| President of Romania | |
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| Președintele României | |
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| Style |
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| Status | Head of state Commander-in-chief |
| Member of | Supreme Council of National Defence European Council |
| Residence | Cotroceni Palace |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Romania (1991) |
| Inaugural holder | Nicolae Ceaușescu(first established) Ion Iliescu(current constitution) |
| Formation | 28 March 1974; 51 years ago (1974-03-28)8 December 1991; 34 years ago (1991-12-08) (current form) |
| Deputy | President of the Senate |
| Salary | 324,000lei annually (2015)[1] |
| Website | Președintele României |
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 European Union portal |
Thepresident of Romania (Romanian:Președintele României) is thehead of state ofRomania. The president is directly elected by atwo-round system, and, following a modification to theRomanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two terms that may be consecutive. During their term in office, the president may not be a formal member of apolitical party. The president of Romania is thesupreme commander of theRomanian Armed Forces.
The office of president was created in 1974 whencommunist leaderNicolae Ceaușescu elevated the presidency of theState Council to a fully fledged executive presidency. It took its current form in stages after theRomanian Revolution, culminating in adopting Romania's current constitution in 1991.
Nicușor Dan is the6th and current president since 26 May 2025.[2]
In theCommunist era, the president was elected for a five-year term by theGreat National Assembly (GNA) on the recommendation of theRomanian Communist Party's Central Committee and theFront of Socialist Unity and Democracy, with no term limits. Ceaușescu was the only holder of the office under this system; he was elected by the GNA in 1974 and reelected in 1980 and 1985, each time unopposed. The president continued to serve asex officio president of theState Council and had the right to act on any matter that did not require a State Councilplenum. He also appointed and dismissed ministers and heads of central agencies. When the GNA was not in session (in practice, for most of the year), the president could appoint and dismiss the president of the Supreme Court and the prosecutor general without the State Council's approval; indeed, he was not even required to consult his State Council colleagues when making such decisions. Ceaușescu created the office to make himself the chief decision-maker in both name and fact. Previously, he had nominally been first among equals on the State Council, deriving his real power from his leadership of the Communist Party. In practice, he used his power to act on all matters that did not require a plenum to rule by decree. Over time, he also usurped many powers that constitutionally belonged to the State Council as a whole.[3]
After theConstitutional Court acknowledges the legality of the election, theHouses of Parliament meet in a joint session. The elected president takes the following oath of office, specified by article 82 of theConstitution:
Romanian:Jur să-mi dăruiesc toată puterea și priceperea pentru propășirea spirituală și materială a poporului român, să respect Constituția și legile țării, să apăr democrația, drepturile și libertățile fundamentale ale cetățenilor, suveranitatea, independența, unitatea și integritatea teritorială a României. Așa să-mi ajute Dumnezeu!
I solemnly swear that I will dedicate all my strength and the best of my ability to the spiritual and material welfare of the Romanian people, to abide by the Constitution and laws of the country, to defend democracy, the fundamental rights and freedoms of my fellow-citizens, Romania's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. So help me God![4]
Under the 1991Constitution, which was amended in 2003, presidential powers were curtailed in contrast tocommunist Romania; the office continues to wield significant influence within asemi-presidential system of government.
The president's duties are set out in Title III, Chapter II of theConstitution.[5] These are not exclusive, and are supplemented by other constitutional and legal provisions.
In home affairs:
In foreign affairs:
In defence issues:
Other duties:
In the exercise of his functions, the president issues decrees. Decrees issued under Article 91 (1) and (2), Article 92 (2) and (3), Article 93 (1), and Article 94 a), b) and d) of the Constitution must be countersigned by the Prime Minister to take effect.
An incumbent president who severely violates theConstitution may be suspended by theParliament in a joint session. If the suspension motion passes, there is a call for a referendum of impeachment within no more than 30 days of the suspension.
