Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania - History

History

UDMR was founded December 25, 1989, immediately after the fall of the Communist dictatorship in the (Romanian Revolution of 1989), to represent in public the interests of the Hungarian community in Romania. Its founder was the writer Géza Domokos.

UDMR obtained consistent results during the 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections, gaining representation in both houses of the Parliament. Until 1996, the UDMR acted in opposition. From 1996 the party governed in a coalition with the Romanian Democratic Convention (Convenţia Democrată Română, CDR)—a wide alliance that won the elections that year—and obtained some positions in the government of Victor Ciorbea.

Four years later, the formerly-in-opposition Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) won the 2000 elections. Although UDMR did not join the new government as a coalition partner, it did sign a series of annual contracts with the PSD in which the PSD pledged to implement certain legal rights for the Hungarian minority community in return for UDMR's support in parliament.

In the 2004 elections, the UDMR made an alliance to back Adrian Năstase of the Social Democratic Party, who was the favourite to win the presidential elections, but the surprise victory of Traian Băsescu rocked the Romanian political spectrum. After negotiations, the UDMR, together with the Romanian Humanist Party (now the Conservative Party), defected from the PSD alliance and pledged to form a coalition with the Justice and Truth Alliance. The UDMR obtained positions in the government. After the 2008 Romanian legislative elections UDMR entered in opposition.

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