Great National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Romania

For other uses, see Great National Assembly (disambiguation).

The Great National Assembly (Romanian: Marea Adunare Națională; MAN) was the supreme body of state power of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The Great National Assembly was the only branch of government in Romania, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. After the overthrow of Communism in Romania in December 1989, the Great National Assembly was dissolved by decree of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and eventually replaced by the bicameral parliament, made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Great National Assembly Marea Adunare Națională
Communist Romania (1948-1989)
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	1948
Disbanded	1989
Preceded by	Romanian: Reprezentanța Națională1 (Adunarea Deputaților2)
Succeeded by	Parliament of Romania (Chamber of Deputies and the Senate)
Seats	369
Elections
Voting system	Direct show elections
Meeting place
Palatul Adunării Deputaților
Footnotes
1the name under which the Parliament of Romania was defined by the 1866 and 1923 Constitutions; 2after World War II the Constitution of 1923 was reestablished; due to the communist occupation of the country the Senate was suspended;

The Great National Assembly was elected every four years, and each individual member represented 60,000 citizens. The system was created to imitate the Soviet model.

Powers

The MAN had the power to, among other things, amend the constitution and appoint and depose the Supreme Commander of the Romanian People's Army. The resolutions required a simple majority to be passed through.^[1]

The Assembly convened twice a year for ordinary sessions and for extraordinary sessions as many times as required by the State Council or by at least one third of the members of the Assembly. It elected its own chairmen and four deputies to preside each session.^[1] On paper, it was the highest level of state power in Romania, and all other state organs were subordinate to it. In practice, like all other Communist legislatures, it did little more than give legal sanction to decisions already made by the Romanian Communist Party (PCR).

Formally, the MAN gained in power over time. The 1948 Constitution (article 39) granted it just eight powers;^[2] the 1952 Constitution (article 24), 10;^[3] the 1965 Constitution (article 43), 24.^[1]

Voters were presented with a single slate of candidates from an alliance dominated by the PCR—known as the People's Democratic Front from 1947 to 1968, the Socialist Unity Front from 1968 to 1980, and the Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy from 1980 to 1989. Since no one could run for office without Front approval, the Front—and through it, the PCR—effectively predetermined the composition of the Assembly.^[4]

When the Assembly was not in session, some of its powers were exercised by the State Council (which the Constitution defined as the MAN in permanent session), such as setting guidelines for the law and supervising the local councils. It could also issue governmental regulations in lieu of law. If such regulation was not approved by the MAN at its next session, it was considered revoked. However, under the principles of democratic centralism, such approval was merely a formality. Combined with the MAN's infrequent sessions, this meant that State Council decisions de facto had the force of law. In emergencies, the State Council assumed the MAN's powers to control the budget and economic plan, appoint and dismiss ministers and justices of the Supreme Court, mobilize the armed forces and declare war.

1980 elections

According to the official results of the March 9, 1980, election, which elected 369 deputies, 99.99% of the registered voters cast their votes. Of them, 98.52% approved the Front list, 1.48% voted against and just 44 votes were declared invalid.^[1]

192 seats of the Assembly were occupied by women and 47 seats belonged to national minorities (mainly Hungarians and Germans).^[1]

Presidents of the Great National Assembly

The "lower house" numbering continues from the numbering of presidents of the old Assembly of Deputies (1862–1948).

Great National Assembly presidents

Lower house number	No.	Name	Portrait	Lifespan	Took office	Left office	Party
41	1	Gheorghe Apostol		1913–2010	7 April 1948	11 June 1948		PMR
42	2	Constantin Agiu		1891–1961	11 June 1948	27 December 1948		PMR
43	3	Constantin Pârvulescu		1895–1992	27 December 1948	5 July 1949		PMR
44	4	Dumitru Petrescu		1906–1969	5 July 1949	28 December 1949		PMR
45	5	Alexandru Drăghici		1913–1993	28 December 1949	26 January 1950		PMR
(44)	(4)	Dumitru Petrescu		1906–1969	26 January 1950	29 May 1950		PMR
46	6	Constantin Doncea		1904–1973	29 May 1950	6 September 1950		PMR
(41)	(1)	Gheorghe Apostol		1913–2010	6 September 1950	5 April 1951		PMR
47	7	Ion Vincze		1910–1996	5 April 1951	26 March 1952		PMR
(41)	(1)	Gheorghe Apostol		1913–2010	26 March 1952	6 June 1952		PMR
48	8	Gheorghe Stoica		1900–1976	2 June 1952	30 November 1952		PMR
(43)	(3)	Constantin Pârvulescu		1895–1992	23 January 1953	5 March 1961		PMR
49	9	Ştefan Voitec		1900–1984	20 March 1961	28 March 1974		PMR/PCR
50	10	Miron Constantinescu		1917–1974	28 March 1974	18 July 1974		PCR
51	11	Nicolae Giosan		1921–1990	26 July 1974	12 December 1989		PCR

References

1. Richard Staar, Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe (4th revised edition, 1984), Hoover Institution, Stanford University. pg. 193-194
2. 1948 Constitution of Romania
3. 1952 Constitution of Romania
4. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Sergiu Verona (July 1989). "Government and Politics". In Bachman, Ronald D (ed.). Romania: a country study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. LCCN 90006449.