Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici (6 July 1923 – 20 August 2023) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n neurologist.

Biography

Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, the descendant of an old

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

family. He studied at the Ion C. Brătianu High School in

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...

, graduating in 1941. He then enrolled at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...

in the

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

, obtaining the title of

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degre ...

with his thesis ''Considerații asupra complexului cerebro-dentro-olivar'', written under the direction of in 1948. He then practiced medicine at several hospitals in Bucharest, including (1952–1957), Ioan Cantacuzino (1957–1965), and Gheorghe Marinescu (1965–1970). From 1974 to 1993 he worked at the Ana Aslan National Institute of Geriatric and Gerontology. Beginning in 1974, Bălăceanu-Stolnici collaborated as an informant of the

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regi ...

secret police of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Com ...

. Initially reported by the press, this was confirmed by and by Bălăceanu-Stolnici himself. Operating under the code names "Paul Ionescu" and "Laurențiu", he was a prolific informer, as well as an

agent of influence An agent of influence is an agent of some stature who uses their position to influence public opinion or decision making to produce results beneficial to the country whose intelligence service operates the agent. Agents of influence are often the ...

and

agent provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...

for the Securitate. In 2007, ''

Cotidianul The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile Founded by Ion Raţiu, ''Cotidianul'' was first published on 10 May 1 ...

'' published informative notes sent by Bălăceanu-Stolnici to the Securitate, which included a sketch of

Vlad Georgescu Vlad Georgescu (October 20, 1937–November 13, 1988), was a Romanian historian and the director of the Romanian-language department of Radio Free Europe between 1983 and 1988. Biography Born in Bucharest, Georgescu studied history at the Uni ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

apartment, drawn after a visit to his place in October 1984. According to Georgescu's former colleagues, these notes might have helped in the presumed assassination by irradiation of this

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says th ...

journalist. Bălăceanu-Stolnici died on 20 August 2023, at the age of 100.

Honours

After the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

, he was elected an honorary member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its by ...

in 1992. In 2003,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...

awarded him the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five ...

, Knight rank.

Publications

* * * *

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaceanu-Stolnici, Constantin 1923 births 2023 deaths Physicians from Bucharest Boyars Romanian neurologists Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni Securitate informants Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania Romanian centenarians Men centenarians