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Ion Iliescu
Former President of Romania
Personal Blog
Born on March 3, 1930, in Oltenita, a little town in the
South of the country, where he spent his
childhood and attended, for two years, the primary school.
Married to Mrs. Elena Iliescu ( since 1951), an engineer,
scientific researcher in the field of metal corrosion
Studies
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Primary School in native town, Oltenita and continued in
Bucharest
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Graduated the secondary and high school in Bucharest, being a student at Industrial
Polizu High School, Spiru Haret High School and Sfantul Sava High School
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Graduated from the
Electro-technical Faculty, of the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest and from
Moscow Institute for Energy.
His university studies and professional expertise include fields such as
hydro-energy, water resources administration and ecology
Professional Career
- 1955 - began his professional activity as designer engineer at the Energy
Engineering Institute in Bucharest
- 1979-1984 - led the National Council for Water Resources, where participated to the elaboration
of far-reaching projects regarding the administration and utilization of the
water resources of the country. Sustained the scientific points of
view of the specialists in this field, rejecting the megalomaniac programs of
the dictatorship. As a result, in 1984, he was fired
- 1984-December 22, 1989 - director of the Technical Publishing House. Edited a series of main scientific works well known in the
world, creating this way, in spite of the large number of obstacles, an opening in the informational isolation the Romanian scientists were condemned to live
in. Author of a large number of studies, articles and essays published
in specialized journals.
Throughout this period, was present in the public life as a supporter of the democratic spirit, of the opening toward European political, scientific
and cultural values
Political Activity
- 1948 - one of the founders of the Union of Students’ Associations of
Romania
- 1956 - found the Union of the College Students’ Associations of Romania, organized according to the model of students’ national unions in European
countries, as professional organizations of the students. Participated in the
international students’ movement in its different forums and bodies as a
representative of the Romanian students
- In 80’s was, for several years, president of the very successful sportive federation, the
Kayak-Canoe Romanian Federation
- Actively supported Romania’s new political trend in the
60’s, distinguishing himself through his firm positions regarding Romania’s
independence and sovereignty as against the Soviet Union, advocating a real break of all components of the Romanian economic,
political and cultural life from the soviet and Stalin’s policy and a real
opening toward the West. Between 1967 and 1971, when this trend awakened the hopes of the Romanians, he was
Minister of the Youth.
- During the Extraordinary Session
of the Romanian Parliament in 1968, he expressed his opposition regarding the
invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union troops and against Brejnev’s
theory of the “limited sovereignty”
- In 1971, during the six month as Secretary of the Communist Party’s
Central Committee, came into conflict with the “Cultural Revolution”
policy promoted by Nicolae Ceausescu, by opposing the personality cult. Losing
his position in the party hierarchy, continued to have a critical position
regarding the dogma of the “Cultural Revolution”, even when he was vice-president
of the Timis District Council ( 1974- 1979) and president of the
Iasi County Council. Consequently, was accused of “intellectual
deviation” and gradually excluded from the political life. The political
police permanently kept him under strict surveillance. The Securitate tried to
isolate and exclude him from the public life, to control and narrow his
possibility to communicate.
Due to his dignified position, Ion Iliescu became more and more known among large
professional and social milieus in Romania and abroad, becoming the politician they talked about with hope and confidence, even
during the years of the Ceausescu's dictatorship. He represented the main opponent
of the totalitarian regime, an authentic militant for liberty, justice and democracy.
- Beginning with the first hours of the Romanian Revolution, in the evening of December 22,
1989, was designated as President of the new leading body of the Romanian
State: the National Salvation Front Council. In the "Communiqué
to the country", to the elaboration of which he participated, was
defined the nature of the social and political changes that would irreversibly
mark up Romania’s destiny: the demolition of the totalitarian communist system
and
of the one-party monopoly; the setting- up of the democracy and political
pluralism; the establishment of the state of law; the building up of the civic
society; the observance of the dignity and human rights, of the freedom of speech,
of the freedom to associate and manifest oneself; the economic reform and the
transition to market economy; the wide opening to the world.
- February- May 1990 - led the Provisional Council for National Unity
that included representatives of all political parties founded in January that
year
- May 1990 - elected President of Romania
- At the Presidential elections held in October 11, 1992, the first elections in
accordance with the new Constitution, obtained 7,297,551 votes, that is 61,5
percent from the total of 11,910,609 votes, the large majority of the
population supporting his program “ “I believe in Romania’s change for the
better”. During his first constitutional mandate as chief of state, his
priorities were the national reconciliation, the social pact, the working
together of all the political forces in order to attain the stability and
recovery of the country, the continuation of the economic reform, the social
security and opening toward the world
- At the general and presidential elections in November 3, 1996, was
elected Senator of the Social Democracy Party of Romania ( PDSR) for the
legislature 1996-2000
- The Extraordinary National Conference of the Social Democracy Party of Romania, held
on January 17, 1997, designated Mr. Ion Iliescu as President of the party.
He was reelected at the National Conference held in June 20 and 21, 1997
- As President of PDSR, he participated, together with the present Prime Minister,
Adrian Nastase, to the effort of reconstruction and building up of a modern
European social-democratic party.
- Proposed and supported by PDSR in the presidential election campaign in
2000, Ion Iliescu was
elected as chief of state for a new constitutional mandate of four years on December 10, 2000
- December 20, 2000 - took the Oath before the two Chambers of the Romanian
Parliament
Essays and books
- 1992 - published "Global
Issues. Creativity", gathering articles and studies related to
some of his old professional preoccupations, thoughts about
environment, the connection between the benefic effects of the application of
the contemporary technical-scientific progress and the worrying rhythms of the
exhaustion of some non-renewable resources with unforeseeable and irreversible
effects for the future of the planet.
- 1993 - published "Revolution and Reform"
(translated into French, English, German, Italian and Turkish). The main themes of
the book are the particularities of the Romanian Revolution against the background of
the changes that occurred and continue to occur in the Central and Eastern
Europe, as well as the evaluation of the transition process in Romania, in the context of the changes that take
place in the international life and in the European and world economy
- 1994 - "Romania in Europe and in the World". The book gathers
addresses, speeches and allocutions in the framework of international forums and
bodies, as well as papers and essays regarding Romania's position and
orientation in
foreign policy, in accordance with the new, irreversible course of Romanian
political, economic and social life. The book was translated into English, French
and Spanish.
- 1995 - there were published three books: ‘The Revolution as I Lived
It" - conversations
and opinions regarding the events of December 1989; "Diplomatic
Fall" –a series of interventions and presidential
approaches in the framework of international meetings and “Moments of
History” – first volume, containing addresses and documents regarding
the Revolution of December 1989 and the difficulties Romania faced during the period
of provisional political state, the first free elections held in May 1990
and the post-electoral turmoil.
- 1996 - "Moments of History"
- second and third volumes (covering 1991 and 1991-1992) and “Romanian-American
Dialogues”.
- 1998 - "Political Life
between Violence and Dialogue", an analysis based on documents
regarding the developments between 1991-1992.
- 1999 - "Whereto, Romanian Society?"
which presents the issues of the Romanian society in transition and possible
solutions from a social-democratic perspective. The book was translated into
Italian.
- 2000 - "Under the Cascade of
Questions"; gathers some of President’s interviews
Foreign Languages
- French, English and Russian ( fluently)
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