Chamber of Deputies (Romania)

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 312 regular seats to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote using party-list proportional representation to serve four-year terms.
Additionally, the organisation of each national ethnic minority is entitled to a seat in the Chamber. As of the 2024 election, there are 19 such additional seats.

Leadership and structure

Standing Bureau

The is the body elected by the deputies that rules the Chamber. Its president is the President of the Chamber, who is elected for a whole legislature. All the other members are elected at the beginning of each parliamentary session.
The Chamber of Deputies in Romania is chosen through a democratic process, where all citizens have an equal opportunity to vote freely and privately. It serves as a forum for the exchange of diverse viewpoints on national matters. Its primary responsibilities, as outlined in the Constitution, revolve around legislating, overseeing the actions of the executive branch, and bolstering parliamentary diplomacy alongside traditional diplomatic endeavors.
There is one president, and four each of vice presidents, quaestors, and secretaries. The current composition is listed below.

Last President of Chamber Election: September 2024

Position	Name	Political group	Incumbent since
President	Ciprian-Constantin Șerban	PSD	23 December 2024
Vice-presidents	Petre-Florin Manole	PSD	2 September 2024
Vice-presidents	Ştefan-Ovidiu Popa	PSD	2 September 2024
Vice-presidents	Lucian Bode	PNL	February 2023
Vice-presidents	Oana Țoiu	USR	2 September 2024
Secretaries	Eliza-Mădălina Peţa-Ştefănescu	PSD	2 September 2024
Secretaries	Cristian Buican	PNL	21 December 2020
Secretaries	Gianina Şerban	AUR	February 2024
Secretaries	Ovidiu-Victor Ganț	Minorities	21 December 2020
Quaestors	Mitică-Marius Mărgărit	PSD	September 2021
Quaestors	Alexandru Popa	PNL	2 September 2024
Quaestors	Rareş Tudor Pop	USR	2 September 2024
Quaestors	Dénes Seres	UDMR	December 2020

Committees of the Chamber

Standing committees and current leadership are listed below.

Committee	President	Group	Incumbent since
Committee for Economic Policy, Reform, and Privatisation	Costel Dunava	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Budget, Finance and Banks	Bogdan Huțucă	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee for Industries and Services	Sándor Bende	UDMR	22 December 2020
Committee for Transport and Infrastructure	Ciprian Constantin Șerban	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Food Industry and Specific Services	Adrian Chesnoiu	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Human Rights, Cults and National Minorities Issues	Iusein Ibram	Minorities	22 December 2020
Committee for Public Administration and Territorial Planning	Simona Bucura-Oprescu	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for the Environment and Ecological Balance	George Cătălin Stângă	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee for Labour and Social Protection	Oana Țoiu	USR	22 December 2020
Committee for Health and Family	Nelu Tătaru	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee for Teaching	Natalia Intotero	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Culture, Arts, Mass Information Means	Iulian Bulai	USR	22 December 2020
Committee for Legal Matters, Discipline and Immunities	Mihai Badea	USR	22 December 2020
Committee for Defence, Public Order and National Security	Constantin Șovăială	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee for Foreign Policy	Rozália Biró	UDMR	22 December 2020
Committee for the Investigation of Abuses, Corrupt Practices and for Petitions	Steluța Cătăniciu	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Standing Orders	Gheorghe Șimon	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Information Technology and Communications	Ioan-Sabin Sărmaș	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men	Dan Tanasă	AUR	February 2021
Committee for the Romanian Communities from Outside the Borders of the Country	Gigel Știrbu	PNL	22 December 2020
Committee for European Affairs	Ștefan Mușoiu	PSD	22 December 2020
Committee for Constitutionality	Ringo Dămureanu	AUR	February 2021
Committee for Science and Technology	Dragoș Zisopol	Minorities	22 December 2020
Committee for Youth and Sport	Tudor Pop	USR	22 December 2020

Party composition

2020–2024

2016–2020

2012–2016

2008–2012

2004–2008

In Romania's 2004 legislative election, held on 28 November, no party won an outright majority. The Social Democratic Party won the largest number of seats but is currently in opposition because the Justice and Truth Alliance, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, the Romanian Humanist Party, and the National Minorities formed a governing coalition, giving it 177 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The Conservative Party withdrew in December 2006, meaning that the government lost the majority in the Chamber of Deputies. In April 2007, then national liberal Prime Minister, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, dismissed the Democratic Party ministers from the government and formed a minority government with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, marking the end of the Justice and Truth Alliance.
During the 2004–2008 legislature, the president of the Chamber of Deputies was Bogdan Olteanu from the National Liberal Party, who was elected on 20 March 2006, after the Chamber's former president, Adrian Năstase, was forced by his own party to step down amidst corruption allegations.
After the 2004 elections, several deputies from the PSD switched to other parties or became independents, with the total number of PSD seats being reduced from 113 to 105. The number of Justice and Truth Alliance deputies also increased from 112 to 118, making it the largest formation in parliament as of October 2006. This changed again in December 2006, leaving the PSD with 107 seats and the Justice and Truth Alliance with 101. Since April 2007 the Justice and Truth Alliance has split leaving the two former members with 51 respectively 50 members. Deputies elected to the European Parliament in the 2007 election resigned, thus reducing the number of deputies to 314 as of 4 December 2007.
A new election was held in 2008. The table below gives the state of play before the 2008 election; parties in bold were part of the governing coalition. That coalition was tacitly supported by the PSD.

2000–2004

Elections to the Chamber of Deputies were held on 26 November 2000, in which the Social Democratic Party of Romania won plurality. The governing majority was formed from the PSD and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, which, with 182 members, made up 54.8% of seats. The president of the Chamber of Deputies during this period was Valer Dorneanu, who was elected on 15 December 2000. The distribution of seats was as follows: