Leonida Lari (26 October 1949 – 11 December 2011) was a Moldovan poet, journalist, and politician who advocated for the reunion of Bessarabia with

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, and ...

. She published 24 volumes of poetry and prose and was a prolific translator of key works from world literature into

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

Life and career

Leonida Lari was born on October 26, 1949 in Bursuceni,

Moldovan SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

, one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. Her parents, Ion and Nadejda Tuchilatu, were teachers. Lari had a younger brother, Leonard Tuchilatu, also a poet, who died when he was only 24 of kidney failure after being exposed to radiation under suspicious circumstances while under mandatory service in the Soviet army. Leonida Lari graduated from the State University of Chişinău,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

, with a major in philology. She worked at the Museum of Literature "D. Cantemir" in Chişinau (1971–1973), was an editor for the journal "Literatură şi Artă" (1985–1988), as well as editor-in-chief (1988–2003) of " Glasul Națiunii", the first publication in the Latin alphabet in the republic of Moldova. Leonida Lari was one of the leaders of the movement for national emancipation in Bessarabia between 1988 and 1991. She was elected as a representative to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1988–1990) and was a member of the Permanent Bureau of the People's Front of Moldova (1990–1992). Between 1990 and 1992, Leonida Lari served as the president of the Christian Democratic League of Women (one of the constituent components of the Social Liberal Party from 2001). In 1992, after repeated threats to the well-being of her children, Leonida Lari and her family fled to

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 ...

, Romania. Between 1992 and 2008, Leonida Lari was a representative to the Parliament of Romania. After a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, Leonida Lari died in Chișinău,

on December 11, 2011. Her death was followed by a state funeral, during which thousands of Moldovans paid their respects.

Works

* Piaţa Diolei (1974) * Marele vânt (1980) * Mitul trandafirului (1985) * Scoica solară (1987) * Insula de repaos (1988) * Lumina graitoare (1989) * Dulcele foc (1989) * Anul 1989 (1990) * Lira şi păianjenul (1991) * Govorâŝij svet (1992) * Al nouălea val (1993) * Epifanii (1994) * Scrisori de pe strada Maica Domnului (1995) * Lunaria (1995) * Aldebaran (1996) * Între îngeri şi demoni (1998) * Învingătoarele spaţii (1999) * Insula de repaus (2000) * Răstignirea porumbeilor (2003) * Epifanii şi teofanii (2005) * Infinitul de aur (2006) * Sibila (2006) * Traduceri din lirica universala (2009) * 101 poeme (2009)

Awards and distinctions

* Knight of the Order of the Republic of Moldova, 1996 * Honorary Citizen of the City of

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

(1993) * The România Mare Award * The "Flacăra, Totuşi Iubirea" Prize * The '' Cronica'' Award (Iaşi) * The "Tibiscus" Prize - Serbia * The "Mihai Eminescu" Prize for Poetry, awarded by the Romanian Academy

References

External links

50 de personalităţi ale epocii 87-89

Activitatea parlamentară a Leonidei Lari
în Camera Deputaților din România
Populatia este bludnicaLeonida Lari, keen supporter of Romanian-Moldovan union, dies
*
Comunicat de presa al Primariei municipiului ChisinauAm ramas mai saraci fara Leonida Lari
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lari, Leonida 1949 births People from Sîngerei District Moldovan journalists Moldovan women journalists Moldovan newspaper editors Male journalists Moldovan newspaper founders Romanian women journalists Soviet journalists Soviet newspaper editors Popular Front of Moldova politicians Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party politicians Greater Romania Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Moldovan emigrants to Romania Romanian translators Soviet women in politics Moldovan women in politics 20th-century Romanian women politicians 2011 deaths Romanian nationalists 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century Romanian women politicians 21st-century Romanian politicians