SUMMARY

NSF (National Salvation Front; Frontul Salvarii Nationale, FSN) was an organization opposed to the Romanian regime under Nicolae Ceausescu. The group was composed of disgruntled members of the Romanian Communist party, and commanders in the Romanian Army sympathetic to their cause. In March 1989, six veteran members of the Communist Party (including prominent ones like Gheorghe Apostol and Constantin Pirvulescu) produced an open letter, where they began criticizing Ceausescu’s rule of the country, especially his abuse of power and faltering economic policies. This has widely been considered as the first step in the process that eventually led to Ceausescu’s downfall.

As the popular protests against Ceausescu unfolded in December 1989, students, human rights activists, some leaders of other political organizations than the Communists, and representatives from the technical, managerial, and cultural intelligentsia joined the communist cadres of the NSF. Thus, while the NSF top leadership intended to overthrow Ceausescu, it did not initiate the popular protests; it did however serve as a rallying point for the opposition. Communists like Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman, Silviu Brucan, and Dumitru Mazilu led the NSF.

Following Ceausescu’s arrest on 22 December 1989, and his subsequent execution on 25 December, NSF formed a transitional government led by President Ion Iliescu. After 22 December 1989, NSF is thus considered as the Government of Romania according to the UCDP definition. NSF transformed into a political party in 1990, and was split into a neo-Communist and a reformist faction in the 1992 parliamentary election.

The NSF received significant support from the Romanian Army, which withdrew its support to the Ceausescu regime and sided with the protestors.