to take place at theCotroceni Palace.[76] At the same time, he mentioned that Iohannis should have that the political status quo imposed Cîțu's resignation, avoiding as such the motion of no confidence.[77]
On 11 October, still incumbent President Klaus Iohannis nominated USR leader and former prime ministerDacian Cioloș to form a new government.[78] Cioloș was subsequently rejected by the parliament and Iohannis appointed previous acting PMNicolae Ciucă instead on 21 October 2021.[79] In late October, relatively shortly after his dismissal, Cîțu's approval rate hit 7% nationwide, a negative record for him. Given the matter, Cîțu resorted to buyingFacebook likes from countries such asVietnam, the ones from the ex-Soviet Union and from theArab world, partly according to an analysis by former Health ministerVlad Voiculescu ofSave Romania Union (USR).[80][81] In early November 2021, journalist Lucian Mîndruță heavily criticized Iohannis and PNL for making an alliance with PSD, also stating that PSD is the only political party in post-1989 Romania which acceded to governance by "walking on corpses", a reference to the dreadful demographic effects of the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic in Romania.[82][83]
In mid-early November 2021, several noteworthy political sources hinted a very probable merger ofPMP with PNL sometime in the near future (although previous PMP presidentCristian Diaconescu publicly dismissed this scenario on his Facebook page) and even a possible, hypothetical absorption ofALDE afterwards (paradoxically enough, thereby subsequently producing the return ofCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu in the party he had previously left in 2014), just after the exclusion of Ludovic Orban from the party on 12 November 2021, who stated that "he is [now] free to build a new political force".[84][85] At an official level however, Cristian Diaconescu later stated that there are indeed negotiations between the delegations of the two parties for a "common political project".[86] Shortly afterwards, incumbent party president Cîțu stated, in the context of the ongoing negotiations with the PSD, that "it is a major compromise that PNL does" (i.e. to make a government with PSD).[87] In stark contrast, former PNL president Orban stated that "a monster is being built" (in reference to the subsequent hypothetical longtime alliance between PSD and PNL) and that he has the obligation to the people who voted for PNL to represent them, as such siding withUSR in the process.[88] Subsequently, Diaconescu totally dismissed the possibility of a hypothetical merger between PMP and PNL during his term as PMP president, instead expecting a future invitation to governance, even though PMP is currently extra-parliamentary.[89] On 22 November 2021, Nicolae Ciucă was officially designated PM by Klaus Iohannis, being in charge of agrand coalition government known as theNational Coalition for Romania (CNR for short).[90][91] Shortly afterwards, on 23 November 2021, former PNL presidentLudovic Orban had officially resigned from the party along with 16 others PNL MPs.[92] In December 2021, Orban officially founded his party which is called "Force of the Right" (or FD for short).
In early 2022, incumbent PNL spokesmanIonuț-Marian Stroe announced that the PNL has just started negotiations for a very probable near future merger with ALDE, but without former ALDE presidentCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu, who is no longer even a member of the latter party.[93] In addition, it was confirmed that PNL is also currently negotiating with PMP for a future merger as well.[94] On 2 April 2022, Florin Cîțu resigned from the position of PNL president and prior to this decision Dan Vîlceanu also announced his resignation as secretary-general of the party.[95]Gheorghe Flutur, president of theSuceava County council, becameacting/ad interim president of the PNL on 2 April 2022 until a new congress was held on 10 April 2022.[96]
At an extraordinary party congress held on 10 April 2022,Nicolae Ciucă was elected the 11th post-1989 president of the PNL with 1,060 valid votes out of 1,120 total ones (60 were nullified and 159 were abstentions).[97] Thus, Nicolae Ciucă became the first military leader in the history of the party. Additionally, Ciucă's primary objective as PNL president was to maintain the cohesion of theCNR grand coalition until the end of his term as prime minister which took place in mid June 2023. Afterwards, the PNL maintained the CNR grand coalition only with PSD, removing UDMR from government, but retaining theconfidence and supply agreement with the political group of the national minorities in the Parliament, thereby still having a solid majority needed for endorsing the incumbentCiolacu Cabinet.
