Hunor Kelemen
Encyclopedia
Hunor Kelemen is a Romania
n politician and Hungarian language
writer. The current president of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
(UDMR), he has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
since 2000, and was nominated as his party's candidate for the 2009 presidential election
, receiving 3.8% of the valid votes. Since December 2009 he is Romania's Minister of Culture in the Emil Boc
government.
In 2000, Hunor Kelemen was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania
, Commander rank, and in 2008 Hungary
's Middle Cross of the Order of Merit. He is currently not married.
, at that time part of the Magyar Autonomous Region. He completed primary school in Ineu-Ciuc
, and the gymnasium
in his native locality, while practising ice hockey
in the school's team. After completing high school in Târgu Mureş, he enrolled in the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, graduating as a veterinarian
in 1993, and then in the Faculty of Philosophy of the Babeş-Bolyai University
, graduating in 1998.
Following the Revolutions of 1989
, Hunor Kelemen was one of the founders of the Hungarian language
cultural magazines Jelenlét and later became deputy editor in chief. After 1993 he also collaborated with the Hungarian language magazine Korunk
, and between 1990 and 1997 he was editor of cultural and political shows for the Radio Cluj
, part of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
. In 1995 Hunor Kelemen published his first poetry volume in Hungarian language, Mínuszévek, for which he was awarded the Debut Prize of the Writers' Union of Romania
in 1996. He further published a novel, A madárijesztők halála ("The scarecrow's death"), in 1999, and a second poetry volume, A szigetlakó ("The islander"), in 2001, both in Hungarian language.
Kelemen entered politics in 1997, when he was appointed as Secretary of State
from the UDMR in the Romanian government's Ministry of Culture. He held this post until 2000, when he was elected in the lower house of the Romanian Parliament
on the UDMR list. He was re-elected in 2004 and in 2008, obtaining over 50% of the votes in his electoral college
in the latter elections.
In June 2009, the UDMR Council of the Union Representatives voted Hunor Kelemen as candidate for the office of President of Romania
in that year's November elections. On this occasion Kelemen declared his program will include a proposal for Hungarian ethnic autonomy
, in a way "that would not upset the Romanian ethnics". In July, at a summer camp organised by the UDMR at Băile Tuşnad
, he acknowledged that, as a Hungarian ethnic, he had no chance to win, but he presented the motives that led to his candidature: the desire of the Hungarian community of Romania to have a candidate of its own, the need to fill the traditional Hungarian segment in Romanian politics, and the need to present the message of the Hungarian minority to the Romanian majority. He received 372,764 votes (3.83% of the ballot). He performed better in the regions with important Hungarian communities, winning a majority in the counties of Harghita (71.2%) and Covasna
(52.8%), and the second place in Mureş
and Satu Mare
.
On December 20, 2009, Emil Boc, nominated as prime-minister by the re-elected Traian Băsescu
, proposed Hunor Kelemen as the Minister of Culture in the PDL
-UDMR coalition government. The proposal was met with strong protests by PDL vice-president Cezar Preda, who declared that his party made the "greatest political mistake of the last years". Following unofficial protests from the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
, the Religious Affairs, previously subordinated to the Ministry of Culture, were put under the direct control of the prime-minister. Reportedly, the Orthodox Church was dissatisfied with being subordinated to a minister of a different denomination. The cabinet was approved by the Parliament on December 23, 2009.
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 and Hungarian language
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language, predominantly by Hungarians.There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries...
writer. The current president of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania
The Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, is the main political organisation representing the ethnic Hungarians of Romania....
(UDMR), he has been a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
since 2000, and was nominated as his party's candidate for the 2009 presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 2009
The first round of 2009 Romanian presidential elections was held in Romania on 22 November and a run-off round between Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană was held on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls favored Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33%...
, receiving 3.8% of the valid votes. Since December 2009 he is Romania's Minister of Culture in the 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...
government.
In 2000, Hunor Kelemen was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
, Commander rank, and in 2008 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...
's Middle Cross of the Order of Merit. He is currently not married.
Biography
An ethnic Hungarian, he was born in CârţaCârta, Harghita
Cârţa , is a commune in Romania, located in Harghita County. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.The commune is composed of two villages:*Cârţa / Karcfalva*Ineu / Csíkjenőfalva...
