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Great National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Romania

Supreme body of the state of Romania (1948–1989)

Summary

Supreme body of the state of Romania (1948–1989)

Field	Value
name	Great National Assembly
native_name	Marea Adunare Națională
coa_pic	Coat of arms of Romania (1965–1989).svg
coa_res	200px
house_type	Unicameral
legislature	Communist Romania (1948-1989)
established	13 April 1948
preceded_by
disbanded	22 December 1989
succeeded_by	Parliament of Romania (Assembly of Deputies, later Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate)
members	369
voting_system1	Direct show elections
session_room	Palatul Camerei Deputatilor1.jpg
meeting_place	Palatul Adunării Deputaților
footnotes	{{center block	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;

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 (, 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 Assembly of Deputies and the Senate.

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.

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. 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; the 1952 Constitution (article 24), 10; the 1965 Constitution (article 43), 24.

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.

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 9 March 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.

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

Presidents of the Great National Assembly

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

Lower
house
number	No.	Name	Portrait	Lifespan	Took office	Left office	Party	41	42	43	44	45	(44)	46	(41)	47	(41)	48	(43)	49	50	51
1	Gheorghe Apostol	[[File:Gheorghe Apostol.jpg	60px]]	1913–2010	7 April 1948	11 June 1948	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
2	Constantin Agiu	[[File:Constantin Agiu.jpg	60px]]	1891–1961	11 June 1948	27 December 1948	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
3	Constantin Pârvulescu	[[File:Constantin Pirvulescu.jpg	60px]]	1895–1992	27 December 1948	5 July 1949	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
4	Dumitru Petrescu	[[File:Dumitru Petrescu.jpg	60px]]	1906–1969	5 July 1949	28 December 1949	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
5	Alexandru Drăghici	[[File:Alexandru Drăghici.jpg	60px]]	1913–1993	28 December 1949	26 January 1950	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
(4)	Dumitru Petrescu	[[File:Dumitru Petrescu.jpg	60px]]	1906–1969	26 January 1950	29 May 1950	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
6	Constantin Doncea	[[File:Constantin Doncea.jpg	60px]]	1904–1973	29 May 1950	6 September 1950	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
(1)	Gheorghe Apostol	[[File:Gheorghe Apostol.jpg	60px]]	1913–2010	6 September 1950	5 April 1951	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
7	Ion Vincze	[[File:Ion Vinte.jpg	60px]]	1910–1996	5 April 1951	26 March 1952	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
(1)	Gheorghe Apostol	[[File:Gheorghe Apostol.jpg	60px]]	1913–2010	26 March 1952	6 June 1952	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
8	Gheorghe Stoica	[[File:Gheorghe Stoica.jpg	60px]]	1900–1976	2 June 1952	30 November 1952	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
(3)	Constantin Pârvulescu	[[File:Constantin Pirvulescu.jpg	60px]]	1895–1992	23 January 1953	5 March 1961	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR
9	Ştefan Voitec	[[File:Stefan Voitec1.jpg	60px]]	1900–1984	20 March 1961	28 March 1974	Romanian Communist Party}}		PMR/PCR
10	Miron Constantinescu	[[File:Miron Constantinescu.jpg	60px]]	1917–1974	28 March 1974	18 July 1974	Romanian Communist Party}}		PCR
11	Nicolae Giosan	[[File:Nicolae Giosan.jpg	60px]]	1921–1990	26 July 1974	12 December 1989	Romanian Communist Party}}		PCR

References

Richard Staar, ''Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe'' (4th revised edition, 1984), [[Hoover Institution]], [[Stanford University]]. pg. 193-194
[http://constitutia.ro/const1948.htm 1948 Constitution of Romania]
[http://constitutia.ro/const1952.htm 1952 Constitution of Romania]
{{csref. Sergiu Verona

Wikipedia Source

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socialist-republic-of-romania defunct-unicameral-legislatures 1948-establishments-in-romania 1989-disestablishments-in-romania

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