In terms of external politics, the CNR government led by former prime minister Nicolae Ciucă expressed serious concern over the ongoingRusso-Ukrainian War. Internally, the PNL chose their new secretary-general on 27 May 2022, when the party's national council re-united to vote for this position in front of 1,000 national delegates.[98]
Under Ciucă's premiership, Romania experienceddemocratic backsliding,[99] withThe Economist ranking it last in theEuropean Union in the world terms of democracy,[100] evenbehind Viktor Orbán's Hungary.[101]
Furthermore, since both Cîțu and Ciucă's leaderships, more and more PNL MPs and local politicians had departed from the party, some of which founded splinter political parties in the meantime. The party has also lost at least several electoral points for the forthcoming electoral year of 2024 (most notably for thenext Romanian parliamentary election) according to most opinion polls.
Following the National Liberal Party's defeat in the first round of the later annulled2024 Romanian presidential election, and the subsequent resignation ofNicolae Ciucă, Bolojan became the party's acting president and was electedpresident of the Senate of Romania on 25 November 2024.[102] Bolojan resigned on 12 February 2025 to become interim president of Romania following the resignation of incumbent presidentKlaus Iohannis.
The party officially adheres to the doctrine ofliberalism in the form ofconservative liberalism[113] andliberal conservatism.[114] The party also takes apro-European stance.[115] In recent years, it has focused more oneconomic liberalism and a shift to a morecatch all platform. The National Liberal Party (PNL) also advocates for conservative initiatives and policies and the state in moral and religious issues, as well as theprivatization and denationalization of the economy, a trend which is currently[when?] taking place quite rapidly in Romania, as in otherpost-communist economies inCentral and Eastern Europe. Unlike its Western counterparts, the party is morenationalist[116] and traditionalist on social issues, such asLGBT rights.[117][118][119]
The party has factions of adherence toChristian democracy,[2][3][4]ethnic nationalism,[120]neoliberalism, andsocial conservatism.[135] The party has also been described aspopulist,[136][137][138] while former presidentFlorin Cîțu rejects this qualification.[139] However, after joining theEuropean People's Party (EPP) and especially under Cîțu and Ciucă's leadership, the party became moreconservative,[140][141][142][143][144]Radio Free Europe calling it "liberal only in the name".[145] PNL opposessame-sex marriage as well ascivil unions.[2]
In economic regards, it deems significant the fact thattaxes must be lowered and that theprivate sector of the national economy must be expanded and helped by a series of new laws in order to generate more value.[146] It also advocates a decentralization of Romania's political structure, with greater autonomy given to the eightdevelopment regions. However, under Ciucă's rule, the party also shifted more from aliberal-oriented economy towardseconomic patriotism.[145][147][148][149] Opposition leaderCătălin Drulă, the incumbent president of theSave Romania Union (USR), accused the party of beingstatist.[150]
According to the statute, the leading organs of the party are the following:[151]
TheCongress, orThe General Assembly of the delegates of the party's members (Romanian:Congresul; Adunarea Generală a delegaţilor membrilor partidului) is the supreme authority in the party. It leads the party and takes decisions at national level. Its members are elected by the local (territorial) organizations, and The National Consillium. The Congress meets every four years, after the parliamentary elections, or at any time needed. The Congress is convoked either by the Permanent Delegation (see below), at the request of the Central Political Bureau, or at the request of at least half of the Territorial Permanent Delegations. The Congress elects the President of the National Liberal Party, the 15 vice-presidents of the Central Standing Bureau (7 with specific attributions and 8 responsible for thedevelopment regions), 23 judges of The Honor and Referee Court (Romanian:Curtea de Onoare şi Arbitraj), 7 members of The Central Committee of Censors (Romanian:Comisia Centrală de Cenzori).
The last congress took place atRomexpo inBucharest on 25 September 2021, when the 10th post-1989 president of the party was elected beingFlorin Cîțu.
