Country in SE Europe, bounded N and E
by Ukraine, E by Moldova, SE by the
Black Sea, S by Bulgaria, SW by
Yugoslavia, and NW by Hungary.
• government
Under the 1991 constitution, Romania has
a limited presidential political system.
There is a two-chamber legislature,
comprising a 341-member chamber of
deputies (lower chamber), in which
additional seats are set aside for
minorities, and a 143-member senate
(upper chamber). Both are elected for
four-year terms by means of proportional
representation in multiparty contests. An
executive president is directly elected for a
four-year term in a two-round majority
contest. The president appoints the prime
minister, who in turn appoints a cabinet, or
council of ministers.
• history
The earliest known inhabitants merged
with invaders from Thrace. Ancient Rome
made it the province of Dacia; the poet
Ovid was one of the settlers, and the
people and language were Romanized.
After the withdrawal of the Romans AD
275, Romania was occupied by Goths, and
during the 6th-12th centuries was overrun
by Huns, Bulgars, Slavs, and other
invaders.
The principalities of Wallachia in the south,
and Moldavia in the east, dating from the
14th century, fell to the Ottoman Empire in
the 15th and 16th centuries.
Turkish rule was exchanged for Russian
protection 1829-56. In 1859 Moldavia and
Wallachia elected Prince Alexander Cuza,
under whom they were united as Romania
from 1861. He was deposed 1866 and
Prince Charles of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen elected. After
the Russo-Turkish war 1877-78, in which
Romania sided with Russia, the great
powers recognized Romania's
independence, and in 1881 Prince Charles
became King Carol I.
Country in SE Europe, bounded N and E
by Ukraine, E by Moldova, SE by the
Black Sea, S by Bulgaria, SW by
Yugoslavia, and NW by Hungary.
