Gheorghe Funar
Encyclopedia
Gheorghe Funar is a nationalist
Romania
n politician, who rose to fame as mayor
of Cluj-Napoca
between 1992 and 2004
in Cluj-Napoca
, which is a multi-ethnic city with an ethnic Romanian
majority (80.8%) and a significant ethnic Hungarian population (17.1%). Other ethnic groups include Roma and Germans
. Cluj-Napoca is considered to be the capital city of Transylvania
, a historical region within Romania
and before that Hungary
.
Funar was a candidate for presidency for the Romanian National Unity Party
(PUNR) in 1992 and 1996. In 1997, after he was expelled from PUNR, he joined the far-right Greater Romania Party
. Funar lost the Cluj-Napoca mayoral elections in the first round in 2004. Emil Boc
of the Justice and Truth
Alliance won the elections during the second round run-off elections against Social Democratic Party
(PSD) candidate Ioan Rus. He ran again in 2008
, coming in fourth with 4.2% of the vote.
Funar is currently the General Secretary of the Greater Romania Party and is a Member of Parliament
. Among his proposals in parliament is the distribution of Romanian-language Bible
s to all citizens, and the raising of a statue of Mihai Eminescu
in every commune.
He is married to Sabina Funar, a professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca.
in Romania in 1989 and more than seventy years after Transylvania became part of Romania. His views were often manifested in public policy. Among many other measures seen by many as an affront to the ethnic Hungarian community, Funar asked the municipality to paint many public items—including park benches, pavements and even garbage bins—in the colors of the Romanian flag
(blue, yellow and red). At Christmas
time, the municipality was allowed to use only red, yellow and blue Christmas lights.
In 1993, the city's central plaza, "Piaţa Libertăţii" (Liberty Square), was renamed "Piaţa Unirii" (Unification Square), to call to mind the 1918 unification of Transylvania
and Romania. He changed the label of the statue of Matthias Corvinus from "Matthias Rex Hungarorum" (Matthias King of Hungarians) to just "Matthias Rex". In September 1996, when Romania signed a friendship treaty with Hungary
, Funar organized a funeral ceremony on the streets of Cluj-Napoca. In 1997, he hung a banner in front of the Hungarian Consulate in Cluj saying "This is the seat of the Hungarian spies in Romania". Many of Funar's changes were reversed under the mayorship of his successor, Emil Boc
.
Between 1992 and 1993, Funar supported a large-scale Ponzi scheme
run by Caritas, a company based in Cluj-Napoca. Funar helped Caritas build its credibility by renting space for it in the town hall, appearing with its owner in public and at on television, and defending the company from attacks. Funar also gave Caritas space in the local newspaper to list the names of the winners (amounting 44 pages in 1993) and lent him space at the local stadium to run his operations.
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
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...
n politician, who rose to fame as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of 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...
between 1992 and 2004
Biography
He became well known for his very strong nationalist stance favoring ethnic RomaniansRomanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
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...
, which is a multi-ethnic city with an ethnic Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
majority (80.8%) and a significant ethnic Hungarian population (17.1%). Other ethnic groups include Roma and Germans
Ethnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
. Cluj-Napoca is considered to be the capital city of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, a historical region within Romania
Historical regions of Romania
At various times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, Romania extended over the following historical regions:Wallachia:*Muntenia or Greater Wallachia: as part of Wallachia, joined Moldavia in 1859 to create modern Romania;...
and before that Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Funar was a candidate for presidency for the Romanian National Unity Party
Romanian National Unity Party
The Romanian National Unity Party was a political party in Romania between 1990 and 2006.PUNR was the first nationalist party in post-Communist Romania, created in 1990....
(PUNR) in 1992 and 1996. In 1997, after he was expelled from PUNR, he joined the far-right Greater Romania Party
Greater Romania Party
The Greater Romania Party is a Romanian radical right-wing, ultra-nationalist political party, led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The party is sometimes referred to in English as the Great Romania Party....
. Funar lost the Cluj-Napoca mayoral elections in the first round in 2004. Emil Boc
Emil Boc
Emil Boc is the Prime Minister of Romania, having served since December 2008. In June 2004, he was elected Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city in Transylvania. Boc is also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, who designated him as Prime Minister in 2008. On October 13, 2009, his...
of the Justice and Truth
Justice and Truth
The Justice and Truth Alliance was a political alliance comprising two political parties in Romania: the centre-right liberal National Liberal Party and the initially social-democrat Democratic Party , which later switched to center-right ideology.As the political formation with the largest...
Alliance won the elections during the second round run-off elections against Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Romania)
The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
(PSD) candidate Ioan Rus. He ran again in 2008
Romanian local election, 2008
Local elections were held in Romania on June 1, 2008, with a runoff for mayors on June 15, 2008.On June 1 where elected:* all the villages, communes, cities, and municipal cluncils , and the Sectors Local Councils of Bucharest...
, coming in fourth with 4.2% of the vote.
Funar is currently the General Secretary of the Greater Romania Party and is a Member of Parliament
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
. Among his proposals in parliament is the distribution of Romanian-language Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s to all citizens, and the raising of a statue of Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
in every commune.
He is married to Sabina Funar, a professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca.
Mayorship of Cluj-Napoca
While many voters may have claimed that they voted for him only due to his economic policies, Funar's views demonstrated that tensions over Transylvania's ethnic identity continued after the end of CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Romania in 1989 and more than seventy years after Transylvania became part of Romania. His views were often manifested in public policy. Among many other measures seen by many as an affront to the ethnic Hungarian community, Funar asked the municipality to paint many public items—including park benches, pavements and even garbage bins—in the colors of the Romanian flag
Flag of Romania
The national flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginning from the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3....
(blue, yellow and red). At Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time, the municipality was allowed to use only red, yellow and blue Christmas lights.
In 1993, the city's central plaza, "Piaţa Libertăţii" (Liberty Square), was renamed "Piaţa Unirii" (Unification Square), to call to mind the 1918 unification of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
and Romania. He changed the label of the statue of Matthias Corvinus from "Matthias Rex Hungarorum" (Matthias King of Hungarians) to just "Matthias Rex". In September 1996, when Romania signed a friendship treaty with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Funar organized a funeral ceremony on the streets of Cluj-Napoca. In 1997, he hung a banner in front of the Hungarian Consulate in Cluj saying "This is the seat of the Hungarian spies in Romania". Many of Funar's changes were reversed under the mayorship of his successor, Emil Boc
Emil Boc
Emil Boc is the Prime Minister of Romania, having served since December 2008. In June 2004, he was elected Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city in Transylvania. Boc is also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, who designated him as Prime Minister in 2008. On October 13, 2009, his...
.
Between 1992 and 1993, Funar supported a large-scale Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
run by Caritas, a company based in Cluj-Napoca. Funar helped Caritas build its credibility by renting space for it in the town hall, appearing with its owner in public and at on television, and defending the company from attacks. Funar also gave Caritas space in the local newspaper to list the names of the winners (amounting 44 pages in 1993) and lent him space at the local stadium to run his operations.
External links
- BBC News – Mayor paints town red - and yellow and blue
- BBC World Service – Letters from Budapest: Nick Thorpe on the right to say 'yes' – about a marrying couple getting in trouble by saying "yes" to each other in their own language (Cluj, 2002).