Democratic Nationalist Party (Romania)

Democratic Nationalist Party Partidul Naționalist-Democrat
President	Nicolae Iorga/A. C. Cuza (first) Petre Topa (last)
Founded	May 6 [O.S. April 23] 1910
Dissolved	1946; 78 years ago (1946)
Split from	Conservative Party
Merged into	National Liberal Party–Tătărescu
Newspaper	Neamul Românesc Răvașul Naționalist-Democrat
Ideology	Producerism Economic antisemitism Corporatism Anti-communism[1] Right-wing populism
National affiliation	Parliamentary Bloc (1919) Federation of National Social Democracy (1920) Democratic Bloc (1920) National Union (1931) National-Democratic Coalition (1944)
Colours	Black
Party flag
Politics of Romania Political parties Elections

The Democratic Nationalist Party or Nationalist Democratic Party (Romanian: Partidul Naționalist-Democrat, PND) was a political party in Romania, established by historian Nicolae Iorga (who was also its longest-serving leader) and jurist A. C. Cuza. Its support base was in the lower reaches of the Romanian middle class, and, especially through Cuza's ideology, it reflected the xenophobia, economic antisemitism, and producerism of that particular environment. The PND was a weak challenge to the mainstream political forces, either conservative or liberal, failing in its bid to become Romania's third-strongest party. By 1916, it was effectively split between Iorga's moderates and Cuza's radicals, suspending its activity for the remainder of World War I.

The PND reemerged as a significant force in Greater Romania, after November 1918. It frequently changed names and refined its official stance, becoming closely aligned with Iorga's evolving ideas on society and politics. During the early 1920s, it trailed to the left of the political spectrum, caucusing with the Peasants' Party, and supporting a "Democratic Bloc" coalition against the National Liberals; its far-right faction seceded and became the National-Christian Defense League. Around 1925, the PND itself returned to national conservatism, briefly merging with the Romanian National Party, but resuming independence in 1926, when the latter merged into the National Peasants' Party. It reemerged with an agenda supporting technocracy and corporatism, and was brought to power in 1931, when King Carol II appointed Iorga as Prime Minister.

The PND and its allies attempted to tackle the Great Depression in Romania with controversial measures such as debt relief, and the government was voted out of office in the 1932 elections. Iorga's version of middle-class nationalism faded into political insignificance with the advent of fascist movements, in particular the Iron Guard; his own growing support for authoritarianism led him to dissolve the PND in 1938, when he and other cadres joined Carol's National Renaissance Front. He participated in the clampdown against the Iron Guard, which led to his killing in 1940.

The PND was revived clandestinely during World War II, with Petre Topa at its helm. In this final part of its existence, it joined up with liberal and socialist forces in opposing the Ion Antonescu dictatorship. It supported the coup of August 1944, and afterward enjoyed a brief existence as a legal party, before merging into the National Liberal Party–Tătărescu. From ca. 1950, Topa and various former PND affiliates were imprisoned by the Romanian communist regime, while others were recovered and enjoyed high favor.