Iuliu Coroianu (June 14, 1847–March 30, 1927) was an
Imperial Austrian-born
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 lawyer and activist.
Biography
Born in
Craidorolț
Craidorolț ( hu, Királydaróc, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune of 2,215 inhabitants (2011) situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of five villages:
Demographics
Ethnic groups (2011 census):
*Romanians: 53%
*Hungarians: ...
,
Szatmár County
Szatmár County ( hu, Szatmár vármegye ) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated south of the river Tisza. Most of its territory is now divided between Romania and Hungary, while a very small area is part o ...
, his father Demetriu was a priest, while his mother Iuliana Pop was the daughter of a priest;
the family belonged to the
Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic ( la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Romaniae; ro, Biserica Română Unită cu Roma, Greco-Catolică), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the ...
.
["The structure of the Central Electoral Committees of the Romanian National Party from Transylvania and Hungary (1881-1918)"](_blank)
The Political Elite from Transylvania (1867-1918) project site From 1850 to 1873, the elder Coroianu, a participant in the
Blaj Assembly, served at
Șimleu Silvaniei
Șimleu Silvaniei (; hu, Szilágysomlyó, german: Schomlenmarkt) is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania with a population of 14,436 people (2011 census). It is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava.
Three villages are adminis ...
, where he was active in cultural affairs. Aside from Iuliu, he had a son, Sabin, and a daughter, Clara.
By 1889, Iuliu Coroianu was a noted lawyer. That year, he defended
Vasile Lucaciu
Vasile Lucaciu (January 21, 1852 – November 29, 1922) was a Romanian Greek-Catholic priest and an advocate of equal rights of Romanians with the Hungarians in Transylvania.
Biogeaphy
He was born in Apa, Szatmár County, the son of Mihai L ...
in court at
Satu Mare, securing an acquittal. A prominent member of the
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
,
he belonged to its executive from 1884 to 1894.
He and Lucaciu drafted, printed and distributed the
Transylvanian Memorandum
The ''Transylvanian Memorandum'' ( ro, Memorandumul Transilvaniei) was a petition sent in 1892 by the leaders of the Romanians of Transylvania to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor-King Franz Joseph, asking for equal ethnic rights with the Hungarians ...
abroad in 1892. During the collective trial held at
Cluj
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Status
, subdivision_name2 = County seat
, settlement_type = City
, le ...
two years later, Coroianu tenaciously defended himself, even continuing to stand and set forth his argument after being ordered by the bench to remain silent. Found guilty of conspiracy against the public order, he was sentenced to two years and eight months at hard labor and imprisoned at
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
.
He was an active participant in the preparation and proceedings of the
Great National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to:
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania
* Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of ...
at
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...
that proclaimed the
union of Transylvania with Romania
The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a national holiday in Roman ...
in December 1918. Upon his death in 1927, Coroianu was buried in Cluj's
Hajongard cemetery
Hajongard cemetery (officially Central Cemetery, in Hungarian language, Hungarian ''Házsongárdi temető'', from German language, German ''Hasengarten''), on Avram Iancu Street, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, founded in ...
. A memorial bust was unveiled at Craidorolț in 1994.
[ Ioan Corneanu]
"Iuliu Coroianu"
in ''Dacoromania'', nr. 44/2010
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coroianu, Iuliu
1847 births
1927 deaths
People from Satu Mare County
Romanian Austro-Hungarians
Romanian Greek-Catholics
20th-century Romanian lawyers
Romanian activists
Prisoners and detainees of Austria-Hungary
Delegates of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia
19th-century Romanian lawyers