What Was The National Salvation Front?
The National Salvation Front was the political group that took over Romania’s government following the 1989 Romanian Revolution and the collapse of Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime. The National Salvation Front assumed power on December 22, 1989, thus signalling an end to Romania’s brutal form of Communist dictatorship. Nevertheless, the break with the past was hardly complete as Ion Iliescu became President of Romania. Iliescu had been a member of Romania’s Communist party since 1953 and served in various capacities within the state apparatus, including as member of the Party’s Central Committee. The first few months were very rocky for Romania’s Salvation Front regime, with rival, violent protests gripping Bucharest in January 1989, organized by miners and industrial workers. The Salvation Front’s role in this series of violence was highly controversial. It is believed that the Front’s leaders brought up to 5000 armed miners from rural Romania to the capital city in order to attack the hea