ThePermanent Delegation (Romanian:Delegaţia Permanentă – DP) is the structure that leads the party between two Congresses. It meets monthly, or at any time needed. Its members are the following; the President of the National Liberal Party, the members of the Central Political Bureau, the President of the Senate of the party, the Secretary General of the National Liberal Party, the presidents of the twoChambers of the Parliament (if the officeholders are members of the PNL), the leaders of the National liberal Party's parliamentary groups, the Senators and Deputies, the MEPs, the Ministers, the President of theNational Liberal Youth (TNL), the President of theLiberal Women Organisation (OFL), the President of theLiberal Student Clubs (CSL), the President of the League of the Local Elected Officeholders of the National Liberal Party (LAL PNL), the President of the Coordinating Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, theEuropean Commissioner (if the officeholder is member of the PNL).
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2022) |
TheNational Political Bureau (Romanian:Biroul Politic Național – BPN) of the National Liberal Party (PNL) proposes the party's politics and coordinates its application. It ensures the party's day-to-day leadership, and it is composed by the following: the President of the party, the 15 vice-presidents (7 with specific charges, and 8 responsible for the development regions). At the BPC's meetings can assist, with consultative vote, the president of the Senate of the PNL, the Secretary-General of the PNL, the Presidents of the twoChambers of the Parliament (if the officeholders are members of the PNL), the leaders of the National liberal Party's parliamentary groups, the President of the TNL, the President of the OFL, the President of the CSL, the President of the League of the LAL, and the Ministers. The BPC meets weekly, or at any time needed, convoked by the president of the PNL.
According to Article 70 of the PNL Statute, the BPN coordinates and evaluates the objectives of the territorial branches, of the parliamentary groups; it negotiates political agreements (within the limits established by the DP); it coordinates the elections campaign; proposes sanctions according to the Statute; proposes to the DP the political strategy of the party; proposes the candidates for the central executive or public offices; for certain territorial units, proposes to the DP the candidates for the parliamentary elections; proposes to the DP the candidates for theEuropean Parliament elections; proposes the DP to dissolve or dismiss, for exceptional reasons, the territorial branch, or the branch's president; convokes the DP; coordinates the activity of the permanent committees of the National Council, validates or invalidates the results of the elections for the territorial branches; appoints the Secretary-Executive, the Foreign Secretary, and Deputy-Secretaries-General.
The BPN is assisted, in the organizing activity by the Secretary General of the PNL. This office ensures the communication between the central organisms and the territorial branches, ensures the management of the party's assets, is responsible for the informational system. The Secretary-General is assisted by the Deputy-Secretaries-General, appointed by the BPC at the suggestion of the Secretary-General.
As of 2018, the National Political Bureau was composed of the following members:[152]
In normal conditions, the term of the BPN members ends during the Party's Congress, when the president leaves the presidium of the Congress. The president of the Standing Bureau of the Congress is, formally, the acting president of the party until the new president is elected. The last acting president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) wasMircea Ionescu-Quintus on 20 March 2009, whenCrin Antonescu succeededCălin Popescu-Tăriceanu.
TheNational Council (Romanian:Consiliul Naţional – CN) is the debate forum of the National Liberal Party between two Congresses. It reunites twice a year, or at any time necessary, convoked by the president, by the BPC, or at the request of at least half of its members. Its members are: DP, including the members with consultative vote; the Secretaries of State and the equivalent officeholders; thePrefects and Deputy-Prefects; Presidents and vice-presidents of theCounty Councils; Mayors and Deputy-Mayors of the county capitals, of thesectors of Bucharest, the General Mayor and General Deputy-Mayors ofBucharest; the vice-presidents and Secretaries-General of TNL, OFL, CSL, the Senate of the Party, LAL; honorary members of the party; the President of the structures that deal with specific issues; the Presidents of the CN.
The CN has the following competences: acts to fulfill the decisions of the Congress; adopts the Governing Program; adopts the programs and sectorial politics of the party; approves the reports of the specialty committees; names the candidate of the National Liberal Party for theRomanian Presidency; gives and retracts the quality of honorary member of the party.
According to Article 65 of the Statute, the CN is organized and functions through its permanent specialty committees, constituted on social and professional criteria. The committees constituted on social criteria promote the interests of the correspondent social category. The committees constituted on professional criteria state the sectorial politics and the public politics in major fields, to express the options and solutions proposed by the National Liberal Party.
