Alexandru Lapedatu

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Alexandru Lapedatu

Alexandru Lapedatu (born September 14, 1876 in Săcele , Austria-Hungary , today Romania ; † August 30, 1950 in Sighetu Marmației , German Marmaroschsiget, Romania) was a Romanian politician and historian . He was Romanian Minister of Cults and Arts and Minister of State of Romania (in various governments, 1923 to 1937), President of the Romanian Senate (1936–1937) and President of the Romanian Academy (1935–1938).

Life

Origin and family

Ion Lapedatu was the son of Ioan Alexandru Lapedatu. He was a teacher of classical languages ​​at the Greek Orthodox grammar school in Brașov (Kronstadt), today's National College "Andrei Șaguna", as well as a Romanian poet, prose author and publicist in Transylvania . Alexandru Lapedatu had a twin brother, Ion Lapedatu - politician and economist, Romanian finance minister, governor of the Romanian National Bank and honorary member of the Romanian Academy. His father died when he was one and a half years old.

Lapedatu married the widowed Victoria Pană in 1911, who had two children from their first marriage. He had a daughter with her.

Studies and professional career

Lapedatu attended primary schools in his home community and in Brașov, then the grammar school in Iași , the Greek Orthodox grammar school in Brașov and the Central College of Iași, where he graduated from high school in 1896. This was followed by his studies at the University of Bucharest , which he financed with tutoring and graduated in 1903. In 1910 he received his diploma in geography and history with "magna cum laude". Award-winning publications made him known while he was still a student.

From 1903 to 1908 he was employed in the "Manuscripts" department of the library of the Romanian Academy and at the same time worked as a substitute teacher at the Bucharest elite school Sfântul Sava.

In 1904 Lapedatu was appointed secretary and in 1914 a member of the Commission for Historical Monuments, where he became chairman of the Transylvania Department in 1919 and president in 1941. He held this office until the dissolution of this commission by the communist government in 1948.

From 1919 to 1940 Lapedatu was professor of ancient Romanian history at the newly founded Romanian University in Cluj , where he and the historian Ioan Lupaș founded the National Institute for History (today the Institute for History "Gheorghe Barițiu" of the Romanian Academy), and this as co-director until 1938 and honorary director (1943–1945).

Lapedatu served on numerous government-formed committees and was a member of cultural associations. In 1921 he chaired the Commissions for the Organization of the Museums and Archives of Transylvania and was Director General of the Romanian State Archives from 1923 to 1924. In 1925 he was a permanent representative of the prefecture of the Cluj County on the committee of the Society of the Transylvanian Museum ( Erdélyi Muzeum Egyesület ).

In 1910 Lapedatu was elected a corresponding and in 1918 a full member of the Romanian Academy, History Department. He was Vice President (1934–1935, 1938–1939), then President (June 3, 1935– May 31, 1938), and then General Secretary of the Romanian Academy (1939–1948). During the communist purge of the institution in August 1948, his membership was revoked, but he was reassigned post mortem in 1990.

Late years and death

In 1950, the communist regime cut Lapedatus' pension and left him with no income. In the night of 5/6 May 1950 he was arrested with the group of "dignitaries". He died on August 30, 1950 in Sighetu Marmației prison , where today the Sighet Memorial commemorates the victims of communism and anti-communist resistance in Romania . He was buried anonymously in a mass grave. His cenotaph is at the Groaveri cemetery in Brașov.

International work

Relocation of the Romanian state treasury to Russia

When the army of the Central Powers occupied Bucharest in 1917 , the Romanian government fled to Iași and decided to move the state treasure to Russia . Lapedatu was commissioned to accompany the second transport, with which also works of art and historical collections of the Romanian Academy were carried. In July he went to Moscow, where he stayed until December 19, 1917. He documented his experiences of the occupation of the city by the Bolsheviks in a diary. Romania could only bring back parts of the state treasury from Russia, the question is still open today.

Participation in conferences

Lapedatu was part of the Romanian delegation for the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 , wrote several position documents, took part in rounds of negotiations and was present at the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty . He came to Paris twice more: to prepare for the negotiations on Bessarabia , and for the negotiations with Hungary , which were concluded by the Treaty of Trianon .

In 1922 he was an advisor to the Romanian delegation at the Genoa Conference . In 1939 he was a member of the Romanian delegation to the Interparliamentary Conferences in Rome (1936), Paris (1937) and Oslo (1939).

Political activity

During the First World War in 1916 Lapedatu was secretary of the Aid Committee for Refugees from Transylvania, the Banat and the Bukovina ( Buchenland ) in Bucharest . In January 1918 he co-founded the National Committee of the Romanians who fled Austria-Hungary in Odessa , became its chairman and in this position wrote a contribution for the chairman of the National Liberal Party , Ion IC Brătianu , in preparation for the anticipated peace negotiations at Versailles . This was followed by his appointment to the Romanian delegation to Paris.

