Doina Cornea
Encyclopedia
Doina Cornea (ˈdojna ˈkorne̯a; born 30 May 1929) is a Romania
n human rights
activist and French
professor. She was notable as a dissident
during the communist regime
of Nicolae Ceauşescu
.
, Romania
, Cornea worked as a teacher at Babeş-Bolyai University
in Cluj-Napoca
. In 1980 she published her first samizdat
book, Încercarea Labirintului ("The Test of the Labyrinth") by Mircea Eliade
translated by her from French; then four other samizdat translations followed.
Between 1982 and 1989 Cornea released 31 texts and protests against the Ceauşescu regime, sending them illegally to Radio Free Europe
. In 1983 she was fired from the university because of her political activity. She was interrogated, beaten, and threatened with death by the Securitate
(the Romanian communist secret police).
Together with her son, Leontin Iuhaş, she spread 160 manifesto
s of solidarity with the workers who rebelled against the Ceauşescu regime in the Braşov 1987 uprising. Both were arrested and held in custody for five weeks during November-December 1987. Subsequently, she was put on house arrest
by the Romanian Secret Services. She was released 21 December 1989 (during the Romanian Revolution
, on the day before the Ceauşescu regime fell); immediately after her release, she began taking part in the street demonstrations in Cluj-Napoca.
leader Mikhail Gorbachev
and still dominated by people with communist pasts.
Together with intellectuals like Ana Blandiana
, Mihai Şora and Mircea Dinescu
, Cornea continued her outspokenness against the new regime of Ion Iliescu
, president of Romania until his defeat by Emil Constantinescu
in the 1996 election. She was co-founder of the Democratic Anti-totalitarian Forum of Romania (Forumul Democrat Antitotalitar din România), as the first attempt to unify the democratic opposition to the post-communist government. This organization later transformed into the Romanian Democratic Convention
(Convenţia Democrată Română, CDR), which brought Emil Constantinescu to power.
Cornea was co-founder of The Group for Social Dialogue (Grupul pentru Dialog Social) in Romania, of the Civic Alliance Foundation
and of the Cultural Memory Foundation (Fundaţia Culturală Memoria).
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
professor. She was notable as a dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
during the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
of Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
.
Dissidence under communism
Born in BraşovBrasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Cornea worked as a teacher at Babeş-Bolyai University
Babes-Bolyai University
The Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca is an university in Romania. With almost 50,000 students, the university offers 105 specialisations, of which there are 105 in Romanian, 67 in Hungarian, 17 in German, and 5 in English...
in Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
. In 1980 she published her first samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
book, Încercarea Labirintului ("The Test of the Labyrinth") by Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
translated by her from French; then four other samizdat translations followed.
Between 1982 and 1989 Cornea released 31 texts and protests against the Ceauşescu regime, sending them illegally to Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
. In 1983 she was fired from the university because of her political activity. She was interrogated, beaten, and threatened with death by the Securitate
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
(the Romanian communist secret police).
Together with her son, Leontin Iuhaş, she spread 160 manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
s of solidarity with the workers who rebelled against the Ceauşescu regime in the Braşov 1987 uprising. Both were arrested and held in custody for five weeks during November-December 1987. Subsequently, she was put on house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
by the Romanian Secret Services. She was released 21 December 1989 (during the Romanian Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, on the day before the Ceauşescu regime fell); immediately after her release, she began taking part in the street demonstrations in Cluj-Napoca.
Activity after December 1989
After 22 December 1989 Cornea was asked to become a member of the first post-communist government organization, the National Council of the National Salvation Front. She quit this body on 23 January 1990 after it decided to run as a party in the 1990 elections. She considered it to be dependent upon SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and still dominated by people with communist pasts.
Together with intellectuals like Ana Blandiana
Ana Blandiana
Ana Blandiana is a Romanian poet, essayist, and political figure. She took her name after Blandiana, near Vinţu de Jos, Alba County, her mother's home village.-Literary career:...
, Mihai Şora and Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu
Mircea Dinescu is a Romanian poet, journalist and editor.He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan Dinescu, a metalworker and Aurelia . Dinescu studied at the Faculty of Journalism of the Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy, and was considered a gifted young poet during his youth, with several poetry...
, Cornea continued her outspokenness against the new regime of Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
, president of Romania until his defeat by Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000.He graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest, and subsequently started a career as a geologist...
in the 1996 election. She was co-founder of the Democratic Anti-totalitarian Forum of Romania (Forumul Democrat Antitotalitar din România), as the first attempt to unify the democratic opposition to the post-communist government. This organization later transformed into the Romanian Democratic Convention
Romanian Democratic Convention
The Romanian Democratic Convention was an electoral alliance of several political parties of Romania, active from early 1992 until 2000....
(Convenţia Democrată Română, CDR), which brought Emil Constantinescu to power.
Cornea was co-founder of The Group for Social Dialogue (Grupul pentru Dialog Social) in Romania, of the Civic Alliance Foundation
Civic Alliance Foundation
The Civic Alliance Foundation is a Romanian non-governmental organization . It is one of the largest Romanian NGOs, working for the consolidation of a civil society in the aftermath of the 42-year long communist regime. The AC has subsidiaries in 36 of the 41 counties, overseen by a 27-member...
and of the Cultural Memory Foundation (Fundaţia Culturală Memoria).
Awards
She has received a great number of distinctions and prizes, the most important being:- Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, 1989) - Doctor Honoris CausaHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of Free University of BrusselsFree University of BrusselsThe Free University of Brussels was a university in Brussels, Belgium. In 1969, it split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel....
(BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, 1989) - Commander of the Legion of Honor (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 2000) - Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of RomaniaOrder of the Star of RomaniaThe Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
(2000) - Cross of the Romanian Royal House (Crucea Casei Regale a Romaniei), 2009