National-Christian Defense League
National-Christian Defense League Liga Apărării Național Creștine | |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Grand Council of LANC |
| Standing Committee | Central Committee of LANC |
| Supreme president | A.C. Cuza |
| Vice president(s) | Nicolae Paulescu (1923-1928) Corneliu Șumuleanu (1923-1927) Ion Zelea Codreanu (1923-1927) |
| General secretary | Nichifor Crainic (1934-1935) |
| Founder | A. C. Cuza Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Șumuleanu Ion Tarnoschi Ion Zelea Codreanu Nicolae Paulescu |
| Founded | 4 March 1923 |
| Dissolved | 16 July 1935 |
| Preceded by | National Christian Union |
| Merged into | National Agrarian Party |
| Succeeded by | National Christian Party |
| Headquarters | Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania |
| Newspaper | Apărarea Națională (1922-1938) Înfrățirea Românească (1924-1931) Lancea (1925-1926) |
| Youth wing | L.A.N.C. Youth |
| Paramilitary wing(s) |
Steel Guards |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Religion | Romanian Orthodoxy |
| Colours | Blue Yellow Red Brown (customary) |
| Slogan | Ro: Hristos, Regele, Națiunea - România Românilor En: Christ, King, Nation - Romania for the Romanians |
| Party flag | |
| Part of a series on |
| Fascism in Romania |
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The National-Christian Defense League (Romanian: Liga Apărării Național-Creștine, abbreviated LANC) was a far-right ultranationalist and antisemitic political party in interwar Romania.
The founding congress took place on March 4, 1923, in the Great Hall of the University of Iași. Professor Alexandru C. Cuza was elected as president. For this reason, members and supporters of the movement were also known as Cuzists (Romanian: Cuziști). Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was tasked with organizing LANC throughout the entire country. On March 26, 1923, the Romanian Parliament amended Article 7 of the 1923 Constitution, granting full citizenship by default to all Jews residing in the country. LANC opposed this measure and called on students to stage protests. Clashes with the police ensued. In these student demonstrations, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu played a significant role; at the time, he was a member of LANC and would later go on to found the Legionary Movement.
Under General Averescu's third government cabinet (1926-1927), LANC held 10 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1927, the Legion of the Archangel Michael, led by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, broke away from LANC. Codreanu had failed to secure a seat in the Chamber in the May 1926 elections.