Iancu Flondor (3 August 1865 – 19 October 1924) was a

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

n politician who advocated

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

with the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

. He was born in the town of

Storozhynets Storozhynets ( uk, Сторожинець, ; ro, Storojineț; see below for other names) is a small city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. It hosts the administration of Sto ...

( ro, Storojineṭ) in Northern Bukovina (now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). His parents were Gheorghe Flondor (1828–1892) and Isabella von Dobrowolski-Buchenthal (1835–1890). Married to Elena de Zotta, he fathered three sons: Șerban (1900–1971), Neagoe (1901–1952), and Mircea (1908–1928).C. Al. Racovitza, Mihai Pânzaru
"Flondorii"
from ''Magazin Istoric'', nr. 6, 2000. After graduating in 1884 from the German High School in

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

with a baccalaureate degree, he studied at the Faculty of Law in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(1885–1888), and obtained the title of Doctor of Law from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

in 1894. During the winter of 1918, Flondor clashed with his rival

Aurel Onciul Aurel Onciul (29 February 1864 – 30 September 1921) was a Romanian pro-Austrian political leader in the Austrian Bukovina, prior to its union with the Kingdom of Romania. He was born in Vicovu de Sus, now in Suceava County, Romania, and gradu ...

over the political future of Bukovina, a dispute which culminated in the November request by the National Council of Bukovina, headed by Flondor, for an intervention by the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

into what had become a chaotic Bukovina at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Under those circumstances, the Romanian government in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, wishing to protect the population, decided to send to Bukovina the 8th Division under the command of General

Iacob Zadik Iacob Zadik (also spelled Zadig or Zadic; hy, Հակոբ Զատիկ; uk, Якоб Задік; December 8, 1867 – April 8, 1970) was a Romanian artillery and infantry commander, who rose to the rank of divisional general. An assimilated ethnic ...

, who entered Cernăuți, on 9 November 1918. On 12 November, the National Council of Bukovina effectively took the helm of Bukovina, forming a cabinet headed by Iancu Flondor. On 15/28 November 1918, the debates of

General Congress of Bukovina The General Congress of Bukovina ( ro, Congresul General al Bucovinei) was a self-proclaimed representative body created in the aftermath of the Romanian military intervention in Bukovina, which proclaimed the union of the region with the Kingdo ...

opened at the Metropolitan Palace in Cernăuți and decided: "The unconditional and eternal union of Bukovina — within its old boundaries up to the rivers Ceremuș, Colacin, and

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

— to the Kingdom of Romania". Grab des Iancu de Flondor in Storojinet

He died in Cernăuṭi (now

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

), and was buried in Storojineṭ. A bust of Flondor, sculpted by , was unveiled in

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovi ...

in 2009. A street in

Sector 2 Sector 2 ( ro, Sectorul 2) is an administrative unit of Bucharest. Demographics Sector 2 is the city's most multicultural sector. In particular, it contains Romania's largest community of Chinese people, who mainly live in the districts of C ...

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 of ...

bears his name.

References

Further reading