ThePresident of the National Liberal Party (PNL) is the guardian of the political programme of the party, of the respect of the statute, and the keeper of the unity and prestige of the party.
TheSecretary-General ensures the communication between the central leading structures and the territorial ones, ensures the management of the assets of the party, is responsible for the informational system. The Secretary-General is helped in its activity by Deputy-Secretaries-General appointed by the BPC, upon the suggestion of the Secretary-General.
The local leading structures of the National Liberal Party (PNL) are the following:
Romanian law requires all parties to present a permanent sign and a permanent electoral sign. The former is used to identify the party's buildings and press releases, and the latter to identify the party's electoral materials and the candidates on the elections ballot. Usually they differ slightly.
The main element of the party is a blue arrow pointing to the upper right corner of a yellow square, and the lettersP,N, andL in blue, tilted to the right. The position of thePNL with respect to the arrow depends on the type of symbol, as shown below.
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| Nº | Name Born - Died | Portrait | Term start | Term end | Duration | Other offices held |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radu Câmpeanu1 (1922–2016) |  | 15 January 1990 | 28 February 1993 | 3 years, 1 month and 13 days | Also served as state vice president in theProvisional Council of National Unity (Romanian:Consiliul Provizoriu de Uniune Națională) during the early 1990s[153] |
| 2 | Mircea Ionescu-Quintus2 (1917–2017) |  | 28 February 1993 | 18 February 2001 | 7 years, 11 months and 21 days | Also served asSenatePresident |
| 3 | Valeriu Stoica (1953– |  | 18 February 2001 | 24 August 2002 | 1 year, 6 months and 6 days | |
| 4 | Theodor Stolojan (1943– | .jpg) | 24 August 2002 | 2 October 2004 | 2 years, 1 month and 8 days | Also served asPrime Minister |
| 5 | Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu3 (1952– |  | 2 October 2004 | 20 March 2009 | 4 years, 5 months and 18 days | Also served asPrime Minister |
| 6 | Crin Antonescu4 (1959– | .jpg) | 20 March 2009 | 2 June 2014 | 5 years, 2 months and 13 days | Also served asad interim (i.e.acting)President |
| 7 | Klaus Iohannis (1959– | .jpg) | 28 June 2014 | 18 December 2014 | 6 months and 16 days | Also served asPresident |
| 8 | Vasile Blaga5 (1956– |  | 18 December 2014 | 28 September 2016 | 1 year, 9 months and 10 days | Also served asSenatePresident when he was still in theDemocratic Liberal Party (PDL), closely to the end of his term also its leader/president. |
| Alina Gorghiu6 (1978– | .jpg) | 18 December 2014 | 12 December 2016 | 1 year, 11 months and 24 days | Also served asacting/ad interimSenatePresident. | |
| — | Raluca Turcan (acting) (1976– | .jpg) | 13 December 2016 | 17 June 2017 | 6 months and 4 days | |
| 9 | Ludovic Orban7 (1963– | .jpg) | 17 June 2017 | 25 September 2021 | 4 years, 3 months and 8 days | Also served asPrime Minister, andChamber of DeputiesPresident |
| 10 | Florin Cîțu8 (1972– | .jpg) | 25 September 2021 | 2 April 2022 | 6 months and 8 days | Also served asPrime Minister, andSenatePresident |
| — | Gheorghe Flutur (acting) (1960– |  | 2 April 2022 | 10 April 2022 | 8 days | Also served asSuceavaCounty council President |
| 11 | Nicolae Ciucă9 (1967– | .jpg) | 10 April 2022 | 25 November 2024 | 2 years, 7 months and 15 days | Also served asPrime Minister, andSenatePresident |
| — | Ilie Bolojan10 (acting) (1969– | 25 November 2024 | 12 February 2025 | 2 months and 18 days | Currently serving asPrime Minister; also served asBihorCounty council President,Senate President and asad interim (i.e.acting)President | |
| — | Cătălin Predoiu (acting) (1968– | .jpg) | 12 February 2025 | 26 May 2025 | 3 months and 14 days | |
| — | Ilie Bolojan10 (acting) (1969– | 26 May 2025 | 12 July 2025 | 1 month and 16 days | ||
| 12 | Ilie Bolojan10 (1969– | 12 July 2025[154] | Incumbent | 4 months and 12 days |
Notes:
1Câmpeanu had also subsequently served asHonorary Founding President of the party until his death.