From 1920 Lapedatu was a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and was elected to the Central Committee and the permanent representation. He became the leader of the Liberals in Transylvania.

Lapedatu is the first representative elected by the University of Cluj in the Senate of Romania (1919–1920). In 1922 he ran successfully for the first time for the Chamber of Deputies, in the subsequent legislative periods he was either elected to the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate, became President of the Romanian Senate (1936-1937) and Senator for life until Ion Antonescu dissolved parliament in 1940.

Lapedatu was Minister of Arts and Cults in six governments. Occasionally he worked as ad-interim minister for labor, cooperation and social security (1927), or took over the minorities department (1936). He was Minister of State in four governments. As Minister of State for Transylvania in the IG Duca government , he was a co-signatory of the Official Gazette of the Council of Ministers of December 9, 1933, which banned the fascist group “Garda de fier” ( Iron Guard ).

In 1946 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the last time and won one of the very few mandates that did not go to the Communists and their allies in the elections, which were heavily falsified under Soviet pressure. This no longer came into play because a short time later the parliament was triggered and replaced by the communist national assembly.

Cultural Policy in United Romania

Alexandru Lapedatu Foundation, Buste, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Double monument of the Lapedatu brothers in Brașov, Romania

Lapedatu understood cultural policy as an instrument for the establishment of a unified Romania. As part of his functions in the Commission for Historical Monuments, he worked out principles for the conservation and restoration of monuments as early as 1911. From 1929 to 1948, the Transylvania department of the commission undertook over 240 projects under his leadership for the conservation and restoration of the Romanian patrimony as well as for monuments of the Hungarian and Saxon minorities.

As Minister of Cults and Arts, he caused and / or supported the creation of over 30 museums and the erection of more than 20 public monuments dedicated to Romanian historical and cultural personalities and events. He put before parliament a law for the organization and management of national theaters, which was passed in 1926. He also created national prizes for literature and art.

The regime of cults in Romania

Lapedatu was appointed Minister of Cults and Arts in 1923, with the main task of legally establishing the regime of cults in Romania. The difficulties consisted on the one hand in the fact that the constitution of 1923 provided for the equality of all cults, but promised two "Romanian" cults a privileged position; on the other hand, there were 12 recognized cults with great differences from region to region.

Lapedatu first submitted a draft law, whereby the Romanian Orthodox Church should be elevated to patriarchy ; another bill was to adopt the self-written statutes of that church. Both laws were approved by parliament in 1925.

In January 1926, Lapedatu negotiated, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the text of a concordat with the Holy See, whose ecclesiastical authority was recognized without violating Romania's sovereignty; it was signed a few months later by Lapedatu's successor Vasile Goldiș.

After these two exceptional cases had been settled and the prerogatives of the state could no longer be called into question, Lapedatu submitted a bill to parliament on the general regime of cults in Romania in 1928. The law was passed by a large majority and lasted until 1948.

Awards

Domestic awards

  • Jubilee medal Carol I, 1905
  • Medal Bene Merenti of the Royal Family, degree: Officer or II class, 1909
  • Order of the Star of Romania , Degree: Commander, 1922
  • Order of the Crown of Romania , Degree: Grand Cross, 1926
  • Order of Bene Merenti of the Royal Family, Degree: Commander or First Class, 1928
  • Medal “Acknowledgment of Work for Education” 1st class, 1930
  • Award “Appreciation for the work of 25 years in civil service”, 1931
  • Order of "Cultural Merit for Language and Literature", degree: Officer or First Class, 1931
  • "Peleș" medal, 1933
  • Honor "Romanian Eagle", degree: Commander or II. Class, 1933
  • Order of Ferdinand I , degree: Officer, 1934
  • Decade Medal of King Carol I, 1939
  • “For services to the equipment of the army”, honor by the Minister for equipment of the army, 1940
  • Order and medal "Cultural Merit", degree: Commander, 1943

Foreign awards

Public honors (selection)

Streets in Cluj-Napoca, Brașov and Săcele were named after Alexandru Lapedatu, his name is entered in the Golden Book of Donors of the Central University Library "Lucian Blaga" of Cluj-Napoca, where the teaching staff's reading room bears his name. The Alexandru Lapedatu Cultural Foundation and the European College Foundation are based in the former Lapedatus House in Cluj-Napoca . The bust of Lapedatus was placed in front of the house.

His name is on memorial plaques in the Romanian Academy, on the house where he was born in Săcele, in the foyers of the elite schools Andrei Șaguna and Sfântul Sava. In 2019, a double monument was erected in Brașov by the brothers Ion and Alexandru Lapedatu.

Fonts (selection)

The list of scientific papers published by Alexandru I. Lapedatu includes 424 titles.

