Senate of Romania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Senatul The Senate |
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| Type | Upper house | ||||
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| Houses | Senatul | ||||
| President | Nicolae Văcăroiu, Social Democratic Party since 2004 |
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| Members | 137 | ||||
| Political groups | Social Democratic Party: 42 National Liberal Party: 25 Democratic Party: 21 Greater Romania Party: 16 Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania: 10 Conservative Party: 11 Independents: 11 |
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| Last elections | 2004 | ||||
| Meeting place | Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest | ||||
| Web site | www.senat.ro | ||||
The Senate of Romania (Romanian: Senat) is the upper house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 137 seats (as of November 28, 2004), to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using proportional representation in 42 electoral districts (the 41 counties plus the city of Bucharest), to serve four-year terms.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Senate was housed in Palatul Senatului, located in Revolution Square. That U-shaped structure was built from 1938 to 1941 under engineer Emil Prager's coordination, following the plans of architect Emil Nădejde. It housed the Council of Ministers and from 1958 to 1989 it was the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. During the Revolution, Romanian President Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena fled by helicopter from the roof of the building. In 2005 Senators moved into the Palace of the Parliament, joining their colleagues from the Chamber of Deputies. Palatul Senatului now houses offices of the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.
Contents |
[edit] Composition
[edit] 2004 elections
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In the Romanian legislative election, 2004, held on November 28, 2004, the Justice and Truth Alliance won the greatest number of seats, even though no party won an outright majority. The current President of the Senate of Romania is Nicolae Văcăroiu, who was elected on December 20, 2004. Following his ad interim presidency of Romania, he delegated his attributions to the vicepresident Doru Ioan Tărăcilă.
Until April 2007, the Justice and Truth Alliance governed in coalition with other minor parties. In April 2007, after the break-up of the Justice and Truth Alliance, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians formed a minority government coalition (highlighted in bold in the table below).
| Party | % of seats | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | 31.4 | 43 | |
| National Liberal Party | 16 | 22 | |
| Democratic Party | 15.4 | 21 | |
| Greater Romania Party | 13.1 | 18 | |
| Conservative Party | 8.0 | 11 | |
| Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania | 7.3 | 10 | |
| Independents | 8.8 | 12 | |
| Total | 100 | 137 | |
[edit] 2000 elections
Elections to the Senate were held on November 26, 2000, in which the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) won an overall majority. Then President of the Senate of Romania was Nicolae Văcăroiu, who was elected in December, 2000. The allocation of seats was as follows:
Party ' % of seats' seats PSD 46.43 65 PRM 26.43 37 PNL 9.29 13 PD 9.29 13 UDMR 8.57 12 Others 0.00 0
[edit] Presidents of the Senate
The Standing Bureau of the Senate consists of the President of the Senate, four vice-presidents, four secretaries, and four quaestors. The President of the Standing Bureau also serves as the President of the Senate. The President is elected, by secret ballot, for the duration of the legislative period.[1]
| Period | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1990-1992 | Alexandru Bârlădeanu | FSN |
| 1992-1996 | Oliviu Gherman | FDSN |
| 1996-February | Petre Roman | PD |
| February 2000 - November 2000 | Mircea Ionescu-Quintus | PNL |
| 2000-2004 | Nicolae Văcăroiu | PDSR/PSD |
| 2004- | Nicolae Văcăroiu | PSD |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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