National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)

National Liberal Party
Partidul Național Liberal
AbbreviationPNL
FoundersIon C. Brătianu
Ion Ghica
Mihail Kogălniceanu
C.A. Rosetti
Founded24 May 1875 (1875-05-24)
Dissolved1947[a]
1950[b]
Succeeded byNational Liberal Party (1990)
NewspaperRomânul (1875–84)
Voinţa naţională (1884–1914)
Viitorul (1914–38, 1944–45[a])
Liberalul (1946–47)[a]
Drapelul (1944–48)[b]
Youth wingNational Liberal Youth
Ideology
Political positionCentre[1]
SloganPrin noi înșine!
(Through ourselves alone!)

  1. ^ a b c Brătianu faction
  2. ^ a b Tătărescu/Bejan faction

The National Liberal Party (Romanian: Partidul Național Liberal, PNL) was the first organised political party in Romania, a major force in the country's politics from its foundation in 1875 to World War II. Established in order to represent the interests of the nascent local bourgeoisie, until World War I it contested power with the Conservative Party, supported primarily by wealthy landowners, effectively creating a two-party system in a political system which severely limited the representation of the peasant majority through census suffrage. Unlike its major opponent, the PNL managed to preserve its prominence after the implementation of universal male suffrage, playing an important role in shaping the institutional framework of Greater Romania during the 1920s.

  1. ^ Hitchins, Keith. Rumania, 1866-1947. Kiribati, Clarendon Press, 1994. pp 24.