2Ionescu-Quintus had also subsequently served asHonorary President of the party, after the death of Câmpeanu in 2016.
3Popescu-Tăriceanu had also subsequently served asSenate President between 2014 and 2019, firstly asindependent (shortly after he left the PNL with a group of followers), then on behalf of theLiberal Reformist Party (PLR), and finally from theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), both political parties being PNL splinters (either in their entirety or in part).
4Antonescu had also served asSenate President between 2012 and 2014.
5Co-president along with Alina Gorghiu until 28 September 2016 when he resigned from this position.
6Co-president along with Vasile Blaga until 28 September 2016. Afterwards, sole party leader until the end of her term.
Additionally, she had served asacting/ad interimSenate President from 29 June 2022 to 13 June 2023.
7Orban had also served asChamber President between December 2020 and October 2021, until he resigned.
8Cîțu had also served asSenate President between23 November 2021 and 29 June 2022, until he resigned.
9Ciucă was the first military leader of the party in the entire history of the PNL. Additionally, he had also served as President of the Senate between 13 June 2023 and 23 December 2024.
10Bolojan had also served asSenate President between 23 December 2024 and 12 February 2025, when he was instated as actingPresident after the resignation of former President Iohannis.
| Election | Chamber | Senate | Position | Aftermath | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| 1990 | 879,290 | 6.41 | 29 / 395 | 985,094 | 7.06 | 10 / 119 | 3rd | Opposition toFSN government (1990–1991) |
| FSN-PNL-MER-PDAR government (1991–1992) | ||||||||
| 1992 | 284,678 | 2.62 | 0 / 341 | 290,866 | 2.66 | 0 / 143 | 9th | Extra-parliamentary opposition toPDSR-PUNR-PRM-PSM government (1992–1996) |
| 1996 | 3,692,321 | 30.17 | 28 / 343 | 3,772,084 | 30.70 | 22 / 143 | 1st (withinCDR)1 | CDR-USD-UDMR government (1996–2000) |
| 2000 | 747,263 | 6.89 | 30 / 345 | 814,381 | 7.48 | 13 / 140 | 4th | Opposition toPDSR minority government (2000–2004) |
| 2004 | 3,191,546 | 31.33 | 64 / 332 | 3,250,663 | 31.77 | 28 / 137 | 2nd (withinDA)2 | DA-PUR-UDMR government (2004–2007) |
| PNL-UDMR minority government (2007–2008)[a] | ||||||||
| 2008 | 1,279,063 | 18.60 | 65 / 334 | 1,291,029 | 18.74 | 28 / 137 | 3rd | Opposition toPDL-PSD government (2008–2009) |
| Opposition toPDL-UNPR-UDMR government (2009–2012) | ||||||||
| USL government (2012) | ||||||||
| 2012 | 4,344,288 | 58.63 | 100 / 412 | 4,457,526 | 60.10 | 50 / 176 | 1st (withinUSL)3 | USL government (2012–2014) |
| Opposition toPSD-UNPR-UDMR-PC government (2014) | ||||||||
| Opposition toPSD-UNPR-ALDE government (2014–2015) | ||||||||
| Endorsing thetechnocraticCioloș Cabinet (2015–2017) | ||||||||
| 2016 | 1,412,377 | 20.04 | 69 / 329 | 1,440,193 | 20.42 | 30 / 136 | 2nd | Opposition toPSD-ALDE government (2017–2019) |
| Opposition toPSD minority government (2019) | ||||||||
| PNL minority government (2019–2020) | ||||||||
| 2020 | 1,486,401 | 25.19 | 93 / 330 | 1,511,225 | 25.58 | 41 / 136 | 2nd | PNL-USR PLUS-UDMR government (2020–2021) |
| PNL-UDMR minority government (2021) | ||||||||
| CNR government (2021–2024) | ||||||||
| 2024 | 1,219,762 | 13.20 | 49 / 331 | 1,322,468 | 14.28 | 22 / 136 | 3rd | PSD-PNL-UDMR minority government (2024–2025) |
| PNL-UDMR minority government (2025) | ||||||||
| PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR government (2025–present) | ||||||||
Notes:
1The members of theCDR were thePNȚCD (with 25 senators and 81 deputies), the PNL, thePNL-CD (with 1 senator and 4 deputies), thePAR (with 3 senators and 3 deputies), thePER (with 1 senator and 5 deputies), and the Ecologist Federation of Romania (FER - with 1 senator and 1 deputy).
