GeographyCountry name: Romania. Capital: Bucharest. Government type: Republic. Independence: 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947). Administrative divisions: 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea. Terrain: central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps. Total area: 237,500 kmē. Coastline: 225 km. Highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m. Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Ports and harbors: Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea. |
forms a nominally minority government, which
governs with the support of the opposition
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. The country became a member of the European Union in 2007.
The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. Ceausescu was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties.
In 1940, it allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king.
The
principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of
the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859
under the new name of Romania. The country gained full independence in 1878. It
joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories following
the conflict.
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