When modern Romania was formed in 1859 through the union of Wallachia and rump Moldavia, and then extended in 1918 through the union of Transylvania, as well as Bukovina and Bessarabia (parts of Moldavia temporarily acquired by respectively the Habsburgs, 1775–1918, and the Russian Tsars, 1812–1917), the administrative division was modernized using the French departments system as model. With the exception of the Communist period, this system remained in place. A "prefect" (from the Latin "praefectus") is appointed for each "județ". The prefect is the representative of the government in the county and the head of the local administration in the areas not devolved to local authorities. Until 1950, each "județ" was divided into a number of "plăși" (singular "plasă"), each administered by a "pretor" (from the Latin "praetor"), appointed by the "prefect". Currently, Romania has no NUTS-4 units, the counties being composed directly of cities (with or without municipality status) and communes.