The Revolution of December 1989 and the Post-Communist Transition

The Romanian Revolution began in Timișoara on 16 December 1989, when parishioners tried to protect the Reformed pastor László Tőkés, who was threatened with eviction. The protest turned into a demonstration against the regime. On 17–20 December the army and the Securitate opened fire on the demonstrators, killing dozens of people. On 20 December Timișoara was declared the “first city free of Communism”. On that day Ceaușescu, back from a visit to Iran, gave a televised speech in which he condemned the revolt as the work of “hooligans”.

On 21 December, in front of the Central Committee building in Bucharest, Ceaușescu tried to hold a rally of support, but the crowd booed him and the live broadcast was cut off. In the evening, in the city centre, at University Square, bloody repressions took place. On the morning of 22 December thousands of people gathered in front of the party headquarters, and Ceaușescu fled by helicopter from the roof. Free Romanian Television broadcast the events live, and Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman and others announced the formation of the National Salvation Front, which took power.

Ceaușescu and his wife were arrested at Târgoviște, tried by an extraordinary military tribunal and executed on 25 December 1989. In the following days confusion and tragedy continued, with gunfire and civilian and military casualties, including in Sibiu, Cluj, Brașov and Bucharest. The total number of deaths was about 1,100–1,200, most of them after 22 December. The events remain to this day a subject of historical and judicial debate, and the truth about the “terrorists” and the manipulations of those days has been hard to establish.

The beginning of the 1990s was difficult. The elections of 20 May 1990 were won by Ion Iliescu and the FSN. The demonstrations in University Square (April–June 1990) were put down by miners brought to Bucharest, in the so-called “mineriad” of 13–15 June 1990. In 1991 the Constitution of Romania was adopted (approved by referendum on 8 December), which established a semi-presidential regime, political pluralism and human rights. The transition to a market economy began, with privatizations, property reform and the restitution of land, but also with unemployment, inflation and a falling standard of living.

In 1996, Romania experienced its first democratic transfer of power, with the victory of Emil Constantinescu, supported by the Democratic Convention. The government began difficult reforms, and in 1996 and 1997 Romania signed basic treaties with Hungary and Ukraine, essential for regional security. The period from 1997 to 2000 brought economic crisis and widespread disappointment. In 2000 Ion Iliescu returned to power. During this period, efforts began to recognize minority rights, strengthen the rule of law and prepare Romania for integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.