The National Peasants' Party (Partidul Naţional Ţărănesc or PNŢ) was a Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

, formed in 1926 through the fusion of the Romanian National Party

Romanian National Party

The Romanian National Party , initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat , was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Transleithanian half of Austria-Hungary, and especially to those in...

 (Partidul Naţional Român) from Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 and the Peasants' Party

Peasants' Party (Romania)

The Peasants' Party was a political party in post-World War I Romania that espoused a left-wing ideology partly connected with Agrarianism and Populism, and aimed to represent the interests of the Romanian peasantry. Through many of its leaders, the party was connected with Romanian populism , a...

 (Partidul Ţărănesc). It was in power between 1928 and 1933, with brief interruptions. A moderately conservative party, with some left-wing corporatist

Corporatism

Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...

 views (supporting, for instance, voluntary cooperative farming), it remained staunchly pro-monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

.

A former member, Corneliu Coposu

Corneliu Coposu

-Early life:Coposu was born in Bobota, Sălaj County to the Romanian Greek-Catholic archpriest Valentin Coposu and his wife Aurelia Coposu...

, claimed that 270,000 PNŢ members were sent to prisons and work camps, where three quarters of them perished, beginning in 1947 when the party was banned by the Communist government following the Tămădău Affair

Tamadau Affair

The Tămădău Affair was an incident that took place in Romania in the summer of 1947, the source of a political scandal and show trial.It was provoked when an important number of National Peasants' Party leaders, including party vice president Ion Mihalache, had been offered a chance to flee...

. Both party president Iuliu Maniu

Iuliu Maniu

Iuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...

 and deputy leader Ion Mihalache

Ion Mihalache

Ion Mihalache was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party .-Early life:...

 died in prison during the Communist regime.

Former PNŢ members Corneliu Coposu and Ion Raţiu

Ion Ratiu

Ion Raţiu was a Romanian politician and the presidential candidate of the National Peasants' Party in the 1990 elections, in which he ranked third with 4.29% of the vote.-Biography:...

 founded a new party in December 1989 under the name Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party

Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party (Romania)

The Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party is a Romanian Christian-Democratic party...

 (Partidul Naţional Ţărănesc Creştin şi Democrat – PNŢCD or PNŢcd). It was the first officially registered political party after the fall of Communism.

Notable members

• Iuliu Maniu
  Iuliu Maniu
  Iuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
  
  
• Ion Mihalache
  Ion Mihalache
  Ion Mihalache was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party .-Early life:...
  
  
• Alexandru Vaida Voevod
• Virgil Madgearu
  Virgil Madgearu
  Virgil Traian N. Madgearu was a Romanian economist, sociologist, and left-wing politician, prominent member and main theorist of the Peasants' Party and of its successor, the National Peasants' Party...
  
  
• Ion Raţiu
  Ion Ratiu
  Ion Raţiu was a Romanian politician and the presidential candidate of the National Peasants' Party in the 1990 elections, in which he ranked third with 4.29% of the vote.-Biography:...
  
  
• Corneliu Coposu
  Corneliu Coposu
  -Early life:Coposu was born in Bobota, Sălaj County to the Romanian Greek-Catholic archpriest Valentin Coposu and his wife Aurelia Coposu...
  
  
• Ioan Alexandru
  Ioan Alexandru
  Ioan Alexandru was a Romanian poet, essayist and politician. After the Romanian revolution in 1989, Ioan Alexandru became a founding member and vice president of the PNŢCD...
  
  

External links

History of the National Peasants' Party