2The members of theJustice and Truth Alliance (DA) alliance were the PNL and thePD (with 21 senators and 48 deputies).
3TheSocial Liberal Union (USL) was a larger political alliance comprising two other smaller political alliances as follows: theCentre Left Alliance (ACS) and theCentre Right Alliance (ACD). TheCentre Left Alliance (ACS) members were thePSD and theUNPR (with 5 senators and 10 deputies). The members of theCentre Right Alliance (ACD) were the PNL (with 51 senators and 101 deputies) and thePC (with 8 senators and 13 deputies). Furthermore, de facto, the PNL became the 2nd largest political party in the Romanian Parliament in the wake of the 2012 Romanian legislative election.
| Election | County Councilors (CJ) | Mayors | Local Councilors (CL) | Popular vote | % | Position | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| 2008 | 1,521,191 | 18.20 | 297 / 1,393 | 1,721,834 | 19.50 | 706 / 3,179 | 1,576,214 | 19.80 | 8,529 / 40,297 | 1,537,840 | 18.08 | 3rd |
| 2012 | 4,203,007 | 49.68 | 723 / 1,338 | 2,782,792 | 33.99 | 1,292 / 3,121 | 2,630,123 | 32.74 | 12,668 / 39,121 | — | — | 1st (asUSL) |
| 2016 | 2,529,986 | 30.64 | 504 / 1,434 | 2,686,099 | 31.50 | 1,081 / 3,186 | 2,478,549 | 29.60 | 13,198 / 40,067 | 2,529,986 | 30.64 | 2nd |
| 2020 | 2,212,904 | 30.76 | 474 / 1,340 | 2,578,820 | 34.58 | 1,232 / 3,176 | 2,420,413 | 32.88 | 14,182 / 39,900 | 2,334,039 | 29.78 | 1st |
| 2024 | 2,178,075 | 27.63 | 436 / 1,338 | 2,548,478 | 29.07 | 1,144 / 3,180 | 2,273,927 | 26.16 | 12,767 / 39,900 | 2,314,354 | 29.15 | 2nd |
| Election | County Presidents (PCJ) | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | ||
| 2000 | 596,017 | 6.96 | 1 / 41 | 4th |
| 2004 | 1,445,674 | 15.99 | 6 / 41 | 2nd |
| 2008 | 1,537,840 | 18.08 | 5 / 41 | 3rd |
| 2012 | 4,260,709 | 49.71 | 15 / 41 | 1st (asUSL) |
| 2016 | 2,529,986 | 30.64 | 8 / 41 | 2nd |
| 2020 | 2,261,157 | 31.07 | 17 / 41 | 2nd |
| 2024 | 2,314,354 | 29.15 | 12 / 41 | 2nd |
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 1992 | Crin Halaicu | — | — | — | — | 55.88% | 1st |
| 1996 | Victor Ciorbea1 | — | 39.61% | 1st | — | 56.74% | 1st |
| 2000 | George Pădure | 45,861 | 7.24% | 4th | not qualified | ||
| 2004 | Traian Băsescu2 | 417,153 | 54.94% | 1st | — | ||
| 2008 | Ludovic Orban | 64,636 | 11.85% | 4th | not qualified | ||
| 2012 | Sorin Oprescu3 | 430,512 | 53.79% | 1st | |||
| 2016 | Cătălin Predoiu | 64,186 | 11.18% | 3rd | |||
| 2020 | Nicușor Dan4 | 282,631 | 42.81% | 1st | |||
| 2024 | Sebastian Burduja | 53,385 | 7.77% | 4th | |||
1PNȚCD candidate (endorsed by PNL as part ofCDR)
2PD candidate (endorsed by PNL as part ofDA)
3Independent candidate endorsed byUSL
4Independent candidate endorsed by PNL andUSR PLUS
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 1990 | Radu Câmpeanu | 1,529,188 | 10.6% | 2nd | – | ||
| 1992 | Emil Constantinescu1 | 3,717,006 | 31.1% | 2nd | 4,641,207 | 38.6% | 2nd |