, at that time part of the Magyar Autonomous Region. He completed primary school in Ineu-Ciuc
Cârta, Harghita
Cârţa , is a commune in Romania, located in Harghita County. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.The commune is composed of two villages:*Cârţa / Karcfalva*Ineu / Csíkjenőfalva...
, and the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in his native locality, while practising ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
in the school's team. After completing high school in Târgu Mureş, he enrolled in the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, graduating as a veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
in 1993, and then in the Faculty of Philosophy of the 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...
, graduating in 1998.
Following the Revolutions of 1989
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...
, Hunor Kelemen was one of the founders of the Hungarian language
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
cultural magazines Jelenlét and later became deputy editor in chief. After 1993 he also collaborated with the Hungarian language magazine Korunk
Korunk
Korunk is a Hungarian language cultural-literary-scientific magazine published in Cluj-Napoca, Romania....
, and between 1990 and 1997 he was editor of cultural and political shows for the Radio Cluj
Radio Cluj
Radio Cluj is a Romanian public radio station from Cluj-Napoca, broadcasting throughout Transylvania. It features Romanian and Hungarian language programmes.- External links :* *...
, part of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company , informally referred to as Radio Romania , is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates four national radio channels, and, under the Radio România Regional umbrella, eleven regional radio stations. The four national radio channels are: Radio...
. In 1995 Hunor Kelemen published his first poetry volume in Hungarian language, Mínuszévek, for which he was awarded the Debut Prize of the Writers' Union of Romania
Writers' Union of Romania
The Writers' Union of Romania , founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova...
in 1996. He further published a novel, A madárijesztők halála ("The scarecrow's death"), in 1999, and a second poetry volume, A szigetlakó ("The islander"), in 2001, both in Hungarian language.
Kelemen entered politics in 1997, when he was appointed as Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
from the UDMR in the Romanian government's Ministry of Culture. He held this post until 2000, when he was elected in the lower house of the Romanian 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...
on the UDMR list. He was re-elected in 2004 and in 2008, obtaining over 50% of the votes in his electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
in the latter elections.
In June 2009, the UDMR Council of the Union Representatives voted Hunor Kelemen as candidate for the office of President of Romania
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
in that year's November elections. On this occasion Kelemen declared his program will include a proposal for Hungarian ethnic autonomy
Székely autonomy initiatives
The Székely Land is a region of central Romania. According to official data from the Romania's 2002 census, 668,471 persons in Mureş, Harghita and Covasna counties consider themselves Hungarian...
, in a way "that would not upset the Romanian ethnics". In July, at a summer camp organised by the UDMR at Băile Tuşnad
Baile Tusnad
Băile Tușnad is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.With a population of 1,728, it is the smallest town in Romania by population...
, he acknowledged that, as a Hungarian ethnic, he had no chance to win, but he presented the motives that led to his candidature: the desire of the Hungarian community of Romania to have a candidate of its own, the need to fill the traditional Hungarian segment in Romanian politics, and the need to present the message of the Hungarian minority to the Romanian majority. He received 372,764 votes (3.83% of the ballot). He performed better in the regions with important Hungarian communities, winning a majority in the counties of Harghita (71.2%) and Covasna
Covasna County
Covasna is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Sfântu Gheorghe.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 222,449 and the population density was 60/km².*Hungarians – 73.79% *Romanians – 23.28%...
(52.8%), and the second place in Mureş
Mures County
Mureș is a county of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș.-Geography:The county has a total area of 6,714 km²....
and Satu Mare
Satu Mare County
Satu Mare County is a county of Romania. The capital city is Satu Mare. Besides Romanians , Satu Mare features a significant ethnic minority of Hungarians .-Demographics:...
.
On December 20, 2009, Emil Boc, nominated as prime-minister by the re-elected Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, proposed Hunor Kelemen as the Minister of Culture in the PDL
Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)
The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...
-UDMR coalition government. The proposal was met with strong protests by PDL vice-president Cezar Preda, who declared that his party made the "greatest political mistake of the last years". Following unofficial protests from the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
, the Religious Affairs, previously subordinated to the Ministry of Culture, were put under the direct control of the prime-minister. Reportedly, the Orthodox Church was dissatisfied with being subordinated to a minister of a different denomination. The cabinet was approved by the Parliament on December 23, 2009.