If theSenate andChamber of Deputies, in joint session, accuse the president ofhigh treason, the president is suspended from powers and duties by right. The accusations are judged by theHigh Court of Cassation and Justice. The incumbent president is dismissed by right if found guilty ofhigh treason.
The suspension and impeachment procedure has been implemented three times. The first time regarded PresidentIon Iliescu, following a statement regarding the returning of the illegally confiscated properties during the years of theSocialist Republic of Romania to the original owners or their heirs. This first attempt in 1995 did not pass the vote inParliament.
The second attempt was successful, with the person suspended beingTraian Băsescu, in office as of April 2007. He became the first president to successfully be suspended and also the first to face an impeachment vote before the people regarding issues withsupposed unconstitutional acts. The impeachmentplebiscite was held on19 May 2007, and Băsescu survived the impeachment attempt. The result was the rejection of the proposal by 24.94% in favor to 75.06% opposed.
The third attempt led to a second successful suspension in July 2012, again againstTraian Băsescu. The referendum was held on 29 July 2012, and the results were 88.7% in favor and 11.3% opposed, with voter turnout calculated to be 46.24%, below the 50% + one vote threshold required at the time the referendum was held. TheConstitutional Court did not give a verdict on the validation of the referendum at the time, citing irregularities in the permanent electoral lists. On 21 August, the Court deemed the referendum invalid, and again, Băsescu prevailed from being ousted.[9]
A proposal for a fourth attempt culminated with Klaus Iohannis resigning as President of Romania on 12 February 2025 in order to "not create a divided Romania".[10]
| Part ofa series on Orders of succession |
| Presidencies |
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Should the office of the president become vacant due to resignation, impeachment, permanent inability to perform the duties of office, or death while in office, thepresident of the Senate becomesacting president. If the president of the Senate is also vacant when the presidency becomes vacant, thepresident of the Chamber of Deputies becomes acting president.[11]
Neither has to relinquish their position as president of their respective Legislative House for the duration of the ad interim term. The acting president cannot address theParliament, dissolve the Parliament, nor call for a referendum (the impeachment referendum after a motion of suspension is called by Parliament). The vacancy of the office cannot be longer than three months.[12][13] While the president is suspended, the office is not considered vacant.
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| George Simion | Alliance for the Union of Romanians[a] | 3,862,761 | 40.96 | 5,339,053 | 46.40 | |
| Nicușor Dan | Independent[b] | 1,979,767 | 20.99 | 6,168,642 | 53.60 | |
| Crin Antonescu | Romania Forward Electoral Alliance[c] | 1,892,930 | 20.07 | |||
| Victor Ponta | Independent[d] | 1,230,164 | 13.04 | |||
| Elena Lasconi | Save Romania Union | 252,721 | 2.68 | |||
| Lavinia Șandru | Social Liberal Humanist Party | 60,682 | 0.64 | |||
| Daniel Funeriu | Independent | 49,604 | 0.53 | |||
| Cristian Terheș | Romanian National Conservative Party | 36,445 | 0.39 | |||
| Sebastian Popescu [ro] | New Romania Party | 25,994 | 0.28 | |||
| John Ion Banu [ro] | Independent | 22,020 | 0.23 | |||
| Silviu Predoiu [ro] | National Action League Party | 17,186 | 0.18 | |||
| Total | 9,430,274 | 100.00 | 11,507,695 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 9,430,274 | 98.52 | 11,507,695 | 98.85 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 141,466 | 1.48 | 134,171 | 1.15 | ||
| Total votes | 9,571,740 | 100.00 | 11,641,866 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 17,988,031 | 53.21 | 17,988,218 | 64.72 | ||
| Source: Permanent Electoral Authority[14][15] | ||||||
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Sergiu Verona (July 1989). "Government and Politics". In Bachman, Ronald D (ed.).Romania: a country study.Federal Research Division,Library of Congress.LCCN 90006449.| President |
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