| 1996 | Emil Constantinescu1 | 3,569,941 | 28.2% | 2nd | 7,057,906 | 54.4% | 1st |
| 2000 | Theodor Stolojan | 1,321,420 | 11.8% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
| 2004 | Traian Băsescu2 | 3,545,236 | 33.9% | 2nd | 5,126,794 | 51.2% | 1st |
| 2009 | Crin Antonescu | 1,945,831 | 20.0% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
| Mircea Geoană3 | not endorsed | 5,205,760 | 49.7% | 2nd | |||
| 2014 | Klaus Iohannis4 | 2,881,406 | 30.3% | 2nd | 6,288,769 | 54.4% | 1st |
| 2019 | Klaus Iohannis | 3,485,292 | 37.8% | 1st | 6,509,135 | 66.1% | 1st |
| 2024 | Nicolae Ciucă | 811,952 | 8.79% | 5th | not qualified | ||
| Elena Lasconi5 | not endorsed | election annulled | |||||
| 2025 | Crin Antonescu6 | 1,892,930 | 20.07% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
| Nicușor Dan7 | not endorsed | 6,168,642 | 53.6% | 1st | |||
Notes:
1Emil Constantinescu was the common centre-right candidate that was endorsed by the PNL in both 1992 and 1996 as part of the largerRomanian Democratic Convention (CDR).
2Traian Băsescu was the common centre-right candidate that was endorsed by the PNL in 2004 as part of theJustice and Truth Alliance (DA) alongside the now defunctDemocratic Party (PD).
3PSD candidate endorsed by PNL in the second round
4Although Klaus Iohannis was a member of the PNL, he was the common centre-right candidate that was endorsed by the party in 2014 as part of theChristian Liberal Alliance (ACL) alongside the now longtime defunctDemocratic Liberal Party (PDL).
5USR candidate endorsed by PNL in the second round, which was ultimately not held
6Although Crin Antonescu was a member of the PNL until the 2025 presidential election, he was the common candidate of the then governing coalition (formed byPSD, PNL, andUDMR/RMDSZ), formalised in the „Romania Forward Electoral Alliance”.
7Independent candidate endorsed by PNL in the second round
| Election | Votes | Percentage | MEPs | Position | EU Party | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2007 | — | 20.0% | 7 / 35 | 2nd | ALDE | ALDE Group1 |
| Nov. 2007 | 688,859 | 13.4% | 6 / 35 | 3rd | ALDE | ALDE Group |
| 2009 | 702,974 | 14.5% | 5 / 33 | 3rd | ALDE | ALDE Group |
| 2014 | 835,531 | 15.0% | 6 / 32 | 2nd | ALDE2 | EPP Group |
| 2019 | 2,449,068 | 27.0% | 10 / 32 | 1st | EPP | EPP Group |
| 2024 | 4,341,686 | 48.55 | 8 / 33 | 1st (withinCNR)3 | EPP | EPP Group |
Notes:
1During the2004–09 EU parliament session, theParliament of Romania sent 7 delegates on behalf of the PNL to theEuropean Parliament.
2Subsequently, sought permission to adhere to theEuropean People's Party (EPP) as well as to itsaffiliated EU Parliament group and had been successfully accepted within it as a full member in the meantime.
3National Coalition for Romania members: PSD (11 MEPs) and PNL (8 MEPs).
In a dismal day for the Social Democrats, the ruling centre-right PNL [...]
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