List of presidents of Romania

The president of Romania serves as the head of state of Romania. The office was created by the Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu in 1974 and has developed into its modern form after the Romanian Revolution and the adoption of the 1991 constitution. The current president is Nicușor Dan, who has been serving since 26 May 2025.

List

;Key regarding the political parties of affiliation:

(PCR)

(FSN)

(PSD)

(PNȚCD)

(PDL)

(PNL)

Socialist Republic of Romania (1965–1989)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" | Portrait

! rowspan="2" |Name (Birth–Death)

! rowspan="2" |Elected

! colspan="3" width="30%" | Term of office

! rowspan="2" width="35%" | Political Party

! rowspan="2" | Ref.

!Took office

!Left office

!Time in office

|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

! rowspan="2" style="background:; color:white" | 1

| rowspan="2" |80px

| rowspan="2" |Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989)

| rowspan="2" |1974

1980

1985

| 28 March 1974

| 22 December 1989

|15 years,

249 days

|Romanian Communist Party (PCR)

| rowspan="2" |

| colspan="4" |Despite his country's membership in the Warsaw Pact, Ceaușescu recognised the state of Israel, supported Romanian nationalism, and denounced the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. With his 1971 July Theses speech, Ceaușescu launched a quasi-Maoist and Neo-Stalinist cultural reform. He and his wife, Elena Ceaușescu were deposed during the 1989 Romanian Revolution and were both executed three days later.

Romania (1989–present)

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center

! rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" | Portrait

! rowspan="2" |Name (Birth–Death)

! rowspan="2" |Elected

! colspan="3" width="30%" |Term of office

! rowspan="2" width="35%" |Political Party

! rowspan="2" | Ref.

!Took office

!Left office

!Time in office

|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

! bgcolor="#EEEEEE" rowspan="2" style="background:; color:white" | —

| bgcolor="#EEEEEE" rowspan="4" |80px

| bgcolor="#EEEEEE" rowspan="4" |Ion Iliescu (1930–2025)

| rowspan="2" |1990

| 26 December 1989

| 20 June 1990

|176 days

|National Salvation Front (FSN)

| rowspan="2" |

| colspan="4" |A former Romanian Communist Party (PCR) high-ranking member and subsequent relative dissident, Iliescu was one of the main founders of the National Salvation Front (FSN) during the 1989 Revolution. As a member of the FSN triumvirate, Iliescu served as the acting head of state of Romania for almost six months during the beginning of its slow transition to a market economy and multi-party democracy.

|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

! rowspan="2" style="background:; color:white" | 2

| rowspan="2" |1990 1992

| 20 June 1990

| 29 November 1996

|6 years,

161 days

|National Salvation Front (FSN)

| rowspan="2" |

| colspan="4" style="font-size:85%;"|Constantinescu was the successful candidate of the right-leaning Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) which won the 1996 general elections, consequently paving the way for the first peaceful transfer of power in post-1989 Romania. During his term as president, Constantinescu struggled with the slow implementation of the modernization and privatization process which was bogged down by excessive bureaucracy.

Nonetheless, the CDR coalition managed to secure three prime ministers who initiated liberalizing economic reforms under Constantinescu's presidency, although the overall progress was meagre.

|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

! rowspan="2" style="background:; color:white" | (2)

| rowspan="2" |80px

| rowspan="2" |Ion Iliescu (1930–2025)

| rowspan="2" |2000

| 20 December 2000

| 20 December 2004

|4 years

|Social Democratic Party (PSD)

| rowspan="2" |

| colspan="4" style="font-size:85%;" | Elected with the support of the right-leaning Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), Băsescu won the presidency in 2004 on a platform targeting widespread political corruption. During his first term, Romania joined in the European Union (EU). In spite of the harsh opposition of the left-leaning parties (especially the PSD and the PRM), he publicly condemned the former communist regime.

His second term was marked by a landslide victory of the opposition coalition, specifically the Social Liberal Union (USL), in both the local and the legislative elections of 2012, amidst heavy losses for the presidential party (i.e. the Democratic Liberal Party).

