AUTOMOBIL CLUBUL ROMAN (Romanian Automobile Club) On April 5, 1904, in the honorary hall of Grand Hotel du Boulevard in Bucharest, the General Assembly that signed the act of birth of Automobil Clubul Roman was created. Chairmen were elected Mihai Sutu, George Assan and Prince Valentin Bibescu who has also been the chairman of the initiative committee in early 1903. Alex. Darvari was secretary general, and Mihail Galita was cashier. The news was included in the Universul newspaper of April 6, 1904, which wrote: "Last night, at the ‘ Bulevard’ hotel a meeting took place of some enthusiasts who founded a motor-car society". On September 30, 1904, the first general assembly elected Prince George Valentin Bibescu as chairman and Mihai Sutu as honorary chairman, while Ioan Camarasescu was named secretary general. Prince G.V.Bibescu holds his position for 20 successive years. April 10, 1904 – the chief commissioner of the Bucharest police approved by the Ordinance No. 165, the Regulation for car circulation in Bucharest. The regulation provided for a member of the Technical board of ACR to take part in the Board of examination of the car condition and of the drivers, while the final withdrawal of the traffic license needed a previous accord of ACR. December 31, 1904 – Automobile clubs were in place worldwide in France, England, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Danemark, Russia, Holland, Italy and USA. The number of ACR members was at the time 67, 51 of which had a car. February 1, 1905 – 143 cars had been imported in Romania. Also in 1905 – ACR set a few specialty boards: Technical, Sporting, External services and Audit. December 18, 1905 – the Association of Automobile clubs of Paris following the presentation delivered by Baron de Zuylen, chairman of that international association recognizes ACR. By the ordinary general assembly of January 10, 1906, 19 ACR sections were in place in the counties of Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Buzau, Dambovita, Ialomita, Ilfov, Mehedinti, Muscel, Prahova, Romanati, Tecuci. Since 1907, Leon Leonida, founding member of ACR and owner of one of the greatest car companies in the country, begun training some young mechanics in his own garage. The training was later took over by the club and Leonida sometimes held the classes himself. January 22, 1909 and February 19, 1909 – The Romanian House of Deputies and Senate recognized ACR as a legal person. The law was published in the Monitorul Oficial of March 13, 1909. Through ACR, Romania has signed the first international conventions on border documents, international driving licenses and car triptychs as car "passports". January 1911 – ACR made up its first color badge to be put by its members on their cars. In 1914, along with changing the regulations, the Romanian car-drivers’ association changed its name into "Automobil Clubul Regal Roman" (The Royal Romanian Automobile Club, ACRR). The honorary presidency was transferred within a solemn ceremony to the King of Romania, Ferdinand I. AUTOMOBIL CLUBUL ROMAN – possibly the most powerful NGO in Romania currently holds a strong human and economic base, almost evenly spread all over the country. The economic base includes buildings of county and city branches, 150 technical assistance stations, almost 500 traffic patrolling cars, auto platforms for damaged cars transport, its own car travelling company Touring ACR, a nautical base with floating hotels in the Danube Delta and in other counties, its own magazine which has been published for 32 years. AUTOMOBIL CLUBUL ROMAN is a member of two world organizations on its line of activity: the International Car Federation and the International Alliance of Travelling, which have a UN consultative status. ACR representatives are elected in both organization boards. For more information please access the official website of ACR - www.acr.ro