  • Vlad-Vodă Călugărul. 1482-1496. Atelierul grafic IV Socecŭ, Bucureşti 1903.
  • Scurtă privire asupra cestiunii conservării şi restaurării monumentelor istorice în România. Inst. De Arte Grafice Carol Göbl, S-sor I. St. Rasidescu, Bucureşti 1911.
  • Monumentele noastre istorice în lecturi ilustrate alese, orânduite şi publicate pe seama tinerimei şcolare. Inst. De Edit. şi Arte Grafice Flacăra, Bucureşti 1914.
  • Un mănunchi de cercetări istorice , Inst. De Arte Grafice C. Sfetea, Bucureşti 1915.
  • La Roumanie devant le Congrès de la Paix , Ed. Dubois et Bauer, Paris 1919.
  • Monsieur de Saint-Aulaire et les Roumaines réfugiés de l'Autriche-Hongrie pendent la grande guerre , Imprimerie SOCEC & Co SA, Bucarest 1930.
  • Scrieri alese. Articole, cuvîntări, amintiri , Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca 1985.
  • Amintiri , Ed .: Ioan Opriș, Editura Albastră, Cluj-Napoca 1998.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alexandru Lapedatu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Ioan Opriș: Alexandru Lapedatu și contemporanii săi . Editura albastră, Cluj-Napoca 1997, ISBN 973-9215-46-7 , p. 7.8; ( http://www.memorialsighet.ro/carti/ http://www.memorialsighet.ro/carti/alexandru-lapedatu-si-contemporanii-sai// ).
  2. ^ President of the Romanian Senate. In: http://enciclopediaromaniei.ro/ . Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
  3. ^ Academia Română: President of the Romanian Academy. In: www.acad.ro. Retrieved February 12, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e I. Crăciun: Alex. I. Lapedatu. Note bio-bibliografice . In: Fraților Alexandru și Ion I. Lapedatu la împlinirea vârstei de 60 de ani . MO Imprimeria Națională, Bucharest 1936, p. XXV-LVI, Internet, pp. 7-12 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  5. ↑ D. Braharu: Alex. I. Lapedatu. Note bio-bibliografice . In: Fraților Alexandru și Ion I. Lapedatu la împlinirea vârstei de 60 de ani . MO Imprimeria Națională, Bucharest 1936, p. VII – XXIII, Internet: 7–12 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  6. ↑ Ioan Alexandru Lapedatu: Încercări de literatură . Ed .: D. Vatamaniuc. Dacia, Cluj-Napoca 1976 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  7. ^ A b c Ion I. Lapedatu: Memorii şi amintiri . Ed .: Ioan Opriș. Institutul European, Iaşi 1998, ISBN 973-586-073-2 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  8. ↑ Lucian Nastasă: Mecanisme de selecție și integrare a elitei universitare românești. Alianțe familiale . Ed .: Institul de Istorie "George Barițiu". Cluj-Napoca ( history-cluj.ro ).
  9. ↑ Ioan Ciupea, Virgiliu Țârău: Liberali Clujeni. Destine in marea istorie . tape 2 . Mega, Cluj-Napoca 2007, ISBN 978-973-1868-18-9 .
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g Ion I. Lapedatu: Memorii şi amintiri . Ed .: Ioan Opriș. Institutul European, Iaşi 1998, ISBN 973-586-073-2 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  11. ↑ a b c d e f Ioan Opriș: Alexandru Lapedatu în cultura românească . Editura Științifică, Bucharest 1996, ISBN 973-44-0190-4 ( memorialsighet.ro ).
  12. ↑ Daniela Sechel: Alexandru Lapedatu şi cercetările asupra monumentelor istorice medievale în cadrul CMIT In: Universitatea '1 December 1918' (Ed.): Buletinul Cercurilor Stiintifice Studentesti, Arheologie-Istorie . No. 3 . Editura Științifică, 1996, ISSN  1454-8097 , p. 153 ( uab.ro [PDF]).
  13. ↑ Victor Brătulescu: Anuarul Comisiunii Monumentelor istorice pe 1942 . MO, Imprimeria Națională, Bucharest 1943 ( uab.ro [PDF]).
  14. ↑ Arh. Maria Ana Zup: Directia Judeteana pentru Cultura, Culte si Patrimoniu Cultural National. Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
  15. ^ Decree . In: Monitorul Oficial . No. 222 , January 29, 1920, p. 11461 .
  16. ↑ Lucian Nastasă: Intimitatea amfiteatrelor. Ipostaze din viaţa privată a universitarilor “literari” (1864–1948) . Limes, Cluj-Napoca 2010, ISBN 978-973-726-469-5 , pp. 416 ( history-cluj.ro [PDF]).