Internationally, Băsescu aligned Romania closer to the United States, the European Union (EU), and NATO, maintaining a pro-Western foreign policy throughout both his terms. He was suspended twice, namely in 2007 and 2012. Both impeachment referendums were invalidated by the Constitutional Court on the grounds of low turnout, thus paving his way for a comeback to presidency.

|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

! rowspan=3 style="background:; color:black" | 5

|rowspan=3|80px

|rowspan=3|Klaus Iohannis (born 1959)

|rowspan=2|2014 2019

| 21 December 2014

| 12 February 2025

|National Liberal Party (PNL)

|rowspan=3|

| colspan="4" style="font-size:85%;"|Elected with the support of the right-leaning Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL), Iohannis won against former USL ally and coalition partner Victor Ponta in the run-off of the 2014 Romanian presidential elections. During the presidential campaign, his platform focused on anti-corruption, judicial independence, and fiscal relaxation. He is also the first Romanian President to have stemmed from an ethnic minority, as he is of German (more specifically Transylvanian Saxon) origin.

In the wake of the 2016 legislative elections, his first presidential term was marked by the frequent change of prime ministers made by his former and current close allies, the social democrats, as well as by the most massive and widespread series of protests to have ever occurred in the history of Romania (which were directed against the political corruption supposedly endorsed by the social democratic governments).

After defeating PSD candidate Viorica Dăncilă by a landslide in both presidential election rounds during late 2019, his second term has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and by further political instability (resulting in the 2021 Romanian political crisis) and democratic backsliding. In 2023, Iohannis faced a general strike of the Romanian teachers. His second term was also subject to multiple political errors and controversies.

|bgcolor="#EEEEEE"|2024

| colspan="4" style="font-size:85%;"|After far-right candidate Călin Georgescu took a shock lead in the first round of the 2024 presidential election, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results and cancelled the second round over allegations of Russian covert interference and illegal campaign spending by Georgescu. Though Iohannis's second term was due to expire in late December 2024, the Constitutional Court permitted him to stay in office until the inauguration of a successor. However, Iohannis resigned on 12 February 2025 after opposition parties proposed an impeachment vote.

|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

| rowspan="2" style="background:; " | 6

|rowspan="2" |80px

|rowspan="2" |Nicușor Dan (born 1969)

|rowspan="2" |2025

|26 May 2025

|Incumbent

|Independent3

|rowspan=2|

| colspan="4"|

Notes:

1 Emil Constantinescu was the candidate of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD) whose candidacy was supported as part of the larger right-leaning Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) in both 1992 and 1996;

2 Traian Băsescu was the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party (PD) whose candidacy was supported as part of the larger right-leaning Justice and Truth Alliance (DA) in 2004, alongside the National Liberal Party. In 2009, his re-election was supported only by the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) along with a certain faction of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD);

3 Nicușor Dan was not a member of any party, but he was elected with the support of the Justice and Respect in Europe for All Party (DREPT), People's Movement Party (PMP), Force of the Right (FD), Renewing Romania's European Project (REPER), Romania in Action Party (RîA), Green Party (PV), Health Education Nature Sustainability Party (SENS) and Hungarian Alliance of Transylvania (EMSZ), as well as the Save Romania Union (USR) which had previously endorsed Elena Lasconi.

Acting presidents (2007; 2012; 2025)

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center

! rowspan="2" width="1%" | Nº

! rowspan="2" width="2%" | Portrait

! rowspan="2" width="20%" |Name (Birth–Death)

! colspan="3" width="30%" |Term of office

! rowspan="2" width="20%" |Political Party

!Took office

!Left office

!Time in office

| rowspan="2" style="background:; color:white" | —

| rowspan="2" |80px

| rowspan="2" |Nicolae Văcăroiu (born 1943)

| 20 April 2007

| 23 May 2007

|33 days

| rowspan="2" |Social Democratic Party (PSD)

| colspan="3" |Văcăroiu, the president of the Senate, served as interim president following Băsescu's first impeachment.

| rowspan="2" style="background:; color:black" | —

| rowspan="2" |80px

| rowspan="2" |Crin Antonescu (born 1959)

| 10 July 2012

| 27 August 2012

|48 days

| rowspan="2" |National Liberal Party (PNL)

| colspan="3" |Antonescu, the president of the Senate, served as interim president following Băsescu's second impeachment.

| rowspan="2" style="background:; color:black" | —

| rowspan="2" |80px

| rowspan="2" |Ilie Bolojan (born 1969)

| 12 February 2025

| 26 May 2025

| days

| rowspan="2" |National Liberal Party (PNL)

| colspan="3" |Bolojan, the president of the Senate, served as interim president from Iohannis' resignation ahead of an impeachment vote until Dan's inauguration.

Timeline

Notes

References

Bulei, Ion, O istorie a românilor, Editura Meronia, București, 2007, pg. 266-267

List

Socialist Republic of Romania (1965–1989)

Romania (1989–present)

Acting presidents (2007; 2012; 2025)

Timeline

See also

Notes

References