  17. ^ Ioan-Aurel Pop: Alexandru Lapedatu - istoric și universitar . In: Academia Română (ed.): Academica . tape XXVI , no. 9 . Editura Academiei, Bucharest September 2016, p. 5-7 ( acad.ro [PDF]).
  18. ↑ a b Nicolae Edroiu: Alexandru Lapedatu (1876-1950) - founder and co-director of the National History Institute in Cluj . In: Academia Română (ed.): Academica . tape XXVI , no. 9 . Editura Academiei, Bucharest September 2016, p. 10.11 ( acad.ro [PDF]).
  19. ↑ a b c Ioan Opriş: Gemenii Lapedatu. Istorie și finanțe / The Lapedatu Twins. History and Finance . Oscar Print, Bucharest 2017, ISBN 978-973-668-435-7 .
  20. ^ Păun Ion Otiman: 1948 - Anul imensei jertfe a Academiei Române . In: Academia de Ştiinţe a Moldovei (ed.): Akademos Istorie . tape 31 , no. 4 . Chișinău December 2013, p. 118-124 .
  21. ↑ Alexandru Lapedatu, omul care a însoțit Tezaurul României la Moscova. October 4, 2012, accessed April 15, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Alexandru Lapedatu: La Roumanie devant le Congrès de la Paix (4 volumes) . Ed. Dubois et Bauer, Paris 1919.
  23. ↑ A. Lapedatu: Monsieur de Saint-Aulaire et les Roumaines réfugiés de l'Autriche-Hongrie pendent la grande guerre . In: Homage to Monsieur de Saint-Aulaire . Imprimerie SOCEC & Co SA, Bucarest 1930, p. 51-66 .
  24. ↑ a b Ioan Ciupea, Virgil Țârău: Liberali Clujeni. Destine in marea istorie . tape 2 . Mega, Cluj-Napoca 2009, p. 51-66 .
  25. ↑ Lucian Nastasă: 'Suveranii' Universităților româneşti . Limes, Cluj-Napoca 2007, ISBN 978-973-726-278-3 , pp. 375 ( history-cluj.ro [PDF]).
  26. ↑ Jurnale ale Consiliului de Miniștri . In: Monitorul Oficial . 286bis, December 9, 1933, p. 7644 .
  27. ↑ Alexandru Lapedatu: Scurtă privire asupra cestiunii conservării și restaurării monumentelor istorice în România . In: Lui Spiru C. Haret. Ale tale dintr'ale tale (Festschrift) . Tip. Carol Göbl - I.St. Rasidescu, Bucharest 1911, p. 780-801 .
  28. ↑ a b Alexandru Lapedatu: Scrieri alese . Ed .: Ioan Opriș. Dacia, Cluj-Napoca 1985.
  29. ↑ Lege pentru organizarea și administrarea teatrelor naționale . In: Monitorul Oficial . No. 67 , March 21, 1926, pp. 3912-3920 .
  30. ↑ a b Marcel Stirban: Problema reglementării regimului general cultelor al (1922 to 1928). Etape, proiecte, problems în litigiu . Universitatea “Babeş-Bolyai”, Cluj-Napoca 2002 ( history-cluj.ro ).
  31. ^ M. Russu Ardeleanu: Biserica noastră și cultele minoritare. Marea discuție parlamentară în jurul legei cultelor . Imprimeria ziarului "Universul", Bucharest 1928 ( digibuc.ro ).
  32. ↑ Lay pentru ridicarea scaunului arhiepiscopal si mitropolitan al Ungro-Vlahiei ca Primat al Romaniei, la rangul de Scaun Patriarhal . In: Monitorul Oficial . No. 44 , February 25, 1925, p. 1921-1922 .
  33. ↑ Lege pentru organizarea Bisericii Orthodox Române . In: Monitorul Oficial . No. 97 , May 6, 1925, pp. 4993-5015 .
  34. ↑ Cristian Gojinescu: Concordatul din 1929 şi organizarea cultului catolic în România . In: Etnosfera . No. 1 , 2009, p. 25-37 ( etnosfera.ro [PDF]).
  35. ↑ Lay pentru regimul general al cultelor . In: Monitorul Oficial . No. 89 , April 22, 1928.
  36. ↑ Alexandru Lapedatu Alee, Cluj-Napoca. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  37. ↑ Alexandru Ion Lapedatu Str., Brașov. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  38. ↑ Alexandru Ion Lapedatu Str., Săcele. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  39. ↑ Biblioteca Centrală Universitară “Lucian Blaga” Cluj-Napoca, Donații și donatori de prestigiu. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
  40. ↑ Aşezământul Cultural "Alexandru Lapedatu". Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
  41. ↑ "Bibliografia ştiinţifică" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2019 09 13 . ( history-cluj.ro ).
personal data
SURNAME Lapedatu, Alexandru
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian politician and historian
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Săcele , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1950
Place of death Sighetu Marmației , Romania